Reducing or eliminating lactose intolerance symptoms with probiotics
When I started the ketogenic diet the first month I dealt with a lot of diarrhea. Some of it was simply because I wasn't sticking to eating at least 2 cups of veggies a day, but other times it would happen directly after consuming too much dairy. My body didn't have enough lactase to breakdown the excess lactose leaving me stranded in the restroom.
Then I learned more about probiotics. I knew probiotics made your belly happy because it balances out the good and bad bacteria, but I had no clue it's being proven to help cure symptoms of lactose intolerance! I began eating at least one of the following probiotics every day: kim chi (Wild Brine), whole milk yogurt (White Mountain), or sauerkraut (Wild Brine). Additionally, I began drinking a teaspoon of unpasturized apple cider vinegar (Bragg) in my green tea every day because it is also proven to help with digestion. Surprise belly issues are no longer an issue in my life.
However, I never had a real intolerance...I just decided to shock my body with dairy and it said no. But the research I'm looking at suggests to have either a probiotic supplement or consume yogurt with bifidobacterium longum, a strain that has been shown to efficiently metabolize lactose. Adding these to your diet every day will allow your stomach to begin correcting the microbiota in your belly and over time it will be able to produce enough lactase to digest those yummy dairy products.
There are a lot of good vitamins in dairy products. Additionally, while on the ketogenic diet, using heavy whipping cream to achieve the high ratio of fat is really helpful. The ketogenic diet is possible without using dairy, but if you are able to work on overcoming a lactose intolerance it is worth a try because the more variety you can incorporate into your diet, the more likely you are to enjoy it!
References
The role of colonic microbiota in lactose intolerance. Dig Dis Sci. 2004 Jan;49(1):78-83. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14992439
Effects of yogurt and bifidobacteria supplementation on the colonic microbiota in lactose-intolerant subjects. J Appl Microbiol. 2008 Feb;104(2):595-604. Epub 2007 Oct 9. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17927751
Probiotics--compensation for lactase insufficiency. Am J Clin Nutr. 2001 Feb;73(2 Suppl):421S-429S. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11157352
Lactose-over-glucose preference in Bifidobacterium longum NCC2705: glcP, encoding a glucose transporter, is subject to lactose repression. J Bacteriol. 2006 Feb;188(4):1260-5. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16452407