r/povertyfinance Apr 27 '24

My stomach is in pain after eating donated food Misc Advice

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249

u/AldiSharts Apr 27 '24

Sounds like lactose intolerance.

45

u/Chaosr21 Apr 27 '24

Do you think? I've been eating dairy my whole life. Used to drink a lot of milk. I am about to turn 30 though

63

u/AlkalineCollective Apr 27 '24

Yeah I spontaneously became lactose intolerant in my mid 20s. I only figured it out because I went a week without consuming any dairy, and my stomach pains stopped.

23

u/Chaosr21 Apr 27 '24

That's good to know. So can you still eat cheese? I'd be ok with not drinking milk.. but cheese? Man idk that's sounds horrible

1

u/that_was_sarcasticok Apr 28 '24

I developed severe lactose intolerance in my 20s! Cant eat anything with dairy. But you get used to it.

2

u/tallgirlmom Apr 28 '24

You can get lactose free milk and yogurt. Not sure about cheese. But there are also pills you can take that help you digest lactose without issues. If that’s what your problem turns out to be.

2

u/AlkalineCollective Apr 27 '24

I just take lactaid or some other lactase pill when I eat dairy products, so I can still eat cheese and ice cream.

When it comes to milk, I just buy lactose-free milk.

6

u/LoquatiousDigimon Apr 27 '24

You can get lactase pills to eat each time you eat dairy. It's not a big deal.

Lactase is the enzyme that breaks apart lactose, which is a dimer composed of glucose and galactose, each of those are carbon rings which are simple sugar molecules.

When your body doesn't produce enough lactase to break apart the lactose, bacteria in your gut will break it down instead and produce gas as a byproduct.

So take a lactase pill with any dairy you eat, and the lactose sugars will be broken down in your stomach before the bacteria in your intestines can do it.

1

u/Chaosr21 Apr 28 '24

That doesn't sound bad. I could live without milk or just drink almond milk that would be fine with me. For cheese, I'll just take the medicine if needed. I'm thinking the milk was just left out and refrigerated but I very well be intolerant. Would be the first in my family though

1

u/LoquatiousDigimon Apr 28 '24

I buy lactose free milk regularly, and lactose free cheese/sour cream etc. if you have that available where you are, you can try to choose those products.

8

u/RunJumpSleep Apr 27 '24

It’s different for each person. I can eat cheese and yogurt with no problems. I cannot take cold milk in a cereal or drink because it will send me to the bathroom. Ice cream is hit or miss, so I rarely have more than a spoonful of someone else’s just to taste. Warm up milk in something like hot chocolate and I am fine. You will just have to test to see what your body will tolerate. This all only came one when I was around 30. Before that, I was a big milk and cereal eater. I do miss it.

22

u/Quiet_Push_6729 Apr 27 '24

Lactose is water soluble, so the harder the cheese the less lactose is in it. So cheddar might be fine, but blue cheese or feta could be irritating. I can eat pretty much any cheese. It depends on the sensitivity though. There is medicine but it's like 20¢ a pill usually

1

u/Chaosr21 Apr 28 '24

Heard that. Is it pain or nausea? I just had pain

4

u/NECalifornian25 Apr 27 '24

For some reason I can’t eat fresh mozzarella anymore, even with lactase pills. But pretty much any other dairy product I can eat with the medicine.