Can I Consume Lactose-Free Dairy?

Here is a question that I often get asked. It is based on one of the recommendations that I often make with patients and that is to avoid cow’s dairy because cow’s dairy is a major inflammatory food. Then they will ask, can I still consume lactose-free dairy?

Now there is a portion of the population that is lactose intolerant. Statistics show that it is 16% of Canadians are lactose-intolerant and 65% of the human population. So lactose-free dairy will benefit those that are lactose intolerant, but lactose-free dairy still contains casein A1, which is the inflammatory protein in cow’s dairy for all humans. So I recommend that you avoid all cow’s dairy including lactose-free dairy.