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Q&A with Australian Health Practitioners
Do I need a calcium supplement?
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I have recently been diagnosed with lactose intolerance and am now avoiding all dairy. Do I need a calcium supplement? -
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Peta Adams
Dietitian
I am an Accredited Practising Dietitian locally born and working within the Riverina.I have a passion for helping people to achieve their nutrition goals, coaching … View Profile
Being diagnosed with Lactose Intolerance does not necessarily mean you need to avoid all dairy. There are degrees of intolerance depending on levels of lactase enzymes ( the enzymes needed to break the milk sugars down, so they can be absorbed across the intestines). People have varying levels of these enzymes and are therefore able to tolerate varying levels of lactose. For example some people can tolerate 100ml milk or yogurt at a time but cannot tolerate dishes such as lasagne or creamy pastas, whereas others cannot even tolerate a dash of milk in tea or coffee.
Depending on your level of lactose intolerance you may be able to inlcude some forms of dairy in your diet such as yogurt, hard cheese or some normal milk. If not there are plenty of lactose free alternatives of calcium; eg. lactose free milk, yogurt, ice-cream and cheese or soy, almond, rice and oat milk. Other sources inlcude foods such as sardines, tinned salmon (bones), almonds, spinach and tofu, however these foods would need to be eaten in large doses to meet similiar amounts found in dairy foods.
If you feel you may not be able to include the equivalent of ~3 serves of calcium containing foods a day; eg. glass of milk, tub yogurt, 40g cheese then a calcium supplement may assist with you meeting your requirements.
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Denise Burbidge
Dietitian, Nutritionist
Denise is an Accredited Practising Dietitian working in private practice in Melbourne, and consulting to aged care facilities throughout Victoria. Denise has a particular interest … View Profile
Generally, the answer is no!
For those who are lactose intolerant we encourage that you eat 3 servings of calcium containing foods on a daily basis. If you are not including dairy products, these could be foods such as:fortified soy milk or soy yogurts, including things like canned salmon, and canned sardines (in particular eating the edible bones, because that is where the calcium source is) including fortified cereals and nuts such as almonds and Brazil nuts.
It is also worth noting that most people with lactose intolerance do not need to avoid all sources of dairy. Hard yellow cheeses tend to be lactose-free or considered lactose-free due to only having very low levels of lactose. Most yogurts are low in lactose, and we now have a great range of lactose-free cow's milk from the market.
If you are able to include 3 servings of the dairy food, then you do not need a calcium supplement. If you have excluded all dairy and are not including any of those calcium-fortified foods, then we do recommend seeing a health professional about determining which calcium supplement might be suitable for you.
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