26 Most Effective Home Remedies For Lactose Intolerance

Updated: 09/11/2019

Lactose intolerance is the status when people are in difficulty digesting lactose. Many people in Native America, Asia, and Africa may not absorb sugar in milk and dairy products. This disease affects the digestive system of patients and makes them feel fatigued. Maybe after reading 2 sentences above, you will feel it’s not related to home remedies for lactose intolerance pain and attack. But you should know some basic information about lactose intolerance before finding 26 effective home remedies for lactose intolerance pain and attack. It helps you deal with it the right way. Check out on TrueRemedies.com!

• 14 Simple But Effective Home Remedies For IBS Pain
• 26 Home Remedies For Gas Pain And Bloating In Children & Adults

What Are The Symptoms Of Lactose Intolerance?

If you see these symptoms below between 30 minutes and 2 hours after eating or drinking dairy products, it means that you have lactose intolerance:

• Diarrhea persistently
• Stomach swollen and pain
• Fatigue
• Vomit something up
• Gurgling or rumbling in the belly
• Gas
• May not go to stool
• Cramp in the lower belly
• Nausea

What Are Common Causes Of Lactose Intolerance?

Lactose is a disaccharide composed of glucose and galactose. Most people have lactose intolerance lactase enzyme. It helps separate glucose and galactose inside the stomach in order to absorb these sugar for energy. Some people have a lack of lactase enzyme and thus, they have lactose intolerance.

• Heredity(Congenital or development lactose intolerance):

Lactose intolerance sometimes is heredity. People born by lactose intolerance patients have a higher ability to be infected lactose intolerance than the other normal people. In this case, a newly born baby will get diarrhea after consuming mother’s milk or types of milk containing lactose. In this circumstance, the only way to treat this disease is to let children use lactose-free milk  (ex: substitute with grain or nut milks, take raw milk which has very little lactose or work on healing gut in the case of developmental secondary or developmental. Take enzymes containing lactase, or take food or supplements with lactase and probiotics). If not, your children’s health will be affected badly.

• Primary lactose intolerance:

This type of lactose intolerance is the most popular type. When you were newly born, you have enough lactase in order to digest nutrition in mother’s milk. When you grow up, you may eat more and more kinds of food. It means that you don’t depend too much on milk or dairy products anymore. Thus, the amount of lactase enzyme in your body will decrease. It triggers lactose intolerance^[1].

• Secondary lactose intolerance:

This is the type of lactose intolerance caused by illness or injury. The amount of lactase may decrease if you have experienced either an intestine surgery or an intestine injury. Besides, some diseases may lead to lactose intolerance such as gluten intolerance or inflammatory bowel disease. This type of lactose intolerance will terminate when you recover from these diseases or injury above.

• Developmental lactose intolerance:

This type of lactose intolerance happens if a child is a premature baby. In this circumstance, the lactase enzyme appears in a child’s body later than the other normal children.

Top 26 Effective Home Remedies For Lactose Intolerance

The recipes we've focused on are traditional home remedies, so always consult your doctor and check out your health condition regularly.

I. Substituting Dairy Products/Lactose Foods

1. Kefir

Similar to yogurt, kefir may boost digest lactose thanks to its good bacteria for digesting function. The function of kefir in treating lactose intolerance pain and attack will be utilized if patients drink lactase capsules before drinking kefir milk^[2] [3]. You should consult your doctor before using lactase enzyme. Drinking half a cup of kefir milk per day will help lactose intolerance patients experience almost function of kefir.

Caution:

Pregnant women, breastfeeding women, and children may not use this method because lactase capsule is contraindicated.

2. Eat Dairy Products With Other Kinds Of Food

Eating dairy products alone and when your stomach is empty makes your status become more serious. Eating dairy products with other foods may encourage digest lactose in dairy products because of some other nutrition in other food may boost digest lactose well.

3. Whole Grain

Whole grain is considered as one of the most effective home remedies for lactose intolerance pain because it may control gastrointestinal. All you need to do by this method is to consume cereals or leafy vegetables to get benefits from whole grain.

4. Soy Milk

Soy milk may be a substitute for cow milk for lactose intolerance patients thanks to its calcium richness. A serving of soy milk contains about 500 mg of calcium. There are 2 ways to get soy milk for lactose intolerance pain and attack. The first way is buying them in supermarkets around your country. The second way is doing it at home. These steps below will help you have DIY soy milk:

• Soak ½ cups of white soybeans in 2-3 cups of water overnight
• Remove water and rinse off soybeans
• Try your best to separate skins from soybeans
• Give soaked soybeans and 4 cups of water to a blender
• Blend until they are smooth
• Use either a nut milk bag or butter muslin to strain the ground mixture

5. Almond Milk

Almond milk is also a perfect alternative for cow’s milk. This kind of milk may replace cow’s milk not only in just drinking but also in many cooking recipes. Almond milk contains many minerals and vitamins. Among these nutrients, vitamin D may boost calcium absorb. Almond milk may be either found in many supermarkets in the whole country or made by you at home. If you choose to do almond milk at home, these steps below should be executed:

• Soak almonds from 1-2 days in a mixture of fresh water and ½ teaspoon of salt
• Rinse soaked almond well
• Add almond and pure water to a blender
• Blend until mixture is smooth and creamy
• Strain the mixture through a kitchen towel
• Reserve in refrigerator up to 1 week

6. Coconut Milk

Coconut has the same texture to milk from a mammal. Besides, coconut milk contains less sugar than dairy milk, which is good for health. Thanks to these above features, coconut milk is worth being considered as one of the natural home remedies for lactose intolerance. Patients may buy coconut milk in supermarkets. If you don’t want to buy coconut milk in the supermarkets, do these steps below:

Method 1: Coconut milk from shredded coconut

These steps below are for 1 cup of coconut milk

• Boil a cup of water fully on high heat
• Add ½ cups shredded coconut to either a blender or a high powered food processor
• Add boiled water to the blender
• Blend shredded coconut with boiled water
• Strain the coconut through any strainer you have

Method 2: Coconut milk from dried coconut

• Put desiccated coconut to a saucepan, then add the same amount of water to the saucepan
• Simmer the mixture on low fire in 2-4 minutes. Make sure that you don’t let them boiled
• Strain the liquid through a butter muslin
• Bundle up the butter muslin and squeeze to extract much coconut milk as much as possible

Method 3: Coconut milk from freshly grated coconut

• Grate coconut
• Put grated coconut  to a blender
• Add 1 ¼ cups of water to the blender
• Blend water and grated coconut well
• Strain the liquid through a bag milk cloth
• Drink immediately or keep it in refrigerator

II. Getting Your Calcium

7. Increase The Amount Of Vitamin K2 In Body

Vitamin K 2 is also necessary for boosting calcium absorb^[4]. Thus, it may be considered as an effective home remedy for lactose intolerance pain and attack. By this method, all you need to do is consuming food that is rich in vitamin K2 such as meats, cultured butter and cheese, eggs, etc.^[4’]

8. Calcium Supplementary

When you have lactose intolerance, you may not drink milk or eat any dairy products. That’s why you will be lack of calcium. To boost the amount of calcium when having lactose intolerance, you may eat these kinds of food below: sardines, tofu, dried apricots, nuts, and cereals, green vegetables, kale and so on.

9. Rice Milk

It is also another home remedy for lactose intolerance. Rice milk is rich in calcium, vitamin D and less cholesterol, which is good for heart health. You may either buy rice milk in supermarkets or made it at home with the following steps:

• Blend a cup of cooked rice and 4 cups of water until smooth
• Strain the mixture through a nut milk bag
• Reserve in fridge up to 3-4 days

10. Chocolate Milk

The amount of calcium in chocolate milk is similar to the amount of regular milk. You may either buy chocolate milk in supermarkets or made it at home by these following steps:

• Add 2 tablespoons of white sugar and 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder to a saucepan
• Add milk to the saucepan. Make sure that the amount of milk you pour may combine with sugar and cocoa powder to make a thick and lumpy paste
• Heat the mixture on low fire, stir well
• When all lumps disappear, pour the mixture to a glass
• Add the remaining part of milk and stir well

III. Decreasing Digestive Distress

11. Eat Many Meals Per Day

When your body may not absorb lactose in a short time, you should divide the amount of lactose into many smaller portions and use many times per day.

IV. Healing Gut

12. Green Tea

When it comes to home remedies for lactose intolerance, green tea gets a lot of positive feedback. Antioxidants^[5] and boosting digestion system properties of green tea helps green tea has become one of the effective home remedies for lactose intolerance pain. All patients have to do by this method is shown below:

• Brew green tea
• Add a little bit of honey to it
• Sip warm and drink green tea a few times per day to get its benefits in treating lactose intolerance

13. Ginger

Stomachache and other pain from lactose intolerance may be eased quickly by using ginger. The ginger root may relieve the pain in the intestine. Furthermore, research has shown that ginger root is effective in getting rid of nausea^[6]. To make ginger become an effective home remedy for lactose intolerance pain, patients should do these steps below:

• Peel the ginger and drying them
• Grind the dried ginger
• Mix ground ginger with water
• Boil this mixture in some time and drink 3 cups of ginger tea per day to experience its efficiency
• You may add honey or lemon juice if you want to increase flavor.

14. Chamomile

The next one in this list of home remedies for lactose intolerance is chamomile. Digestive problems and pain due to lactose intolerance may be relieved quickly by using chamomile^[7]. These steps below will make chamomile become an effective home remedy for lactose intolerance pain and attack:

• Prepare 1 tablespoon of dried chamomile flowers and 8 oz of water
• Heat the water until it is boiled
• Brew chamomile tea and drink it

Read more: Top 38 Natural Home Remedies For Colon Cleansing Detox

15. Coconut Oil

Coconut oil is a dairy-free product that makes for a perfect diet free from lactose. Moreover, regular consumption of coconut oil helps to soothe your stomach^[8].

Coconut oil may reduce lactose intolerance symptoms when you take 1-2 teaspoons of virgin coconut oil every day. Alternatively, you may replace milk by coconut oil in some cooking recipes.

16. Peppermint Tea

Peppermint tea may soothe intestinal irritation and digestive problems triggered by lactose intolerance. According to animal studies, peppermint helps to relax the digestive system and reduce pain. Also, it aids in preventing the contraction of smooth muscles, which relieves spasms in the gut. Another study found that peppermint oil helps to treat irritable bowel syndrome due to bacterial overgrowth in the small intestine, lactose intolerance, and celiac disease that have symptoms similar to IBS^[9]. Peppermint  tea just eliminates lactose intolerance pain and attack completely if these steps below are executed:

• Wash peppermint leaves carefully and let it dry
• Boil peppermint for 15 minutes in plain water
• Pour the liquid through the sieve
• Add a little bit of honey and drink it

17. Turmeric

Turmeric may be considered as a wonderful home remedy for lactose intolerance pain and attack. The reason is it may encourage the digestive system  thanks to its biological properties including anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anti-proliferative and anti-microbial activities^[10]. All lactose intolerance symptoms will be eliminated by turmeric when patients drink the mixture of turmeric with milk and honey.

Don’t skip: 37 Tips On How To Treat Bacterial Infection Without Antibiotics

18. Lemon Juice

The acid in lemon juice turns alkaline when metabolized. This action helps to neutralize stomach acids, which alleviates gas, nausea and bloating^[11]. Stomach ache caused by lactose intolerance may be treated by using lemon. But, lemon is just utilized to get rid of pain inside the stomach due to lactose intolerance if you do these steps below:

• Squeeze to extract lemon juice
• Combine lemon juice with lukewarm water
• Add a little bit of honey if you want to increase taste
• Drink lemon juice before each meal

19. Apple Cider Vinegar

Apple cider vinegar has an ability to neutralize acid in the stomach and support digestion. By using apple cider vinegar as a home remedy for lactose intolerance, all you need to do to eliminate all symptoms of lactose intolerance is shown below^[11]:

Drink the mixture of 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar with a glass of fresh water twice a day. You should do this method for several weeks to get its efficiency.

Cautions:

• If you are in diabetes, don’t use this method because cumin seed reacts with diabetes medicines.
• If you are in blood clotting disorder, don’t use this method. If not, blood clotting disorder will be more serious.

20. Cumin Seeds

Cumin seeds may eliminate all digest problems caused by lactose intolerance thanks to its thymine compound. Patients may make cumin seeds an effective home remedy for lactose intolerance pain and attack by the following steps:

• Combine 2 tablespoons of cumin seeds with 4 cups of water
• Boil the mixture for some time
• Let them cool
• Drink this combination twice per day to get its efficiency.

21. Saffron            

This herb may ease bloating and gas caused by lactose intolerance. Saffron will be an effective home remedy for lactose intolerance pain and attack with these steps below:

Method 1: Saffron with milk

By this method, all you need to do are mixing a few pieces of saffron with milk and drinking this mixture every day to eliminate this problem definitely.

Method 2: Saffron tea

• Mix 1 teaspoon of saffron with half of a cup of water
• Heat this mixture for 20 minutes until boil
• Divide the boiled mixture into 3 equal parts
• Drink each part 3 times a day and experience its efficiency

22. Gentian

Gentian is considered as one of the effective home remedies for lactose intolerance thanks to its ability to treat diarrhea, intestinal gas and vomiting, the fullness of the stomach. These doses below are appropriate:

Dose 1: Decoction

• Simmer 1 oz of dried root, 1 oz lemon peel and 0.2 oz of dried orange peel in ¾ pint of boiling water for 1-2 hours
• Drink this mixture before meals to treat stomach ache and fullness of stomach

Dose 2: Tincture

• Macerate 1 oz of dried root, 0.4 oz of dried orange peel and 0.2 oz of cardamom seed in 1 oz of 100 proof vodka or wine or any kinds of spirits
• After a fortnight, take the liquid by squeezing out
• Drink 1/2-1 teaspoons 30 minutes before meals

23. Pau D’Arco

This herb from Brazil may reduce the symptoms of lactose intolerance by encouraging the digestive system. According to most of the clinical research, the appropriate dose of Pau d’arco for lactose intolerance stomach ache is approximately 500 mg per day, divided into many doses each day. Besides, you may make an herbal tea from Pau d’arco is drinking the mixture one teaspoon of Pau d’arco loose and bark powder with hot water 2-4 times per day.

Cautions:

• An overdose of Pau d’arco will result from nausea and vomiting, diarrhea and dizziness.
• Don’t use this method if you are in pregnancy. Otherwise, your children in the womb will be defected or even died.

24. Rice Tea

Rice tea has the function of reducing stomach ache due to lactose intolerance. These following steps may help you make rice tea to treat lactose intolerance:

• Make a combination of ½ cup of rice and hot water
• Boil this mixture for 15 minutes
• Wait until the rice is tender
• Stir the rice and then remove it
• Add a little bit of honey and drink this solution

The best dose of rice tea for lactose intolerance is twice a day.

25. Fennel Seed

Fennel seed may be applied to treat all nuisances coming from lactose intolerance pain and attack. There are 2 methods you may use to cure lactose intolerance:

Method 1: Chewing of fennel seeds after meals

Method 2: Fennel seed tea

• Mix a teaspoon of fennel seeds with a cup of hot water
• Let it steep for 10 minutes
• Drink this tea 3 times a day

26. Check Products’ Labels

Lactose intolerance patients should read the labels of products carefully. When reading the products’ labels, you should notice about expiry date, nutritional content, and calories, ingredients that cause food intolerance or allergy. About nutritional contents, you should read carefully about lactose and lactose monohydrate. Sometimes, all ingredients are not printed on labels of products. Thus, you should know the proportion of lactose in some dairy products. According to some research, mammal milk contains the largest amount of lactose (from 6.3-7.0). Yogurt, quark cheese and buttermilk ranks second with the amount of lactose is in the between of 1-7.1. Besides, mozzarella cheese and milk containing coffee, chocolate, and cream also contain much lactose. In contrast, vegetable oil, hard cheese, marine, and hard cheeses are lactose-free products. So, if you are in lactose intolerance, you should prioritize consume margarine, parmesan cheese, hard cheese, lard, vegetable oil.

Notice:

According to the research of many scientists, lactose intolerance patients may absorb 12 grams of lactose per day. Thus, you should make sure that you use lactase enzyme according to instruction inside the medicine’s box or according to instructions of a doctor.

In short, the home remedies for lactose intolerance mentioned above are claimed to be able to sooth all nuisances triggered by lactose intolerance pain and attack. You may choose some of them to treat lactose intolerance pain and attack completely. If you want to give any feedback to “Top 26 effective home remedies for lactose intolerance pain and attack” introduced in Home Remedy Category, please feel free to write it in the box below this post. We will try my best to reply to all of them as soon as possible.

• Digestive Health