FAAN: Walk for Food Allergy

Milk and dairy allergies are among the commonest food allergies in the world. They're problem with the immune system running amok. Nobody really understand why they happen, or why they seem to be getting worse.

So FAAN - The Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network – is holding its third annual Walk for Food Allergy, to be held in cities across the country this fall.

Their press release says:

Beginning August 19 and ending on November 18, thousands of families nationwide will be taking part in the third annual nationwide Walk for Food Allergy: Moving Toward A Cure campaign intended to increase awareness and raise research funding for a disease that currently has no cure. The disease is food allergy, which currently affects 12 million Americans. The Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN), the nation's leading nonprofit, patient advocacy organization, dedicated to increasing education and advancing research on food allergy and anaphylaxis, will be spearheading these events in 18 cities across the nation.

The Walk for Food Allergy will be occurring in Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas, Washington, D.C., and Wisconsin. Registration is now open for walk enthusiasts from every walk of life to benefit FAAN's ongoing research and education efforts. For registration and a complete list of all of the walk locations and dates, please visit FAAN's Web site at www.foodallergy.org.

Lactates not Lactose

I recently received an email asking if there was milk in potassium lactate.

The answer is no. In fact, there is no lactose in any of the "lac" additives found in ingredients lists.

I know this surprises some people, because there are lists of what not to eat - compiled by the lazy or ignorant - that include these items.

There are three main groups of "lac"s. Lactates, lactylates, and lactic acid.

The lactates appear in combination with calcium, sodium, potassium or, rarely, other elements. Calcium lactate is common.

The lactylates are more complicated, with forms like calcium stearoyl-2 lactylate or sodium isostearoyl lactylate.

As far as I can tell neither type will ever contain lactose. If you have lactose intolerance you don't need to worry about them.

Same is true if you have a dairy protein allergy. These ingredients have no protein in them. FAAN (The Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network) says:

They do not contain milk protein and need not be restricted by someone avoiding milk.

Lactic acid is a bit more complicated, for some. It does not contain lactose and presents no problem for the lactose intolerant.

But it can be derived from dairy. However, lactic acid derived from dairy (from whey, to be precise) seems to only be used in foods like ice cream or cheese, which are dairy products themselves.

Other foods use lactic acid that is not derived from whey.

So people with milk allergies need only to use some common sense. If the food is a dairy product, and you're trying to avoid dairy products, it doesn't matter if it also contains lactic acid.

If there is otherwise no dairy in the product, then don't worry about the lactic acid. Again FAAN says that lactic acid:

not contain milk protein and need not be restricted by someone avoiding milk.

All this and much much is contained in Dairy or Nondairy? The Experts Speak on my web site.

Lactation Station Breast Milk Bar

O, Canada!

Some things just have to be presented without comment.

Funding draws Tory ire by Bruce Cheadle, Canadian Press.

The federal Conservative government says it won't lay a hand on the Lactation Station Breast Milk Bar.

A Toronto performance artist is offering the public an opportunity to sample human breast milk, in the spirit of wine tasting, and the lesbian single mother is using a $9,000 grant from the Canada Council for the Arts to help get the creative juices flowing.
…

Jason Kenney, parliamentary secretary to Prime Minister Stephen Harper, reacted with bemusement rather than anger to the breast milk sampler, which is scheduled for July 13 at the Ontario College of Art & Design Professional Gallery.

"Personally I think we should be funding cultural endeavours that actually draw an audience, that people are actually interested in,'' said Kenney. "I'm not sure that's the case here.''

The breast milk, provided by six different women according to artist Jess Dobkin, will be pasteurized for health and safety reasons. But that consideration didn't seem top of mind for federal Health Minister Tony Clement.

"A chacun son gout,'' -- to each his own tastes, said Clement, before quickly adding, "It's not for me.''

Dobkin herself said to the Toronto Star:

"This project re-contextualizes something often regarded as indecent or repellent, offering a celebratory view.

"A substance that nourishes us in our infancy later becomes a curiosity in adulthood. Though many drink it exclusively for the first months of life, the memory of that taste and the sensation of drawing milk from the breast are forgotten. No two women's milk tastes the same, and is influenced by things we ingest and our unique biology."

Technically, breast milk isn't drinkable by those with lactose intolerance, and may not be so by those with cow's milk dairy protein allergy, since the proteins can leak through into the breast milk. So, technically, this doesn't belong in this blog. Sue me.

Prebiotics and Probiotics

Everyone who has lactose intolerance should know by now that one of the major sources of symptoms can be the bacteria that live in your colon. More than 500 known species of bacteria have been found living in people, and like any group of 500 you find a range from the very good to the very bad.

For us, the bad bacteria are the ones that ferment any lactose that reaches them. The fermentation process releases gas, just like it does when beer is made. And you probably know all too well what the gas can do.

You can change the "bad" bacteria into "good" bacteria, the type that digests lactose rather than ferments it by using probiotics. Probiotics, literally "for life" contain the good bacteria and the idea is that the good bacteria will dominate the bad ones. I've written many times before about probiotics. The live and active cultures in yogurt are probiotics. You can also buy the bacteria in pill form in such products as Digestive Advantage and Lactagen.

What are prebiotics? Wesley Canfield of the Grand Forks Human Nutrition Research Center talks about them in his column.

Prebiotics ("before life") are nondigestible or fiber components of foods, usually complex carbohydrates that beneficially affect the host by stimulating the growth of intestinal bacteria. Certain bacteria prefer a particular prebiotic to use as a source of energy.

There are some potentially major advantages to eating more prebiotics, he says.

In addition to making vitamins, intestinal bacteria also produce other nutrients of benefit. We've all heard advice about limiting our intake of fats, especially saturated ones. However, not all saturated fats are bad for us. Many of the gut bacteria ferment digestion-resistant fiber to short-chain saturated fatty acids. These fats have two to four carbon atoms.

Acetate, propionate and butyrate all are examples of SCFA. Some scientists estimate that up to 10 percent of a person's daily energy needs can be met by using the SCFA as fuel. Butyrate, in particular, has been shown to have anti-cancer effects in animals. In addition, a probiotic containing butyrate-producing bacteria also reduced cancer formation in an animal model.

Another way of increasing butyrate production by intestinal bacteria is to eat prebiotics similar to the high-galactose type found in breast milk. Inulin, for example, is a type of high-fructose, nondigestible fiber that is present in wheat and onions. Many studies in both humans and animals have demonstrated the bifidobacteria-promoting benefits of inulin and other high-fructose prebiotics.

Prebiotics and probiotics. All part of a good healthy diet. Eat enough of them and hopefully you won't have to take any antibiotics.

Yogurt Changed the Way We Eat

Harry Balzer knows more about the way you eat than anyone in America. His title is nothing special, vice president at the NPD Group. His job is. He studies Americans and food. Every day.

And you're weird.

Every day, someone from the NPD Group is calling 3500 Americans, asking them whether they're gone to a restaurant, and if so, what they ate. The number one food ordered by women? French fries. Burgers are number two, pizza, number three. Salad comes in seventh. Men eat burgers, French fries, pizza in that order.

And NPD hands out notebooks to 3000 families at a time so that the can record everything they eat and drink for 14 days.

Then NPD combines the info and sells it for big bucks in their unique study, Eating Patterns in America, now in its 20th year.

Other findings, according to an article by Robin Mather Jenkins in the Chicago Tribune:

The No. 1 item the average American is most likely to have between meals is . . . .gum!

The fastest growing appliance used by Americans to prepare a meal is . . . the power window. Last year, for 22 percent of all meals purchased at a restaurant, we did not even get out of our cars, a new high! (Would this trend have happened if we still had to hand-crank the windows in our cars?)

The No. 1 snack by children (under 6 years old) is . . ....fruit! Don't be surprised. Parents still control the intake of toddlers and babies. Once they have their 6th birthday, however, look out!

In 1985, 56 percent of all in-home meals included at least one fresh, prepared-from-scratch dish. Last year, that dropped to 46 percent, an all-time low.

It is true that nearly 50 percent of our food budget is spent on meals purchased outside the home, but 77 percent of all meals we eat still come from the home. Restaurant meals are three times the cost of making an in-home meal.

On a typical night, 55 percent of all dinners are prepared by women, and that's unchanged since 1998.

And yogurt? Well, in Belzer's 28 years in the business, he's only named a "food of the day" that's changed America's eating patterns twice. The first was pizza, and now the second is yogurt.

Belzer told Janet Zimmerman of the Press Enterprise that:

"Pizza was what yogurt is today." It is a product that appeals to the fast-growing older and younger generations, a food "they can eat alone, for a main dish, dessert, breakfast, lunch, it doesn't require cleaning up, it's a meal unto itself and it has the perception of being healthy."

(Yes, Belzer gets around. He's a man with an extremely expensive study to promote. He's spends three months a year getting the data together and nine months trying to sell it to clients. He's been quoted in every major paper in the country in June alone.)

And why is yogurt suddenly magic?

Last year, 20.5 percent of all consumers ate yogurt at least once every two weeks, nearly double from 9.6 percent 20 years ago, NPD research shows. The $3 billion-a-year industry has outgrown every other grocery product of the last three decades, and consumption has doubled about every seven years.

Much of the growth can be attributed to yogurt's rise from diet food to favorite snack, now in a dizzying array of colors, textures and packaging, from squeezable tubes to drinkable containers.

The latest craze is probiotics, the "good" bacteria that work to turn milk into yogurt.

The bacterium cultures are now known to have health benefits, including aiding digestion, boosting immunity, treating diarrhea, decreasing yeast infections and possibly, lowering cholesterol. More preliminary studies show that the ancient food may also reduce the incidence of colon tumors and ease allergic reactions.

What's not known is how much and which types of bacteria work.

Not knowing how or why something works might stop me, and those of you who read me and look for some actual science behind a claim. The rest of the American public… Well, look at what's available in the pill aisle at any supermarket or natural food store and you know that we must not care at all about what we put into our mouths. Yogurt and its beneficial bacteria have to be a thousand times healthier than some of the concoctions that come in pill form.

"When you eat the yogurt, you help to help reestablish the good bacteria in your intestinal tract," said Redlands dietician Elaine McFadden, director of nutrition education for Nature's Path foods.

Most commercial yogurt does not contain probiotics because it is pasteurized, a process that kills bacteria, [Chris Krese, spokesman for the National Yogurt Association] said. The National Yogurt Association is pushing the Food and Drug Administration to establish minimum levels of live and active cultures for a product to be called yogurt.
McFadden favors Mountain High yogurt, with its label boasting "billions of live and active cultures." Stonyfield Organic Yogurts are also high in beneficial bacteria.

And there are a host of new products pushing probiotics. Among them: Breyers Light! Probiotics Plus Yogurt, which promises "complete nutrition in a cup"; Activia yogurt, which manufacturer Dannon says regulates the digestive system when eaten daily for two weeks; and DanActive, also from Dannon, a cultured dairy drink.

Health-conscious consumers should read labels, McFadden said.

In addition to containing live and active cultures, the most good-for-you yogurts have less than 20 percent of calories from sugar and less than 30 percent of calories from fat.

I won't argue with that. It's good advice. And the vast majority of people with lactose intolerance can tolerate yogurt with live and active cultures with few if any symptoms.

Big News! Test May Tell if Your Infant Will Always Be Allergic to Milk

When I was diagnosed with lactose intolerance way back in 1978 I had literally never heard the words before. Today, just about everybody knows what LI is. That's great, except sometimes when it's a problem.

It's a problem because too many people now think that any problem with dairy products stems from LI. That's just not the case, and it's especially not the case for infants.

Lactose intolerance is the inability to manufacture the lactase enzyme. This ability does not even start to go away until about the age of weaning. You'll find very few healthy children under the age of three LI anywhere in the world.

Admittedly, any illness, surgery, medications, or injury that affect the small intestine can knock out the lactase-making ability. The most common cause of this is the old-fashioned "stomach flu," in reality a gastrointestinal illness. But this Temporary Lactose Intolerance (or Secondary LI) is, as the name indicates, normally temporary. It will go away in a few weeks as the intestines heal. (Truly serious damage from other causes may not heal, but this is extremely rare in comparison.)

How to explain the problems suffered by otherwise healthy children, who never seem to be able to tolerate dairy products? The most likely answer is a milk protein allergy. An allergy is an immune system reaction to the proteins in milk, a totally different process than the inability to digest the milk sugar, lactose.

The good news is that even a milk protein allergy is temporary, even though it seems to go on forever. I always reassure parents that the majority of infants will simply grow out of the allergy, usually by the normal time of weaning.

Of course, the parents always want to know how they can tell if their child will be one of them. I didn't have an answer. Until now.

On June 11, Timo Vanto, MD, of Turku University Hospital in Turku, Finland, gave a formal presentation titled "Persistent Cow's Milk Hypersensitivity: IgE Antibodies to Milk Have a Peak Earlier Than Skin Prick Test Wheals. Poster 579" at the 25th Congress of the European Academy of Allergology and Clinical Immunology (EAACI) in Vienna, Austria. You can found a report on the study at Doctor's Guide.

He did a double-blind study (the best kind) of 156 children who had been diagnosed with milk allergy at an average age of seven months. He then retested them at the ages of 1, 2, and 4 with the standard skin-prick test and measured the size of the wheals (swellings) that developed.

In the children who lost their allergies, the wheals were an average 2 mm in size in the diagnostic test, peaked in size at one year, and then dropped to 0.5 mm at 4 years. A full 77% of the children fit this pattern, meaning that three-fourths of them lost their allergies by age four.

The rest has a totally different pattern. Their diagnostic wheals were much larger, at 5.3 mm. They kept rising until the age of two, when they reached 8 mm. And they remained that average size even at age four. This clearly indicated that the allergy would persist.

Blood tests also showed two completely different patterns for antibody levels. The first group's S-f2 levels were 0.5 kU/L throughout the study. Those with a persistent allergy "started at a mean of 6 kU/L at diagnosis and peaked at 10.5 kU/L by 1 year. By 2 years they had dropped to 8 kU/L, and by age 4, they were at 4 kU/L."

So there are two independent ways of determining whether your child will grow out of a milk allergy. And they work best at different times, with the antibody serum levels predicting best up to the age of two and the skin-prick tests after that age. This should lead to much better diagnoses.

I have to warn everybody that one test is not necessary meaningful. Tests have to be replicated by independent researchers to ensure that chance or error didn't bias the results.

But this is great news. A readily available, easily performed test that predicts allergy persistence with high accuracy. This is the big one. Talk to your pediatricians or allergists about this. It may take some time before the results are accepted and the procedures are widely understood, but at least make sure that your doctors are looking into it.

Manischewitz Makes Nondairy Cake Mixes

Last fall Duncan Hines announced that it was adding dairy products to its line of previously pareve cake mixes. Pareve is a term in the Jewish dietary laws for "neutral" foods, those with no meat or milk ingredients. Pareve foods are perfect for people with lactose intolerance or dairy allergies as well as those who are vegans, so this was a major loss.

Let the consternation cease. Manischewitz, the big-name Kosher food products firm, has stepped in with the first two flavors of a new line of pareve cake mixes. They're starting with the basics – Vanilla and Chocolate – but promise to add more flavors as time goes on. The web site even offers a Pareve Fudge Frosting recipe, made with soy milk.

And Manischewitz gets points for mentioning lactose intolerance as a reason for offering the cake mixes. Yes! Let's remind them that we're a major market. Support companies that recognize LI.

Nondairy Frozen Desserts with No Bad Fat

Yesterday I wrote about Sorbets for Summer. Whipped and blended frozen fruit is about as dairy-free as you can get, but it's not the only category of nondairy frozen treat.

The report I mentioned from Nutrition Action Healthletter, June 2006, also featured a number of soy- and rice-based desserts that are both nondairy and, I believe, vegan, so they should be acceptable both for people with lactose intolerance and those with dairy allergies. Here's how they rate them: Best Bites have no more than 1 gram of "bad fat" (saturated fat plus trans fats) in a half-cup serving, no more than 170 calories, no acesulfane potassium, and also have fruit, fruit puree, or fruit juice (other than grape, apple, or pear) as the first or second ingredients. Honorable mention products are the same but may have up to 2 grams of "bad fat." They all tend to be higher in total fat than sorbets are, however, with 2-9 grams of fat per serving.

One company with many names, Turtle Mountain had several Best Bites, including Its Soy Delicious, So Delicious Organic, and Soy Delicious Purely Decadent, Purely Vanilla flavor.

Imagine Foods' Rice Dream and Soy Dream didn't have all their many flavors listed, but only Rice Dream Vanilla Swiss Almond got downgraded for too much "bad fat."

Celestial Seasonings, a sister company of Imagine Foods under the Hain Celestial conglomerate, adds tea flavoring to Rice Dream for an unusual and equally trans-fat free frozen dessert.

Several of Tofutti's lines scored high, with Super Soy Supreme, Low Fat, and No Sugar Added leading the list. Premium and Cheesecake Supreme had a bit too much "bad fat."

All of these will taste more like conventional ice cream than sorbet does, so they may bridge the gap when the cravings hit.

Sorbets for Summer

Summer is here for most of us. Well, not up here in Rochester. Friday I wandered through the tents at the Rochester International Jazz Festival in a cold, rain-misted wind with temperatures in the 40s. The ice cream truck closed down early as everybody searched for a vendor, any vendor, who sold hot drinks. Hot jazz warms the spirit but my umbrella turned inside-out and threatened to become a satellite.

But I hear that other parts of the nation have their air conditioning up and running. It'll happen up here as well. Summer is scheduled for a Thursday this year. Try not to miss it.

What to do when it's 95° and you're dripping and want something cold and smooth to wash the dryness out of your throat? Skip over that ice cream. If you're lactose intolerant or milk allergic there are better treats, and they're becoming a lot easier to find.

The two main types of non-dairy confections are sorbets and granites. Here's a handy definition from The Tennessean:

Sorbet: Fresh, ripe fruit puree or fruit juice and sugar then churned to incorporate air to make it smooth. It has no eggs or dairy products to camouflage the taste of fruits at their peak of ripeness. They can be made with liquors, wine and herbs, too. The less sweet ones are sometimes offered as a palate cleanser between courses at a fancy dinner.

Granite: Frozen mixture of fruit juice or other liquid such as coffee or wine and sugar, then frozen in a shallow tray. The proportion is usually four parts liquid to one part sugar. It's stirred frequently with a fork to break up the crystals and has an icy, coarse texture. Called granite in France and granita in Italy.

That's pronounced gra-NEE-ta, BTW, not like the rock.

The June issue of the Nutrition Action Healthletter, published by the Center for Science in the Public Interest, also was thinking summer and ran an article on frozen scoops. Saturated fat is their biggest bugaboo, followed by sugar content, so it's not surprising that sorbets grabbed a bunch of "Best Bites" and honorable mentions. Best Bites have no more than 1 gram of "bad fat" (saturated fat plus trans fats) in a half-cup serving, no more than 170 calories, no acesulfane potassium, and also have fruit, fruit puree, or fruit juice (other than grape, apple, or pear) as the first or second ingredients. Honorable mention products are the same but may have up to 2 grams of "bad fat." Tough grading.

They liked Edy's Whole Fruit brand No Sugar Added sorbets, sweetened with Splenda, but also gave a Best Bite to their regularly sweetened sorbets, except for Coconut and Boysenberry. It's hard to take the fat out of coconut, so all the coconut sorbets have black marks against them.

Haagen-Dazs has at least half a dozen sorbets with all them being Best Bites, except for chocolate, tropical, and zesty lemon, which are honorable mention.

Ben and Jerry have a tasty line of sorbets that should be widely available in most supermarkets. Their current flavors are Strawberry Kiwi Swirl, Berried Treasure, and Jamaican Me Crazy, with its swirls of pineapple and passionfruit. They all get honorable mentions.

Ciao Bella has a huge line of sorbettos, many of which are certified kosher. All are Best Bites except for chocolate, which rates as honorable mention, and the dread coconut.

Lots of other brands of sorbets, granites, and ices (sometimes called Italian ices) are on the market, of course. You should find other brands that weren't part of the ratings in local stores and natural foods markets everywhere. Keep the Best Bites qualities in mind when you buy. Fruit, not sugar, should be high on the list. You want the real fruit flavor to shine through.

I'm finding that many better restaurants now offer home-made sorbets in unusual and intense flavors for those of us who literally wouldn't live through a Death by Chocolate mound of fat. The best of these burst into fruity sense-bombs with the smallest spoonful.

You can also make your own sorbets. Check out the Non-Dairy Frozen Desserts Cookbooks page in the Product Clearinghouse on my website for a list of cookbooks that cover sorbets, granites, and ices.

When you experiment with the recipes, keep in mind that you can add other flavors than just fruit. Sorbet on the side by Kristi L. Gustafson in the Albany Times Union, tells us that herbs are the latest hot ingredient in cool summer dishes.

Lavender, rosemary, tarragon, basil and lemon verbena are just a few oft-found sorbet additives.

"Lemon verbena is amazing. It has a scent and flavor that's like an acidless lemon," says Michel Nischan, known as the Healthy Chef. "It causes the flavor to fill your entire mouth."

…

Mint goes better with fruit sorbets than just about any other herb, say chefs. It's expected, because mint often accompanies fruit -- or at least dessert. But these sorbets aren't always after-meal treats.

Instead they're used as intermezzos or even side dishes.

"Rosemary is sharp enough (that) it's more interesting as a meat accompaniment or a palate-cleanser," according to Lou Pappas, author of "Sorbets and Ice Creams: and Other Frozen Confections." She suggests a lemon-rosemary sorbet with lamb. Diners treat it as a side dish, as they would a potato or vegetable.

…

A fruit base is typical (even tomatoes work). Add a sugar-based syrup, stick it in an ice cream maker, and you'll have a perfect-consistency sorbet. Different herbs can be incorporated differently, says [Paul Krebs, professor of culinary arts at Schenectady County Community College].

"Herbs can be chopped finely and mixed in, but if you don't want to have the chopped herb in your sorbet, you can also strain it," says Krebs. You can also chop the herbs, steep them in the sugar-and-water mixture and strain it out.

Check the article online for recipes on unusual flavors Spring Rhubarb-Tarragon Sorbet, Pineapple-Sage Sorbet, and Citrus-Basil Sorbet.

No dill, though. Dill doesn't work. Nor does combining lavender, maple and chocolate. Remember, just because you can think it up doesn't mean you can choke it down.

The Future of Soy Milk

Soy "milk" probably tops the list of all alternative dairy milk beverages. Sales are large and growing, growing much faster than dairy milks sales are, although of course starting from a much smaller base.

And the future will see tastier, healthier, and more varied forms of soy milks, according to an article on the foodingredientsfirst.com site, Taking Soy Protein beyond Milk , by Henk Hoogenkamp & Paul Evers of Netherlands' Alko Research.

The article is a bit technical in spots, but you can easily skip the protein globulin discussion and not worry about what organoleptical means as you skim by to get to the good parts.

A few excerpts:

Major flavour innovation is on its way when by 2007 improved organoleptical quality soy protein isolate will become available. Using plant-breeding technology, a specific Monsanto patented soybean variety will then provide high levels of beta-conglycinin, a naturally occurring texture and flavour improving compound. Beta-conglycinin is a highly soluble protein, especially suitable for beverage applications. Beta-conglycinin does not bind flavours so at higher levels it does not hold in the typical soybean taste, creating a more neutral taste profile, which subsequently will be carried over in the end product.

...

As an eye-opener: soy and its specific health claims remain a highly controversial topic.

According the Associated Press (January 24, 2006) the American Heart Association panel of expertise has derided soy claims that soy protein can significantly lower cholesterol.

Soy industry sponsored research studies indicate that the soybean is more than a high-yielding source of premium protein. Soybeans also contain relatively high amounts of phytochemicals, such as genistein, daidzein and glycitein.

Epidemiological studies have suggested an association with lowered risks for prostate, breast and colon cancers, reduction of cholesterol, improved bone health, a delay in the onset of osteoporosis, reduced blood pressure, protection against heart disease, and an easing of menstrual and menopausal symptoms. Soy protein is also a significant source of essential fatty acids, minerals, and calories. Given below is the important nutritional information for soy milk produced with a low-flavour profile type of soy protein isolate.

...

Basically, functional drinks are defined as a concept that provides a health benefit beyond the basic nutritional content by virtue of their physiologically active added components. Yakult Japan is not only the pioneer of the probiotic functional drinks but also still the world leader of the distinctive ‘one-shot size’ drink format. It has taken a while, but in recent years a wave of me-too products has been introduced by giants like Yoplait, Danone and Nestle.

...

Soy protein is also considered a ‘satiety-protein’. And as such, DSM’s new ‘Fabuless’-satiety ingredient could be an ideal fit to co-introduce in a personal weight management drink. Looking into the crystal ball, DSM also has near market introduction a milk beverage, yet without all the classical attributes such as taste or appearance of milk.

Further down the horizon soy based nutraceutical beverages appear which are based on nutrigenomics, and these technologies will set the stage for personalised nutrition beyond 2012. After all, there is increasing evidence of links between small DNA changes and the development of chronic disease, which ultimately will prove that there is a direct relation between genetic changes, lifestyle and food. Following this pathway, it even can be hypothesised that some food companies of today even might transform towards food diagnostics as their main creation of shareholder value.

The whole article is much longer than this, but I recomend going through as much of it as you can. While distinctly on the pro-soy side, it's the best summary of the current state of the international industry that I've seen.

Answers! Really, Answers to Your Questions!

Hi, everyone. Back from a break, and time to catch up on some of the questions that have come in.

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In the Lactose Free Yogurt and Cottage Cheese post, Joel asks:

Thanks for keeping us LI individuals up to date with your helpful information. I heard only last week that approximately 40% of Eastern European background americans, 60% of Afican-Americans and 100% of Asian-Americans are LI. With numbers like this, they are either false, or I would say that LI is a large enough market now for food compnaies to focus more on LI products. Do you agree with these numbers?

Those numbers are completely accurate, but misleading without some context to them.

What does it mean to say that 60% of African-Americans are LI? Simply that if you were to look at the DNA of every African-American, about 60% of them would retain the original gene that told the body to stop making the lactase enzyme after the age of weaning, and that about 40% have the mutated gene that never sends out this signal. This is one technical definition of lactose intolerance.

It's not the common one, though. Most people say that they have lactose intolerance if they get symptoms after eating or drinking dairy products. How is that different? Well, if you never have dairy products you won't get symptoms. If you have small amounts of dairy products, you likely won't have symptoms. If you stick to dairy products with low amounts of lactose, you won't get symptoms. If your colon is full of acidophilus or other "good" bacteria that digest lactose, you won't get symptoms.

That makes the actual market for reduced-lactose dairy products or non-dairy milk substitutes much smaller than the gross figures would indicate. Real dairy products also tend to taste better, or at least more familiar, to those who've grown up with them, another disincentive toward buying substitutes.

That doesn't mean that there aren't any such products. I list hundreds of them in my Product Clearinghouse. But they'll never be a big mainstream product category.

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Earlier I had put up a post First Gluten and Lactose Free Store Opens about Splitt in Calgary, Canada and Gluten Free Store Opens about a Detroit venture supposed to be the "first" such store. Whenever you read a newspaper article that says something is the "first" take it with a big grain of salt.

Paul told me about the The Old Shepody Mill Restaurant on the South Shore of New Brunswick. And somebody who logged in anonymously mentioned a gluten-free store in Winnipeg named Lorenzos. Good for Canada.

I post references to lots of articles I spot on the Web. Sometimes I can tell immediately that they're wrong. Sometimes I have to wait until my readers give me the facts. You know the saying "Everybody knows more than anybody." That's true here as well.

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People love their Vitamite. But Vitamite Might not be Around Any Longer. Except that it is, sorta.

Another anonymous comment said:

Vitamite is still available, but not in a convenient size. Diehl International will sell it in a 50 lb. package. It cost $180* and ships UPS. Diehl says it will make 60 gallons. It's the perfect size for your fallout shelter. My came a couple of days ago. Here's a link for the direct consumer order form.

www.vitamite100.com/Vitamite_100.htm

*Anonymous corrected this on June 17 to only $130.

That'll take care of a year of Vitamite hunger. And in the meantime you can build up your muscles by hoisting the package every day.

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Here's a good suggestion that wound up as a comment in Schools Should Provide Nondairy Drinks, not the most obvious place to look for it.

I substitute cream soups in casseroles, etc with a can of chicken rice or chicken noodle soup blended in a blender until smooth. I usually add a small amount of soy sour cream, to add a bit of creaminess, but that isn't absolutely necessary. I think the blended starch (the rice or noodles) substitutes for the thickener found in cream of mushroom or cream of chicken soup and the chicken broth adds a nice flavor. I do this with canned soup that hasn't been reconstituted.

Thanks, anonymous. Subbing for cream soups is always difficult. Anyone who tries this please let me know how it turns out for you.

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On that same page Paula asks:

I wonder had anyone connected lactose intolerance to autoimmune disease.

No, absolutely no connection that I can think of.

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OK, we're back up and running. Lots more entries to be posted over the next few days. If you have any other questions or comments, I promise I'll get back to you sooner.

Lactose Free Yogurt and Cottage Cheese

J. D. from Charlotte, N.C. writes:

Why aren’t lactose-free dairy products made into yogurt or cottage cheese? I haven’t found such products at the market, and they would be a good addition to the lactose-free selection.

Unfortunately, J. D. from Charlotte, N.C., had the misfortune to write Ed Blonz, Ph.D., On Nutrition instead of me. You can read Dr. Blonz's answer here.

Here's a better answer from me.

There do exist lactose-free yogurts and cottage cheeses. Lactaid makes a 100% lowfat cottage cheese. It also makes lactose free American cheese slices and ice cream.

Continental makes lactose free yogurt in three flavors.

You can find a listing of reduced lactose milk products in my Product Clearinghouse on the Reduced Lactose Milk Products page.

You can also find store brand versions of these products in some locations. I don't keep track of them because they are too localized, but just ask your store manager.

So why the ignorance about these products? Simple. They don't sell. People with lactose intolerance are just too small of a specialized market. They don't go out of their way to buy lactose free substitutes. Either they do without or they take a lactase pill and keep on eating their favorites.

If you want to support these products, great. Buy them. Request them if they're not available in your local stores. Use that Lactaid product request form I linked to earlier. But if you don't buy them, they will go away. Again. Many lactose free products have disappeared from shelves because sales were too low. If you want to keep them on store shelves, it's totally up to you.

Babies and Probiotics

Secondary lactose intolerance, sometimes called temporary lactose intolerance, is something that hits about 10-15% of all babies at some point in infancy. It occurs when their delicate intestines are damaged by an illness or medication so that the ability to manufacture the lactase enzyme is knocked out. As the name implies, this is usually a temporary loss. After a few weeks, the intestines heal and the lactase start to flow again.

Is there anything a parent can do to help? Probiotics are one suggestion.

Are probiotics for every child? is an article on the Health.com site. It discusses a study done in South Africa:

Diarrhoea is one of South Africa’s biggest causes of death among children under the age of five. Unable to replace fluids, babies become weak and dehydrated, and the results are tragic.

It is in terms of prevention and treatment (in conjunction with oral rehydration solution) of babies with diarrhoea that probiotics work their magic most startlingly.

In one study, children aged between six and 36 months, who were hospitalised with diarrhoea, were split into two groups. One group received a probiotic called Lactobacillus reuteri and the other a placebo. Both groups also took an oral rehydration solution, essential for anyone with diarrhoea.

By the second day, the recovery rate of the probiotic group was remarkable compared to the control group.

Even when a baby has recovered from acute diarrhoea, like rotavirus diarrhoea, there is sometimes invisible damage to the digestive tract. This can cause problems with the digestion of the milk protein lactose, even if the baby tolerated milk-based formula with no problem previously.

Ongoing treatment with probiotics can help to break down the milk sugar, improving the baby’s lactose tolerance. The colonies of good bacteria will re-establish and provide the natural digestive assistance needed.

What to look for in a probiotic?

Look for one that is a human strain, clearly identified with a registration number from an international culture bank such as the American Type Culture Collection (e.g. ATTC 55730). Human-strain probiotics originate from breast milk or from the intestine itself. They are then grown in fermenters to produce enough for large scale production.

Good probiotics will have passed safety tests and have good, proven shelf life. With the pharmacist’s help, you should choose a probiotic that can survive in the acidic environment of the stomach as it passes through on its way to the intestine. An effective probiotic will deliver 100 million cfu of good bacteria.

And here's a warning:

An independent study published in the South African Medical Journal a few years ago drew attention to the fact that not all probiotics are equal and that even if you read the label you can’t be sure you’re getting what you’re promised. Other similar international studies had shown that few products really contained what the label claimed.

And one giant grain of salt: the information is being provided by Thebe Pharmaceuticals. However, I don't see anything here that is incorrect or excessively biased. Probiotics are not a cure-all, but they may be useful in reducing symptoms.

FAAN Launches Teen Allergy Awareness Site

I told you a couple of days ago that this is Food Allergy Awareness Week.

Buried down in the bottom of the press release from FAAN (the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network) is a mention of www.fanteen.org. That turns out to be a new web site that was just launched on May 1.

Here comes another press release:

The Web site, “Food Allergies in the Real World,” is designed to provide all teens with practical strategies for handling food allergies in social situations such as prom, dating, and going off to college. A study of 32 cases of fatal food-allergic reactions showed that more than half of the victims were kids aged 10 to 19. Interviews with family and friends indicated that the child did not expect to have a reaction, and that their friends were often unaware of the food allergy or didn’t know how to help once a reaction began. A recent study of teen behavior indicates that teens feel educating their friends would make their lives easier, yet they don’t want to be the ones doing the educating. “Our goal with this Web site is to give teens — tomorrow’s leaders —a place to go for information about how to manage food allergies, while living life to the fullest,” said Anne Muñoz-Furlong, FAAN founder and CEO.

FAAN’s teen Web site offers “real world” strategies and provides a network of teens facing the same struggles and feelings in their everyday interactions with school administrators, classmates, neighbors, friends, and family. The “Personal Stories” section presents actual experiences of teens and college students with food allergies, and recollections from their friends. The “Advice” section offers practical answers to tough questions from young adults who’ve lived through the same situations. New interactive features such as polling questions, a “Talk Back” feature in which users can share their thoughts, and a food allergy calculator that, based on national statistics, shows how many students may have food allergies in a school and reminds teens that they are not alone in their everyday struggles with food allergy.

“Food Allergies in the Real World” was crafted with insight from members of FAAN’s Teen Advisory Group comprised of 20 nationwide adolescents and young adults who have food allergies. Food-allergic teens live with a burden of responsibility that most adolescents never face. Because there is no cure for food allergy, these teenagers can never let their guard down and must rely on strict avoidance of allergy-causing foods, ongoing vigilance detecting common ingredients in unexpected places, and consistency in never leaving home without their life-saving medication, epinephrine (EpiPen® or Twinject™). Until there is a cure for food allergy, education is the key to avoiding a reaction. FAAN’s teen Web site will help these young adults to be prepared, in all situations, and avoid tragic results.

While milk or dairy allergies are seldom anaphylactic, the possibility exists. If you're a parent, encourage your teen to check out the site. It's even interactive. Under a Watch Out banner is this paragraph:

Keep in mind that products labeled as "non-dairy" are not always milk-free. Such products often contain casein, a milk protein. Remember, there is no shortcut to label reading. Taking a few minutes to check ingredients is better than spending time treating an allergic reaction!

And then you can send in a tip.

Send in one here too!

Lactaid's Milk Moments Campaign

This is the week to be a proud member of the army of people who are lactose intolerant or dairy allergic, I guess.

Not only is this Food Allergy Awareness Week, but LACTAID is kicking off the LACTAID MILK MOMENTS campaign.

The LACTAID® MILK MOMENTS™ consumer campaign kicks-off nationally on May 15th with a coast-to-coast children’s art contest called “Searching for LACTAID® MILK MOMENTS™.” The contest asks kids ages 11 and under to illustrate their favorite LACTAID® MILK MOMENTS™, such as having a milk and cookies treat with mom or drinking a smoothie, for the chance to win prizes worth $10,000 in value.

Three first place winners will receive a:
•Full kitchen makeover for the family that includes tableware, small appliances, refrigerator and more

•Deluxe “art studio” that includes art supplies, a digital camera and a computer

•The opportunity to see their winning artwork on LACTAID® Milk carton panels starting in October

•Second and third place winners will also be selected to receive the deluxe art studio.

A new website has been launched and consumers can visit the bilingual website WWW.LACTAIDMILKMOMENTS.COM for contest rules and more information. The deadline for entries is June 30, 2006.

Spreading the News of the Importance of Art Education

In launching LACTAID® MILK MOMENTS™ and the children’s art contest, the LACTAID® Brand is partnering with PTO Today, Inc. (PTO), a leading organization that provides expertise and support for school parent group leaders across the country.

The brand is making a $50,000 donation to the organization in support of art education in schools. More than 30 schools in select cities will receive art supplies in the Fall to host a Family Arts & Craft Night, a PTO program that enriches students’ lives with a fun and educational evening of art making.

Lactaid itself can be found at its website, www.lactaid.com.

May 14-20, is Food Allergy Awareness Week

This week, May 14-20, is Food Allergy Awareness Week. Don't check your calendars. FAAN - The Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network – proclaimed it themselves.

"The 2006 Food Allergy Awareness Week campaign kicks off on Mother's Day, such an appropriate day to salute the millions of mothers of children with food allergy who do so much to educate others in order to keep their children safe," said Anne Munoz-Furlong, CEO and Founder of FAAN. "The new labeling law marks a new beginning as we continue to increase awareness about this growing public health concern within our communities and ask ourselves to help keep children safe."

This past fall, The Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Management Act of 2005 (HR 4063) was introduced requesting the federal government to create food allergy management guidelines for schools nationwide. FAAN's primary goal is for school staff across the country to have the tools they need to develop a plan for keeping food-allergic students safe.

According to Munoz-Furlong, "Scientists around the world are investigating food allergy to determine why some people become allergic, how to stop the reactions and how to cure the disease. We are hopeful that in the next ten years or so, there will be significant breakthroughs -- until then, education is key."

...

Founded in 1991, The Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN) is the world leader in food allergy information. FAAN, a nonprofit organization based in Fairfax, VA, is dedicated to increasing public awareness about food allergy and anaphylaxis, to providing education, and to advancing research on behalf of all those affected by food allergies. The organization has just under 30,000 members in the United States, Canada, and 62 other countries.

FAAN provides information about food allergy and educational resources to patients, their families, schools, health professionals, pharmaceutical companies, the food industry, and government officials. Educational materials published by FAAN are reviewed for medical accuracy by the FAAN Medical Advisory Board, which is comprised of 14 of the world's leaders in food allergy science and medicine. In addition to printed materials, FAAN also sponsors awareness programs such as Food Allergy Awareness Week, Food Allergy Conferences, and the Mariel C. Furlong Awards for Making a Difference as well as fundraising walks across the country. Educational materials and information about special programs are also available online at www.foodallergy.org, www.fankids.org, and www.faanteen.org.

Enough press release talk. FAAN is a good organization. Check out their websites.

Vegetarian Express

Laurie Snyman sent me an email touting her "pre-packaged vegan foods and spices that are quick and easy to make" site, www.thevegetarianexpress.com. [Spices that are quick and easy to make? The Internet will be the death of parallelism in English sentence construction. Sigh.]

To be honest, there aren't that many products there, and only one is of real interest to those of us who have lactose intolerance or milk allergies. That's their Parma Zaan Sprinkles cheese substitute.

There are a number of articles and recipes on the site, however, and those might be useful to those who are first looking to go vegetarian and cut dairy out of their diets.

It looks as if the site is still in the process of pulling itself together. Here's hoping that they do more with it.

First Gluten (and Lactose) Free Restaurant Opens

So many firsts. Hope some of them last.

Back in March I told you about the first gluten free store to open. Now comes news about the first gluten free restaurant in North America.

Splitt isn't exactly convenient, unless you live in southwest Calgary, Alberta, Canada. And it took a lot of work just to get it open.

It has taken six months and consultation with the Canadian Celiac Association for Splitt to craft a menu that they say won't make celiacs sick.

"It's been quite challenging actually," says chef Steaphen Cleary. "There aren't a lot of products out there."

Splitt, so named because it's a restaurant during the day and a nightclub in the evening, offers everything from egg breakfasts to steak dinners. Its menu notes that all items are gluten and lactose free, with the exception of beverages, although it also offers gluten-free alcohol -- such as certain liquors and wines. Bread products are also available without gluten.

Pasta and wheat bread, for example, are no-nos for celiac sufferers. So Splitt created a Mexican lasagna that uses soft corn tortillas in place of pasta layers and offers a rice bun with its jalapeno stuffed burger.

Will it last? Who knows? The percentage of people thought to be gluten intolerant is growing but is still considered to be no more than 1% of the population, hardly enough to sustain a restaurant. Those of us with lactose intolerance are a larger percentage, though, and since most people with gluten intolerance are also LI we may be enough to make the difference.

More speciality stores; more specialty restaurants. Good signs for the future.

Digestive Advantage

I received an email from Gerti Sonderquist of Digestive Advantage with updated information about their product. I've made the changes to all the page on my web site, so it's a good time to mention them here as well.

Digestive Advantage is one of a couple of products with a different approach to combating the symptoms of lactose intolerance (LI). They all take advantage, pun intended, of the fact that LI symptoms have two causes. First, undigested lactose will pull water out into the intestines and create diarrhea. Second, undigested lactose may be fermented by bacteria that naturally live in the colon, creating gas and bloating.

Different people may get symptoms from one or both of these causes, depending on any number of factors. Lactase taken with food should help most everybody, but it's a good idea to also change the bacteria to the type of bacteria that digests lactose rather than ferments it.

Digestive Advantage does have lactase in it, but since you take it only once a day, I don't consider that a help. Lactase needs to be taken with food that contains dairy. (See When to Take Your Lactase.)

More important, from my perspective, it contains a "patented, proprietary Lactobacillus culture." Once this culture colonizes – takes over – your colon, your symptoms should improve.

I've received a large number of emails from readers who tell me that Digestive Advantage really works as advertised.

"I tried Digestive Advantage yesterday, and it worked great. I waited until Saturday so I could be at home for this experiment (I'm sure you understand why). I took two caplets in the morning, then had cheese, milk chocolate, and pizza with extra cheese throughout the day. I kept waiting to get violently ill, but I was fine all day yesterday and today. By the way, I am SEVERELY lactose intolerant---even a little bit of whey in a cookie and I am sick for hours. Hope this helps."

"I have been using Digestive Advantage for a little over a year and I love it. I take one pill a day and can now eat many things that I could not before. I still avoid high lactose foods, but can now eat things like pizza without discomfort."

"I've been taking this product for about a month and a half. It works great! I'm in sales and marking and have to take clients to lunch and dinner quite often. I was always fearful of eating out, especially with clients as diarrhea would start just about immediately after eating. I travel extensively as well and being on an airplane was nerve racking! This product is the only thing I have found that gives me confidence and relief of my symptoms. I can live my life again!"

I cannot guarantee that Digestive Advantage will work this well – or at all – for everybody. If you would like to try it, Gerti reminded me that:

we give out free 8 day samples for anyone who is interested by calling toll free 800.456.0276 or going to our website – www.ganedenbiotech.com

Other contact info:
Ganeden Biotech, Inc.
5915 Landerbrook Drive, Suite 304
Mayfield Heights, OH 44124

440-229-5200 Main Phone
440-229-5240 Fax

email: info@ganedenbiotech.com

Ganendan also makes a line of other digestive lactobacillus products. And it's now appearing in supermarkets in the digestive aids or laxatives section of supermarkets. A full page of coupons appeared in my local paper recently. You can also find them on Internet shopping sites if they're not in your local stores.

Let me know how they work for you.

When to Take Your Lactase

Back to lactose intolerance basics. Here's a question that I got an email about.

When should I take my lactase pills?

The best time to take your lactase is just before you start eating. The lactase is designed to go quickly through the stomach and enter the small intestine. That's where it works. If you take the pill before eating any of the dairy, the lactase will be sitting there waiting for it.

Should I take another pill if I have more dairy during the meal?

Food moves the intestines slowly. In fact, your system requires hours to break down and digest all the nutrients in food. If you take enough lactase at the beginning of a meal it will all still be there for any food eaten during the course of a meal.

If you're surprised by dairy you didn't expect, say by a big dairy-laden dessert, then go ahead and take more lactase. But otherwise it's not necessary.

What if I forget and don't take the lactase until the end of the meal or even later?

You want the lactase to be there first. If the lactase chases the lactose it may not catch up with the first part of the meal and some lactose can slip through undigested.

Even so, better to miss some lactose than to miss all of it. If you have lactase, take it. It should still do some good by reducing symptoms even if it doesn't eliminate them completely.