Should dairy products be excluded if there is no lactase deficiency

Should dairy products be excluded if there is no lactase deficiency

Milk is the product that first meets us in this life. Recently, however, there have been fierce discussions around dairy products. On the Internet, you can find a large number of articles where it is stated that milk and products from it are harmful to absolutely everyone.

Why are dairy products harmful?

The first reason is the notorious deficiency of the enzyme lactase, which is responsible for the absorption of lactose.

Undiluted milk sugar (lactose) enhances fermentation processes, which causes gastrointestinal upset, flatulence, abdominal pain, osmotic-fermentative diarrhea. 

Nevertheless, among the Slavs, these phenomena are manifested only in 10-18%, and only a few who are diagnosed with hypolactasia need medical help. For everyone else, getting rid of the listed symptoms is quite simple. It is necessary to reduce or completely abandon the consumption of whole milk, leaving natural dairy products and hard cheese varieties in the menu.

The second and main reason is the "inappropriate behavior" of milk and dairy products in the body.

It was revealed not so long ago, in the mid-90s of the last century, after the introduction of the concept of glycemic indices of foods (GI), as well as the “discovery” of insulin indices and glycemic load by the Canadian diabetologist David Jenkinson.

At first, it was thought that the GI of each product, which characterizes the level of increase in blood glucose compared to the reference 100% assimilation of "pure" glucose, is an absolute and stable value. They even proved that a diet based on products with low, up to 45 units, values, where milk and dairy products go (30-15), with the exception of soft cheeses, cottage cheese and sour cream, helps:

• better control blood glucose levels in diabetes and gestational diabetes during pregnancy;
• reduce the risk of developing breast cancer and get rid of polycystic ovary;
• normalize weight and replenish the body's energy reserves evenly;
• improve some athletic performance.

However, medical scientists are faced with the so-called "milk paradox":

1. When carbohydrate-containing foods are consumed, insulin hormone is synthesized in proportion to the dose of carbohydrates received. But in the case of dairy products, such a relationship was not found. Moreover, all of them, with the exception of hard cheeses, cause unexpectedly high insulin release. The culprits of this carbohydrate-insulin mismatch include not only lactose, but also other components of milk - casomorphins (breakdown products of casein) and small milk peptides.
2. In people with a high sensitivity to insulin hormone and / or actively engaged in strength training, dairy products can cause severe hunger an hour after they are taken, a reactive decrease in blood glucose levels and noticeable fluid retention.
3. In insulin-resistant people who are overweight, obese, or type 2 diabetes, whey milk proteins, which stimulate the production of GLP-1 hormone in the intestine, which in turn cause a surge in insulin production, can help in the absorption of fast carbohydrates from other foods.
4. Combining milk with low-GI foods turns them into high-GI foods, and when combined with high-GI foods make them glycemic bombs. For example, pasta with cottage cheese, buckwheat or oatmeal with milk, yogurt with fruit. All of these dishes have their Glycemic Index "jumping" above 130.

How and when to eat dairy products correctly?

Do not spy on how professional bodybuilders eat milk and drink milk. Some people overuse these products. Others, to overcome the plateau in the set of muscle mass, can injections of short or ultrashort insulin. This circumstance introduces significant adjustments in the intake of dairy products. If they are not followed, coma and death are possible. There were such cases, alas.

If you want to lose weight or are an active adherent of a healthy lifestyle, and your body is healthy, do not be afraid of milk and dairy products. They will not cause weight gain. Just follow the simple rules of their consumption, which are recommended by nutritionists today:

• give preference to products with a short shelf life and observe the daily intake;
• give up sweet cheeses and yoghurts, as well as confectionery with cottage cheese;
• limit the consumption of whole milk to 1 glass per day, and if you want more, then listen to the reactions of your body;
• avoid a combination of milk, cottage cheese, soft cheese and fermented milk drinks with foods containing a large amount of both fast and long carbohydrates;
• never have dairy snacks;
• in the phase of active weight loss, include milk in the menu only for the second breakfast, and if this meal consists of several dishes, then first of all eat and drink dairy products, and then everything else;
• at normal body weight, milk should be included in the meal that precedes strength training.

And in conclusion, it is worth clarifying that in order to maintain health and successful physical ducation or sports, it is important to maintain a balance of milk and other animal proteins. Do not exclude meat and fish from the diet - the main sources of creatine, a substance necessary for building new ones, as well as gaining strength and quickly restoring existing muscle fibers. Well, if you are actively building lean muscle mass or sticking to veganism, then along with milk and dairy products, you need to take nutritional supplements containing creatine monohydrate.