Did you know that 30 million Americans are lactose intolerant. As an owner, operator or employee of a frozen yogurt store it is important for you to understand what that means and how you can provide products for people with lactose intolerance.
What is Lactose?
Lactose is a milk sugar found in many dairy products.
What is Lactose Intolerance?
A deficiency in the body of a natural enzyme called lactase, which can cause symptoms of gas, bloating and diarrhea when foods with lactose are eaten. Lactase is needed to fully digest lactose, a sugar found mainly in dairy products. Lactose intolerance can cause severe discomfort, but is not life threatening.
How is Lactose Intolerance different from Milk Allergies?
A milk allergy is when the immune system overacts to a protein in milk and attacks dairy like it is a harmful invader. It is most common in infants and young children. Symptoms can range from hives to anaphylactic shock. A severe allergic reaction can be life threatening and is very different from lactose intolerance.
Is lactose intolerance very common?
Yes. About 65% of people worldwide have some degree of lactose intolerance. Here is a breakdown for a few geographic regions/ethnicities:
- Asia: 80%
- Africa: 70-90%
- Southern India: 70%
- Northern India: 30%
- France: 17-65%
- Germany: 15%
- England: 5-15%
How do you treat lactose intolerance?
Many people can handle a small amount of dairy and be fine – like 8-12 ounces of milk. For those that experience the symptoms listed above, the immediate solution is to reduce the amount of lactose in the diet. There is not currently a cure. But there are commercially available enzyme substitutes. There are also many products available that don’t contain dairy or lactose, like Nanci’s new non-dairy soft serve mixes.
Nanci’s Non-Dairy Soft Serve
Nanci’s offers a line of non-dairy soft serve mixes that include:
- Fruit Freezer Sorbet – a neutral base that can use most of Nanci’s flavor concentrates. The sorbet mix is colder and icier than regular soft serve.
- Non-Dairy Vanilla Soft Serve – a creamy, vanilla/neutral base. Most of Nanci’s flavors can be added to this base.
- Non-Dairy Vegan Chocolate Soft Serve – can be served without flavoring for a rich chocolate or can be used with many of the Nanci’s flavorings. This base contains no animal products and so it is a vegan mix.
Nanci’s non-dairy mixes contain PowerPro Active Cultures that provide all the health benefits of regular yogurt but without the dairy.
Sources:
http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/lactoseintolerance/; http://milk.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=000661; http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/tech/science/2009-08-30-lactose-intolerance_N.htm; http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/lactose-intolerance/DS00530; http://inhealth.cnn.com/digestive-health-center/10-things-to-know-about-lactose-intolerance/
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