I haven’t been here or posted in awhile but I believe my fiancé, Alex, had been. She going through a bit if a rough time right now and doesn’t have much of an appetite and to make matters worse a medication she has just started is really bothering her stomach. One thing she does want to eat is yogurt. She’s been dairy free since her diagnosis about 7 months ago. We’ve been thinking that maybe she should just try the yogurt since she’s been craving it and her villi have had over 6 months to heal.

I guess I’m wondering if yogurt is a good dairy product to start out with, as far as lactose content goes. And would it help to take some of those lactose pills along with it just to be sure. Am I correct to assume that if she’s not ready for dairy, it will just make her ill but there won’t be any intestinal damage?

Thanks,
Ryan

Yep, it shouldn't do any damage if it's a lactose problem.
Yoghurt tends to have quite low levels of lactose (as does cheddar cheese) so it's a good starting point

Thanks so much for that info. That's what I was hoping to hear. I think we'll just have to give yogurt a try and hope for the best.

You can also give goat yogurt a try... its really tangy.

The older the cheese, the less lactose it has (the bacteria eat the lactose as the cheese ages), so Parmesan would also be a good starter cheese.

Also since Alex has diabetes, you might get plain yogurt and add applesauce or frozen cherries or blueberries, let em thaw overnight and they get a bunch of juice in there..... Better than the sugar-added stuff at the store.

When she was diagnosed, did she also find out whether she is casein-intolerant (like through Enterolab's testing?) This is what I have, & they told me to eliminate casein & gluten for the rest of
my life, as the casein can cause intestinal damage just like the gluten. So, just wanting to make sure this wasn't an issue for your fiancee before she eats the yogurt!!
Good luck with everything!

Actually, after 6 months of cutting out dairy, many nutritionists suggest trying to slowly add some back in and see how it goes. Cheese is easiest, hard cheeses like parmesan, romano, cheddar, etc., then soft cheeses like mozzarella, etc. Then I believe comes yogurt on the next step. I was told to do plain yogurt first...then try the fruited yogurt. Then there's milk down the line...and my nutritionist wrote something about trying 1% milkfat or above first (I'm a skim girl...ick). Anyway, no damage will happen, just discomfort. It's time to try a reintroduction to dairy! Good luck!