How to tell if you are lactose intolerant or dairy sensitive? page

[TARNIP]

I have thought for a while that I am lactose intolerant but how do I recongnize whether or not it is just the lactose or a complete dairy intolerance? What are the differences between the two, if any?

[Rip City]

Stop eating dairy, see how you feel. Slowly reintroduce. Try different forms. Organic cheese has never bothered me, organic half/half, heavy cream don't bother me. 2% or lower really tear me up, every time, especially cheap/generic brands. Same with the cheeses

[peril]

I've only heard of casein and lactose intolerance. Skim milk has lactose but little or no casein. Hard cheeses have casein but little or no lactose

[hazyjane]

Lactose intolerance is pretty straight forward: digestive symptoms like bloating, gas, loose stools, etc. due to lack of lactase needed to break down lactose. It's not a sensitivity, but rather a missing enzyme.

Casein sensitivity (closer to an immune system reaction) is different and can cause symptoms for different people (depending on if it's an intolerance or a full on allergy) - phlegm/stuffiness/sinus infections/asthma, ear infections (in children) headaches and inflammatory reactions throughout the body, esp. the skin (hives, eczema, etc.) which are varied and even acid reflux.

[TARNIP]

Thankyou for your replies Doing a full elimination and re-introduction sounds like the way to go. I had been drinking lactose free milk and seemed fine on that but when starting PB to get my fat intake up I added some extras like butter, full cream, cheese, full fat yoghurt etc and started getting some mucous issues. Wasn't sure if it may have just been the amounts of it I was actually eating or if it was an intolerance. I am going to try eliminating it one thing at a time. I have replaced full cream and milk with coconut cream/milk and dairy yoghurt with coconut yoghurt. I must say I do find butter and cheese the hardest to eliminate coz both of these make everything else taste so much better Hoping I will be fine by having them on occassion