February 5, 2025 • 34 mins
This episode shares valuable strategies for navigating lactose intolerance while maintaining enjoyment in meals. Lauren O'Connor, a registered dietitian, discusses practical solutions, including delicious dairy alternatives and tips for improving gut health without eliminating entire food groups.
• Exploring the journey of becoming a dietitian
• Discussing the impact of lactose intolerance on daily life
• Highlighting the tolerance levels for lactose consumption
• Sharing insights on plant-based dairy alternatives
• Emphasizing the importance of nutrient fortification in swaps
• Encouraging an inclusive approach to food choices
• Offering actionable tips for improving gut health
• Providing resources for further exploration and support
Here is Lauren's Website
Thank you for listening. Please subscribe to this podcast and share with a friend. If you would like to know more about my services, please message at fueledbyleo@gmail.com
My YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0SqBP44jMNYSzlcJjOKJdg
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey, hey, everybody, welcome to another episode of
the Simple Nutrition InsightsPodcast.
I am your host, leonila Campos,registered Dietitian, and today
we have an exciting guestjoining us, lauren O'Connor, who
is a private practice dietitian, a five-time cookbook author
and a freelance writer with apassion for gut health, fitness
(00:21):
and culinary nutrition.
She's also a yoga teacher andan active member of her
community, sharing her expertisethrough her website
NutriSavvyHealthcom andcontributing to numerous health
and wellness publications.
February's National LactoseIntolerance Month serves as the
perfect time to embrace smarter,tastier choices, so we are
(00:45):
thrilled to have Lauren here toshare her expertise.
Lauren, welcome.
So much to the show.
Speaker 2 (00:51):
Thank you so much, Leo.
It's a pleasure to be here.
Speaker 1 (00:53):
Yeah, amazing.
So, lauren, your background isso inspiring.
Can you tell us a little bitmore about your journey and what
led you to become a dietitian?
Speaker 2 (01:03):
Well, let's see, I had been in my undergrad, I was
exploring myself, trying tofigure out what to do, searching
, and just couldn't really findanything that I liked to do, but
ended up in a dead-end jobproduction art.
That wasn't really goinganywhere.
But what I realized was,throughout the five years that I
had been working since I hadgraduated, I just got more and
(01:26):
more into nutrition.
How can I make myself healthier, how can I be the best or as
fit as I can be?
And so exploring various typesof diets, some of which were a
little more extreme than others,and I realized I think this is
just a time for me to pursuesomething that has become more
than just a hobby.
(01:46):
You know, I am actually goingto retreats, I am signing up for
, you know, courses and might aswell get it professional,
credentialed, go into somethingthat has such interest.
But that's not the end of thestory.
I ended up becoming a registereddietitian.
I worked for a year in clinical, got pregnant, had two young
(02:06):
girls.
Me and my husband were thrilledto have twins, and so at that
time I started focusing onfamily nutrition, doing a little
blogging here, doing recipedevelopment for certain
companies, you know, creatingmenu planning because I was
really a busy stay-at-home mom.
That evolved into my privatepractice in 2012, focusing on
(02:31):
family nutrition, but it wasn'tuntil a health scare of my own
in 2017 that I changed my focusto gut health and GERD.
Speaker 1 (02:41):
Sometimes life takes us into different paths and we
end up in a path that we didn'tthink about, right.
Speaker 2 (02:50):
Exactly.
Speaker 1 (02:52):
For the benefit, hopefully, yeah.
So you have so many hats right?
You're a dietitian, an author,a writer, a yoga teacher.
How do you balance all thosethings?
Speaker 2 (03:11):
It's a balance.
I don't know that I balancethem all super well, but I do.
I do have structure to my days.
You know I teach yoga threetimes a week.
The writing assignments theycome, I accept them.
I fit them into the schedule asthey fit because, as you know,
with writing there's deadlines.
You might have three days or aweek to do something, so if I
need to write at night, I'llwrite at night.
So that's what I love.
The writing is so very flexible.
(03:31):
My yoga schedule is set.
And seeing clients you know Isee clients as I schedule them,
so it's my own business.
I get to decide how many andwho I'm going to see, and so I
know, like you, like a dietitian, you're very busy.
You do a podcast.
You see your clients, you know.
So it's all just about seizingopportunity, moving through with
(03:55):
what you normally do, which hasbecome a part of your lifestyle
, your business and yourlifestyle, and, you know,
managing.
My kids are now 16.
They're in high school.
They're pretty independent now,so things are a little
different than they were whenthey were very young.
Speaker 1 (04:12):
Right.
Yeah, it's a different kind ofway to organize things, right.
Speaker 2 (04:17):
And like you said, you're able to schedule things
based on your availability, sothat's awesome, exactly, and
that's what I love about havingmy own business I do not have to
adhere to somebody else'sschedule.
I have deadlines, I haveprojects, you know, and things
you have to manage, but I, youknow, it is nice to be able to
work from home, do more or lesstelehealth, you know, do my
(04:39):
writing, teach my yoga at thestudio so it's super fun writing
.
Speaker 1 (04:43):
Teach my yoga at the studio, so it's super fun,
Awesome.
So in the intro right Imentioned that you have written
five cookbooks.
What sparked your love forculinary nutrition?
Speaker 2 (04:59):
Just always enjoyed cooking.
I didn't get an opportunity tocook much as a child.
My mom was more or less a TVdinner mom.
She didn't cook.
But when I graduated college, afriend of mine and myself
decided we are going to learnhow to cook and we're going to
go to farmer's market everyweekend.
We're going to get a differentcookbook and a recipe, whether
it's a Martha Stewart or whoeverand we're going to do like all
(05:20):
these meals, we're going to do adinner, we're going to have the
entree, the salad, we're goingto create a dessert.
We would stay up for hourspreparing, following these
things and using this fresh foodand probably working far too
hard than we needed to, but Ithink it was something that gave
me a good skill set.
I learned a lot on the way alot of trial and error, a lot of
(05:42):
following recipes and then,just you know, when blogging
came up, I mean that opportunityto create new recipes, often to
keep your blog up, right.
So I think that's part of ittoo.
The culture.
A lot of people were bloggingrecipes and it just certainly
fits within the scope of whenyou are seeing patients or
(06:05):
trying to educate people on howto eat healthier.
It's one thing to say, oh, youshould include this many
vegetables and this many fruits.
It's another thing to sayhere's how you can create a
well-rounded dish and how youcan get enough fruit or
vegetables throughout your day.
Here's some great snack options.
Here's a great dinner.
(06:25):
So I think people find that alittle more engaging than just
giving them a list of here'swhat you should eat and how much
you should eat.
It's just, it's part of, Ithink, human, our culture, a
love of food, a desire to eattogether, a desire to eat things
that are good for it.
Well, hopefully, eat thingsthat are good for you, that are
going to taste good.
Speaker 1 (06:46):
Right, and I think you know just your background
right, growing up maybe notknowing how to cook but still
having that desire to.
You know I want to learn how tocook and I want to develop
these skills that I can use forthe rest of my life and I think
that is awesome.
And I'm sure you know, withyour books, right will you say
(07:06):
that they are like user friendlyand like they're easy to follow
and like the recipes are simple.
Speaker 2 (07:12):
Yeah, I mean for the most part.
Yeah, I mean that that's whatit, you know, kind of has to be.
I have, in the past, picked upcookbooks that were very
complicated but the end resultlooks so amazing and then I
found myself just pulling myhair out because I didn't
thoroughly read it andunderstand.
I was supposed to do step Abefore step B.
(07:33):
It just wasn't clear, and so Ithink that there is a need for
people to have something that is, you know, a an example for
them to do and B a really clearguide as to how to do something,
so they can say, hey, you knowwhat, I thought I couldn't cook
and I made this delicious recipe.
Or I made something with foursimple ingredients and, look,
(07:54):
that was good, I can do this.
So I think, empowering peopleto be able to use someone else's
resource but to be able to, youknow, cook for themselves
because I think anybody can be agood cook it's about
understanding, followingdirections and eventually
building a skill set, like youdo with anything.
Speaker 1 (08:15):
Right, yeah, I love that and I think it's important,
you know, even if you're oldernow, to if that's something that
you want.
Right, being able to learnthose skills specifically for
our younger population.
Right, being able to have thoseskills and it's something that
you're gonna use for the rest ofyour life.
So having these cookbooks aresuch a great resource.
Yes, absolutely yes, awesome.
(08:37):
So February, as I mentioned,right February is National
Lactose Intolerance Month andmany people are looking for ways
to enjoy food withoutdiscomfort.
What are some easy swaps oradditions for listeners who want
to reduce or eliminate lactosein their diets?
Speaker 2 (08:54):
Okay, well, first I want to explain that you don't
necessarily need to entirelyeliminate dairy right.
Most people with lactoseintolerant can, in fact,
tolerate 10 grams of lactose perday.
It's not a huge amount, butconsidering, let's say, a glass
of milk is 12 grams of lactose,if you have less than a glass of
(09:15):
milk and spread throughout yourday say, a splash in your
coffee, maybe a splash or two inyour oatmeal or cream of wheat,
that could certainly be okay.
So that is an option.
You can still use some dairyproducts.
There are lactose-free productsavailable that do contain dairy
but are lactose-free, and soone is lactaid, which is great
(09:36):
because it is the real dairy, itis the milk, but they provide
the enzyme needed to break downthe lactose, which is a milk
sugar needed to break down thelactose, which is a milk sugar,
and make it digestible.
So those who are lactoseintolerant can enjoy that milk
or ice cream.
Other products like ChallengeButter it's delicious, it's
spreadable, it's lactose-free,it's the only spreadable
(09:58):
lactose-free butter and it'sjust something I feel like the
whole family can enjoy becauseit does have that buttery taste.
It does contain some dairy,okay.
So, that said, I would also saythat you can look toward your
vegan products.
Anything that's dairy free,very easy.
There's a lot of plant-basedmilks available out there.
(10:20):
So we've got what Soy milk,almond milk, coconut milk,
macadamia and peanut milk, hempmilk, I mean, I can go on, and
it's almost crazy to see thesewidely available options, even
in stores like Kroger, ralph's,vons, you know, not just your
health food stores like Erewhonor Laysons.
So those products are widelyavailable.
(10:43):
But what I would say is thatit's not necessarily direct
swaps.
You know our dairy, our milk,is high in protein and calcium,
right.
It's fortified with vitamin D.
So if you're swapping for aplant milk say you love almond
milk that's going to be very lowin protein, right, be very low
(11:06):
in protein, right.
So you might want to swap for asoy milk instead.
You want to make sure that yourplant milks are going to be
fortified with calcium andvitamin D so you don't miss out
on those nutrients.
If you do enjoy a vegan option,say that doesn't have a lot of
certain nutrients, like calcium,then you can fulfill the
calcium in your diet throughadding in more leafy greens,
getting in some more broccoli.
Almonds are a source of calcium.
(11:28):
Salmon fish, like salmon.
If you get canned salmon withthe bones, the edible bones.
It's also going to provide asource of vitamin D, which is
really hard to find in foods.
Vitamin D is much, don't youthink it's much harder to find
that vitamin D?
That's why a lot of foods, likecertain cereals and like orange
juices even, are fortified withvitamin D, as well as maybe
(11:51):
calcium.
So, yeah, those are just someideas.
There's so many vegan,dairy-free items on the market
and then, of course, there'slike that challenge butter
that's lactose-free and tastyand spreadable and still has
that element of dairy.
That is quite appealing.
Speaker 1 (12:08):
Right.
Thank you so much for sharingthose thoughts and those
alternatives to you and forspeaking on the importance of
making sure that they'refortified, or that if we're not
getting enough protein fromthese other sources to choose
the soy milk, you know, ifyou're already not getting it
(12:33):
from anywhere, right, therecould be a deficiency there.
But also calcium, right, andmore so for our younger
population, right.
I do see that a lot with, liketeenagers or younger kids that
are not drinking milk, right ornot adding fortified calcium and
vitamin D foods, and so ifwe're not getting them right,
there could be a deficiencythere.
So I think finding thesealternatives is really helpful.
Speaker 2 (12:54):
And that's where my concern is is, like with
elimination diets, and even with, you know, because my focus is
on gut health and GERD, you knowmy patients will have to go on
a temporary elimination diet.
Yes, it is temporary, and thereason it is temporary is
because it's hard to get all thenutrients you need when you're
cutting out all these certainfoods that could possibly be
causing you issue.
(13:15):
And so I think the key thingthat I really want to share
about Lactose Intolerance Monthis that you don't necessarily
have to cut out that dairy, thatparticular type of food, from
your diet If you choose not to.
I mean, that's another thing.
If you really enjoy theplant-based alternatives and you
really don't need the dairy,and you can certainly get your
(13:36):
calcium from a variety ofsources in your diet and you can
certainly get the fortificationof the vitamin D.
So it's, you know, for me, Ilike to express that eating
should be from a wide variety offoods and not cutting out
particular foods or types offoods unless it's absolutely
necessary.
(13:57):
Lactose intolerance is not amilk allergy.
It's something that you cancontrol, and it's something that
you can definitely how should Isay, manage, you know, by
consuming less of the lactose,or breaking it up into smaller
portions, amounts, getting lesslactose throughout the day.
(14:18):
So, like I said, breaking thatmilk into little splash here and
then a little later a littlesplash there, or maybe enjoying
some cheese.
Cheese is generally hard,cheeses are generally lower in
lactose because the whey, theliquid whey portion, is filtered
out, strained out, and that'swhat contains most of the
lactose in the dairy product.
(14:39):
Is that liquid whey.
So you can opt for things thatare going to be low in lactose.
You can opt for things that arelactose free and you can.
You know, stated, claimed andshown to be lactose free.
Right, because they have suchinsignificant amount that's not
likely to affect you.
Can, you know, stated, claimedand shown to be lactose-free?
Right, because they have suchinsignificant amount that's not
likely to affect you.
Or you can choose to go vegan,choose vegan products or yogurts
(15:01):
, yogurts oh my gosh.
Yogurts are great.
Right, because they have allthose beneficial probiotics
which the body break down anddigest and reduce incidence of
gas and bloating.
Furthermore, if you get a Greek, a highly strained yogurt, like
Greek yogurt or like the yogurtstyle, the skier right, much of
(15:23):
that whey has going to bestrained away.
That's what contains much ofthe lactose, so it's going to be
much lower in lactose.
So these are things that I justwant to emphasize, that it's not
black and white like, wow, nodairy products, no lactose
altogether.
It's finding a balance andfinding the amount that you know
that's tolerable for you.
(15:43):
Everyone's different.
Some people are so sensitive,and I get it you know that even
the smallest amount might affectthem, and I get it that even
the smallest amount might affectthem.
And the same thing with peoplewho have incidents like with
acid reflux, gerd,gastroesophageal reflux disease.
It's like, yeah, some people,absolutely forever, may have to
(16:04):
eliminate maybe certain thingsor really monitor the amounts of
, say, something like garlic ortomato, and some people find
that they're able to eventuallyadd those back into their diets
and have a little bit more nottoo much, but a little bit more
moderate amounts.
So, again, everyone's different, but in general, lactose
(16:24):
intolerance does not mean youneed to eliminate dairy
altogether.
Speaker 1 (16:29):
Right, yeah, thank you so much, and I love that how
you made it so personalized,right and unique to each
individual person, becausethat's essentially how it is
right.
It doesn't just like onerecommendation is not for every
single person.
I think, really understandingyou know what are the issues,
right, or what are the symptomsor what the individual person is
(16:51):
struggling with, and thenworking with them in figuring
out a balanced, well-balancedplan that is going to benefit
them and make sure that they'renot having potential
deficiencies and such.
And I love that you alsoprovided so many ways to still
add those lactose.
(17:12):
Well, not so much lactosecontaining, right, but if they
still want to have dairy right,they can still have it, but
maybe separate it or choose moreof, you know, like the Greek
style yogurt that provides somany benefits, right, or the
Greek yogurt.
So it's awesome that for thelisteners to understand that
right, that you have options,right, it's not.
Yet if someone says, oh, you'relactose intolerant, eliminate
(17:34):
it all, completely, right, butnot replace it with anything
else, because now we can get introuble, right, right right, you
don't want to just like swap itout and go oh well, you know
this milk is creamy, it'splant-based, I'll just swap that
.
Speaker 2 (17:47):
You know you're going to be missing out on certain
nutrients that you know.
Milk is stronger.
Strong in, right.
Like I mentioned, the calcium,the vitamin D, the fortification
of the vitamin D, you know, andI think it's great when they
can fortify products or productsstill have available dairy in
them, but not too much, wherethey can still have that
(18:08):
available calcium and vitamin D.
Challenge Butter does havecalcium and vitamin D.
It's not like you're going to beeating a whole stick or getting
a whole lot of it.
But remember that our nutrients, we can get a little here, a
little there and eventuallythose good things can add up.
We don't always have to punchin a whole ton of like that all
at once.
So, just like knowing thatlactose can build up and even a
(18:31):
little bit here and a little bitthere can eventually add up if
you don't watch it, the samething is to remember that you
can get a little protein here, alittle protein there, and
through a wide plant rich dietyou can still get a good supply
of protein.
Yeah, awesome, works both waysright.
The adding up works both ways.
Speaker 1 (18:50):
Right, exactly, amazing.
So for those that maybe are,who are new to lactose free
eating, what advice would yougive them to make the transition
easier or enjoyable?
Speaker 2 (19:02):
Yeah, like I said, I think like one thing is to be
able to use a little bit of whatthey love here and there, Right
, so just breaking it down intosmaller amounts throughout the
day, you know, managing thatamount.
I think it's really fun toexplore the variety of plant
based options.
I mean, we've got what?
Kite Hill ricotta cheese?
(19:23):
I mean that spreadable,meltable, ooey gooey shredded
cheese.
Right, we have chive and onioncream cheese.
I mean, I think it's fun to beable to explore the
possibilities out there and alsoremember that you can get
creamy, rich flavor using thingslike avocado, making cashew
cream or I'm sure they sellcashew cream, so you don't have
(19:45):
to make it yourself.
It's not that hard to make, butit is a process and I can
understand why some people don'twant to sit there with their
food processor and mix the cream.
We can edit that out.
I don't know why that happened.
I should turn my phone off.
Let's start again.
So let's see when were we?
Speaker 1 (20:05):
I think we can.
Let's do from the cashew thecashew cream, and then I'll put
it together.
Speaker 2 (20:10):
Okay, so cashew cream is certainly an option that you
could make yourself.
I'm sure that you can buy it.
There are various cashew basedice creams that are so rich and
flavorful.
I think it's like exploring theculinary possibilities A B,
knowing that you can still havea little bit of those dairy
(20:31):
products here and there,learning which items are more
likely to have more lactose thanothers, knowing that milk is
going to have more lactose thancheese, right, that yogurt,
especially Greek strainedyogurt's going to have less
lactose, and the fact that ithas its probiotics.
Yeah, so I just think that,just exploring possibilities,
(20:52):
having the alternatives that arethere.
If milk is certainly somethingyou want to continue to use and
not have to worry about addingit up, there's lactaid, so
you've got that possibility thatyou can use that.
They also have ice creams.
So I think, when possible,swapping out for something very
(21:13):
comparable right, and most ofthe time we can, usually for the
flavor and the texture.
When swapping out, just beingmindful that if something
doesn't contain a lot of protein, get your protein, add it into
your diet.
Elsewhere, some protein powdersthere's vegan protein powders,
even protein powders that havewhey isolate.
They're not necessarily goingto be super high in lactose.
(21:34):
And so again comes down to theidea of like okay, let's just
simplify it, not worry about somuch about counting, maybe lean
a little bit more toward somevegan sources until we get a
better understanding and we canreally suss it through and go
like if you want to and go.
Yeah, you know I'm going tohave the real deals, but I'm
(21:55):
going to limit it becausethere's just so much
alternatives available thesedays that it's almost ridiculous
.
Speaker 1 (22:00):
Right, you had so many options nowadays, right,
when we look at even you know,as I think, about our plan-based
options before the pandemic toafter the pandemic, right, it's
almost like it grewexponentially.
So there's so many options nowfor plan-based products that we
you know that were not availablebefore the pandemic, and so I
(22:20):
think it's great that there'sbeen a higher demand, which
helps right industries to beable to develop more
user-friendly products thattaste good.
Speaker 2 (22:32):
There's a competition to make things taste better.
Some things that came outweren't necessarily
great-tasting yogurts likecoconut yogurts Maybe a
particular coconut yogurt wasn'tthat great or almond yogurt
Maybe that particular coconutyogurt wasn't that great, or
almond yogurt.
And these days, you know,they're expanding the
well-roundedness and thecreaminess and the textures and
(22:55):
making things like a little bitcloser to, I feel, like what is
highly desirable, almost to thepoint like this is really good,
and I'm not even feeling likeI'm swapping something out.
This actually tastes likesomething I just want to use.
Anyway, it's a creamy,delicious spread.
Speaker 1 (23:15):
Right, exactly, without having the symptoms,
right, and so I want to talk alittle bit about how more so,
like, if someone is having maybesome of these symptoms of
lactose intolerance, that ifthey continue because sometimes
I get clients that say, you know, I know that I cannot have milk
, but I still have milk anyway,or cheese, or ice cream and I
know I'm going to pay for itlater right, how essentially,
how damaging can that be for,like, their gut health if they
(23:36):
continue to do that, as opposedto what you're suggesting, right
, like breaking it down and likejust having a smaller amount so
you don't have those symptoms?
Speaker 2 (23:44):
having a smaller amount so you don't have those
symptoms.
Yeah, I mean, honestly, youknow, anything that impacts like
with bloating and gas is goingto.
It's impacting your digestion,your ability.
You're not going to be eatingas well.
If you're feeling constantlybloated, you probably might be
losing weight.
Whether or not you're losingweight.
Some people they don't feelwell and they continue to eat
and they gain weight.
(24:07):
Okay, so it impacts how you feelabout eating, how you're going
to be eating, because the waythat you're feeling, I feel like
if you're having these symptomsand there's this distension and
there's this excess gases.
Excess gases can also, causingthat distension, press up on the
lower esophageal sphincter andso which, in the case of GERD
even though lactose intolerancedoes not cause GERD the
(24:29):
incidence of that bloating canaffect and cause the reflux,
which can affect your health,right?
Because then in that caseyou've got excess acid coming up
the esophagus, sometimes upthrough the throat, so this
causes health scare, right?
This irritates the passages,causes some irritation, makes it
difficult to say if you havesilent reflux swallow.
(24:52):
So there are always healthimplications when you're having
digestive discomforts, whetherit's diarrhea or just gas or
pain, and that certainly affectsyour health.
So I think it's very importantto be mindful.
So, on one hand and thatcertainly affects your health so
I think it's very important tobe mindful.
So, on one hand, not feeling arestrictive mindset, but, on the
other hand, not like, well, youknow, I know I'm not supposed
(25:13):
to be having it, I'm going toget the consequence later, but
I'm going to have it anyway.
You know you've got.
You have to educate yourpatients to find a middle ground
and educate them that hey,there's other ways to enjoy this
type of food that you like, orget that same creaminess that
you do get from, say, that creamthat you generally use in
(25:34):
whatever it is.
Or if you're making a smoothie,I can use avocado to make it
creamy, right?
Or I can use cashews.
So, just, I think it's a lotabout education and
encouragement and showing peoplethat there's other delightful
ways to enjoy food.
Speaker 1 (25:51):
Right.
Yeah, I love that.
There's no like you don't haveit at all, right and you're
miserable, versus like you haveit and you're miserable anyway.
There's a middle ground and away to incorporate these things
right in a way that are going tohelp you, and your gut health
is going to be safe as well,right.
Speaker 2 (26:07):
Well, it's so super important, right?
It's super important to be ableto digest well.
If you don't digest things well, then you know you're not
absorbing the nutrients properlyeither.
So that's true.
Speaker 1 (26:21):
Yeah, absolutely Awesome.
All right, Lauren, if you couldshare maybe three actionable
tips for our listeners toimprove their gut health today.
What would they be?
Speaker 2 (26:33):
Oh my gosh three, just three, wow.
Well, you know, I could go thewhole dodge and say, oh, eat
plenty of fruits and vegetables.
Just you know, I think it's morelike exploring the wide variety
of fruits and vegetables thatyou can enjoy.
I think that there's so muchout there and there's so many
(26:54):
websites and recipes and blogsthat show how well you can enjoy
that wide diversity ofvegetables.
So I think that's key ofimportance.
So I think that's key ofimportance.
I think that not only thephytonutrients, but the plant
fibers these are so necessaryfor your gut health.
I think another thing isfocusing on not eliminating
(27:17):
foods when possible and makingsure that you get plenty of
protein.
Protein is essential for likeevery element of your life, from
like your cells and everything.
Everything needs protein,whether it's your hair and your
nails.
Protein is necessary for manymetabolic reactions.
So, ensuring that you do getenough protein as well, and, you
(27:38):
know, obviously, fortification.
I think I'm going on and I'mjust going to give you like all
these tips, but I'm just goingto say key things.
And I'm just going to give youlike all these tips, but I'm
just going to say key things.
Use the wonderful resources thatwe have and see the wide
variety of delicious recipesthat we have available.
Lots of vegetables and fruits,I think, mediterranean type
(27:58):
diets when I say that when I'mspeaking to like Middle Eastern,
there's a lot of flavors andfoods and I've been seeing
lately a lot more Middle Easterninfluence.
I mean, I know we've had hummusavailable for so long and we've
had packages of like theeggplant dip I forgot what it's
called, but baba ghanoush, rightbut there's also, like other
(28:19):
things, that we're exploring inour culture and we're constantly
getting things from you know,whether it's Middle Eastern or
Spanish or European, but thingsthat do focus a lot on
plant-based foods, and I thinkwe're very fortunate to have
cookbooks like Orlingi, whichreally gives you a great Middle
Eastern influence, with a lot oftasty, zesty, rich,
(28:42):
well-flavored dishes.
I love all those steps rightrich well-flavored dishes.
Speaker 1 (28:44):
I love all those steps right, and these are tips
that you know, things that wecan do and we can incorporate
slowly, right, and try.
And I love that it's additionaddition of foods instead of
like complete elimination, right, that it feels restrictive.
So amazing, where can thelisteners find you?
Right, like if they're wantingto work with you?
(29:05):
Or I guess my question shouldbe who do you work with?
What's your niche?
And then, if the listeners wantto reach out to you or learn
more about you and yourcookbooks and everything, where
can they?
Where they can find you?
Speaker 2 (29:19):
Yeah, basically.
So my niche is Gut, health andGurt.
They can find me atNutrisavvyhealthcom, so
N-U-T-R-I-S-A-V-V-Y health,h-e-a-l-t-h Nutrisavvyhealthcom.
I know it's a big, big, longword, but they can find me there
or on Instagram, laurenO'Connor.
Speaker 1 (29:39):
Awesome, and I'll make sure to add all that
information in the show notes.
So if you are driving or busy,don't worry, just go to the show
notes.
So if you are driving or busy,don't worry, just go to the show
notes and all the informationis going to be there in the
links.
Lauren, any final thoughts?
Anything else that you wouldlike to share or that you would
like the listeners to know?
Oh my gosh.
Speaker 2 (29:57):
Just say listen to Leah Neela.
She's a great podcast host.
She really makes learning aboutcertain topics you know, very,
very interesting and veryconversational.
And, yeah, I can't think ofanything else that I like to say
(30:18):
.
I don't know that I fullyexplained what lactose
intolerance is, but if you wantme to explain it, I can pop it
in really quickly right now in anutshell yes, please.
I think that is wonderful andit's going to be useful.
Okay, so lactose intolerance isbasically when a person doesn't
have enough of the enzymecalled lactase, and this is what
is necessary to break down thecomplex milk sugar called
(30:41):
lactase.
Lactose sorry, it breaks downthe lactose in milk, milk and so
when we don't have this enzymeto fully break it down, that
lactose makes it down to thecolon where it ferments,
producing gases and ultimatelycausing discomfort, pain, gas,
bloating, sometimes diarrhea.
So if I mentioned this, deleteit, but if I didn't keep it,
(31:06):
yeah no, I don't think wementioned it, so that's.
Speaker 1 (31:08):
This is great it makes sense.
Speaker 2 (31:10):
That way, people can understand that.
That's why some lactose-freeproducts might add the enzyme
lactase to digest the lactosemore fully, and that's why there
are lactose-free productsbecause of that issue.
Right, but it is not a milkallergy, it's just that
inability to fully digest thelactose.
Speaker 1 (31:31):
Yeah, thank you for bringing that up.
I think it's also important,since you then mentioned, right,
that lactose intolerance versusa milk allergy or lactose
allergy.
So for the listeners, right,what is the main difference
between a lactose allergy or amilk allergy versus a lactose
intolerance?
No, lactose is more, it's anintolerance.
Speaker 2 (31:52):
So it's not the allergy, it's just that we can't
break it down, you know.
So when you consider thedifference between an allergy
which could be verylife-threatening or not, it's
not that you have that allergicreaction, not, it's not that you
have that allergic reaction.
It's just that because it's notbroken down fully, it's causing
gas and distension, which canbe causal for pain and some
(32:15):
obvious symptoms which arerather mild or severe.
So it's just the fact that it'snot broken down.
So the great thing about thelactose intolerance is that we
have things widely available.
You know you can get thatlactase enzyme.
You know supplement, you canget that included in a certain
product that breaks down thatcomplex sugar, the lactose.
(32:39):
Or you can choose food itemsthat are much, much lower in
lactose.
Speaker 1 (32:44):
Or you know vegan, non-dairy products much, much
lower in lactose or, you know,vegan, non-dairy products.
Yeah, thank you so much fortalking a little bit about that
as well.
Okay, lauren, thank you so muchagain for your time and for all
your insights and all your tips.
I really appreciate your timeAgain, I'll put all the
information where listeners canfind you in the show notes.
Yeah again, thank you again foreverything.
Speaker 2 (33:08):
Thank you so much for having me.
This was such a delightfulconversation.
You're so warm, You're so it'sjust.
It's such a pleasure to speakwith you, so thank you.
Speaker 1 (33:18):
Absolutely All right, everybody.
Thank you so much for your time.
Stay tuned for more episodes.
Stay safe and stay healthy.
I will talk to you soon.
Bye-bye for now.
Hey, hey, everybody, welcome to another episode of
the Simple Nutrition InsightsPodcast.
I am your host, leonila Campos,registered Dietitian, and today
we have an exciting guestjoining us, lauren O'Connor, who
is a private practice dietitian, a five-time cookbook author
and a freelance writer with apassion for gut health, fitness
(00:21):
and culinary nutrition.
She's also a yoga teacher andan active member of her
community, sharing her expertisethrough her website
NutriSavvyHealthcom andcontributing to numerous health
and wellness publications.
February's National LactoseIntolerance Month serves as the
perfect time to embrace smarter,tastier choices, so we are
(00:45):
thrilled to have Lauren here toshare her expertise.
Lauren, welcome.
So much to the show.
Speaker 2 (00:51):
Thank you so much, Leo.
It's a pleasure to be here.
Speaker 1 (00:53):
Yeah, amazing.
So, lauren, your background isso inspiring.
Can you tell us a little bitmore about your journey and what
led you to become a dietitian?
Speaker 2 (01:03):
Well, let's see, I had been in my undergrad, I was
exploring myself, trying tofigure out what to do, searching
, and just couldn't really findanything that I liked to do, but
ended up in a dead-end jobproduction art.
That wasn't really goinganywhere.
But what I realized was,throughout the five years that I
had been working since I hadgraduated, I just got more and
(01:26):
more into nutrition.
How can I make myself healthier, how can I be the best or as
fit as I can be?
And so exploring various typesof diets, some of which were a
little more extreme than others,and I realized I think this is
just a time for me to pursuesomething that has become more
than just a hobby.
(01:46):
You know, I am actually goingto retreats, I am signing up for
, you know, courses and might aswell get it professional,
credentialed, go into somethingthat has such interest.
But that's not the end of thestory.
I ended up becoming a registereddietitian.
I worked for a year in clinical, got pregnant, had two young
(02:06):
girls.
Me and my husband were thrilledto have twins, and so at that
time I started focusing onfamily nutrition, doing a little
blogging here, doing recipedevelopment for certain
companies, you know, creatingmenu planning because I was
really a busy stay-at-home mom.
That evolved into my privatepractice in 2012, focusing on
(02:31):
family nutrition, but it wasn'tuntil a health scare of my own
in 2017 that I changed my focusto gut health and GERD.
Speaker 1 (02:41):
Sometimes life takes us into different paths and we
end up in a path that we didn'tthink about, right.
Speaker 2 (02:50):
Exactly.
Speaker 1 (02:52):
For the benefit, hopefully, yeah.
So you have so many hats right?
You're a dietitian, an author,a writer, a yoga teacher.
How do you balance all thosethings?
Speaker 2 (03:11):
It's a balance.
I don't know that I balancethem all super well, but I do.
I do have structure to my days.
You know I teach yoga threetimes a week.
The writing assignments theycome, I accept them.
I fit them into the schedule asthey fit because, as you know,
with writing there's deadlines.
You might have three days or aweek to do something, so if I
need to write at night, I'llwrite at night.
So that's what I love.
The writing is so very flexible.
(03:31):
My yoga schedule is set.
And seeing clients you know Isee clients as I schedule them,
so it's my own business.
I get to decide how many andwho I'm going to see, and so I
know, like you, like a dietitian, you're very busy.
You do a podcast.
You see your clients, you know.
So it's all just about seizingopportunity, moving through with
(03:55):
what you normally do, which hasbecome a part of your lifestyle
, your business and yourlifestyle, and, you know,
managing.
My kids are now 16.
They're in high school.
They're pretty independent now,so things are a little
different than they were whenthey were very young.
Speaker 1 (04:12):
Right.
Yeah, it's a different kind ofway to organize things, right.
Speaker 2 (04:17):
And like you said, you're able to schedule things
based on your availability, sothat's awesome, exactly, and
that's what I love about havingmy own business I do not have to
adhere to somebody else'sschedule.
I have deadlines, I haveprojects, you know, and things
you have to manage, but I, youknow, it is nice to be able to
work from home, do more or lesstelehealth, you know, do my
(04:39):
writing, teach my yoga at thestudio so it's super fun writing
.
Speaker 1 (04:43):
Teach my yoga at the studio, so it's super fun,
Awesome.
So in the intro right Imentioned that you have written
five cookbooks.
What sparked your love forculinary nutrition?
Speaker 2 (04:59):
Just always enjoyed cooking.
I didn't get an opportunity tocook much as a child.
My mom was more or less a TVdinner mom.
She didn't cook.
But when I graduated college, afriend of mine and myself
decided we are going to learnhow to cook and we're going to
go to farmer's market everyweekend.
We're going to get a differentcookbook and a recipe, whether
it's a Martha Stewart or whoeverand we're going to do like all
(05:20):
these meals, we're going to do adinner, we're going to have the
entree, the salad, we're goingto create a dessert.
We would stay up for hourspreparing, following these
things and using this fresh foodand probably working far too
hard than we needed to, but Ithink it was something that gave
me a good skill set.
I learned a lot on the way alot of trial and error, a lot of
(05:42):
following recipes and then,just you know, when blogging
came up, I mean that opportunityto create new recipes, often to
keep your blog up, right.
So I think that's part of ittoo.
The culture.
A lot of people were bloggingrecipes and it just certainly
fits within the scope of whenyou are seeing patients or
(06:05):
trying to educate people on howto eat healthier.
It's one thing to say, oh, youshould include this many
vegetables and this many fruits.
It's another thing to sayhere's how you can create a
well-rounded dish and how youcan get enough fruit or
vegetables throughout your day.
Here's some great snack options.
Here's a great dinner.
(06:25):
So I think people find that alittle more engaging than just
giving them a list of here'swhat you should eat and how much
you should eat.
It's just, it's part of, Ithink, human, our culture, a
love of food, a desire to eattogether, a desire to eat things
that are good for it.
Well, hopefully, eat thingsthat are good for you, that are
going to taste good.
Speaker 1 (06:46):
Right, and I think you know just your background
right, growing up maybe notknowing how to cook but still
having that desire to.
You know I want to learn how tocook and I want to develop
these skills that I can use forthe rest of my life and I think
that is awesome.
And I'm sure you know, withyour books, right will you say
(07:06):
that they are like user friendlyand like they're easy to follow
and like the recipes are simple.
Speaker 2 (07:12):
Yeah, I mean for the most part.
Yeah, I mean that that's whatit, you know, kind of has to be.
I have, in the past, picked upcookbooks that were very
complicated but the end resultlooks so amazing and then I
found myself just pulling myhair out because I didn't
thoroughly read it andunderstand.
I was supposed to do step Abefore step B.
(07:33):
It just wasn't clear, and so Ithink that there is a need for
people to have something that is, you know, a an example for
them to do and B a really clearguide as to how to do something,
so they can say, hey, you knowwhat, I thought I couldn't cook
and I made this delicious recipe.
Or I made something with foursimple ingredients and, look,
(07:54):
that was good, I can do this.
So I think, empowering peopleto be able to use someone else's
resource but to be able to, youknow, cook for themselves
because I think anybody can be agood cook it's about
understanding, followingdirections and eventually
building a skill set, like youdo with anything.
Speaker 1 (08:15):
Right, yeah, I love that and I think it's important,
you know, even if you're oldernow, to if that's something that
you want.
Right, being able to learnthose skills specifically for
our younger population.
Right, being able to have thoseskills and it's something that
you're gonna use for the rest ofyour life.
So having these cookbooks aresuch a great resource.
Yes, absolutely yes, awesome.
(08:37):
So February, as I mentioned,right February is National
Lactose Intolerance Month andmany people are looking for ways
to enjoy food withoutdiscomfort.
What are some easy swaps oradditions for listeners who want
to reduce or eliminate lactosein their diets?
Speaker 2 (08:54):
Okay, well, first I want to explain that you don't
necessarily need to entirelyeliminate dairy right.
Most people with lactoseintolerant can, in fact,
tolerate 10 grams of lactose perday.
It's not a huge amount, butconsidering, let's say, a glass
of milk is 12 grams of lactose,if you have less than a glass of
(09:15):
milk and spread throughout yourday say, a splash in your
coffee, maybe a splash or two inyour oatmeal or cream of wheat,
that could certainly be okay.
So that is an option.
You can still use some dairyproducts.
There are lactose-free productsavailable that do contain dairy
but are lactose-free, and soone is lactaid, which is great
(09:36):
because it is the real dairy, itis the milk, but they provide
the enzyme needed to break downthe lactose, which is a milk
sugar needed to break down thelactose, which is a milk sugar,
and make it digestible.
So those who are lactoseintolerant can enjoy that milk
or ice cream.
Other products like ChallengeButter it's delicious, it's
spreadable, it's lactose-free,it's the only spreadable
(09:58):
lactose-free butter and it'sjust something I feel like the
whole family can enjoy becauseit does have that buttery taste.
It does contain some dairy,okay.
So, that said, I would also saythat you can look toward your
vegan products.
Anything that's dairy free,very easy.
There's a lot of plant-basedmilks available out there.
(10:20):
So we've got what Soy milk,almond milk, coconut milk,
macadamia and peanut milk, hempmilk, I mean, I can go on, and
it's almost crazy to see thesewidely available options, even
in stores like Kroger, ralph's,vons, you know, not just your
health food stores like Erewhonor Laysons.
So those products are widelyavailable.
(10:43):
But what I would say is thatit's not necessarily direct
swaps.
You know our dairy, our milk,is high in protein and calcium,
right.
It's fortified with vitamin D.
So if you're swapping for aplant milk say you love almond
milk that's going to be very lowin protein, right, be very low
(11:06):
in protein, right.
So you might want to swap for asoy milk instead.
You want to make sure that yourplant milks are going to be
fortified with calcium andvitamin D so you don't miss out
on those nutrients.
If you do enjoy a vegan option,say that doesn't have a lot of
certain nutrients, like calcium,then you can fulfill the
calcium in your diet throughadding in more leafy greens,
getting in some more broccoli.
Almonds are a source of calcium.
(11:28):
Salmon fish, like salmon.
If you get canned salmon withthe bones, the edible bones.
It's also going to provide asource of vitamin D, which is
really hard to find in foods.
Vitamin D is much, don't youthink it's much harder to find
that vitamin D?
That's why a lot of foods, likecertain cereals and like orange
juices even, are fortified withvitamin D, as well as maybe
(11:51):
calcium.
So, yeah, those are just someideas.
There's so many vegan,dairy-free items on the market
and then, of course, there'slike that challenge butter
that's lactose-free and tastyand spreadable and still has
that element of dairy.
That is quite appealing.
Speaker 1 (12:08):
Right.
Thank you so much for sharingthose thoughts and those
alternatives to you and forspeaking on the importance of
making sure that they'refortified, or that if we're not
getting enough protein fromthese other sources to choose
the soy milk, you know, ifyou're already not getting it
(12:33):
from anywhere, right, therecould be a deficiency there.
But also calcium, right, andmore so for our younger
population, right.
I do see that a lot with, liketeenagers or younger kids that
are not drinking milk, right ornot adding fortified calcium and
vitamin D foods, and so ifwe're not getting them right,
there could be a deficiencythere.
So I think finding thesealternatives is really helpful.
Speaker 2 (12:54):
And that's where my concern is is, like with
elimination diets, and even with, you know, because my focus is
on gut health and GERD, you knowmy patients will have to go on
a temporary elimination diet.
Yes, it is temporary, and thereason it is temporary is
because it's hard to get all thenutrients you need when you're
cutting out all these certainfoods that could possibly be
causing you issue.
(13:15):
And so I think the key thingthat I really want to share
about Lactose Intolerance Monthis that you don't necessarily
have to cut out that dairy, thatparticular type of food, from
your diet If you choose not to.
I mean, that's another thing.
If you really enjoy theplant-based alternatives and you
really don't need the dairy,and you can certainly get your
(13:36):
calcium from a variety ofsources in your diet and you can
certainly get the fortificationof the vitamin D.
So it's, you know, for me, Ilike to express that eating
should be from a wide variety offoods and not cutting out
particular foods or types offoods unless it's absolutely
necessary.
(13:57):
Lactose intolerance is not amilk allergy.
It's something that you cancontrol, and it's something that
you can definitely how should Isay, manage, you know, by
consuming less of the lactose,or breaking it up into smaller
portions, amounts, getting lesslactose throughout the day.
(14:18):
So, like I said, breaking thatmilk into little splash here and
then a little later a littlesplash there, or maybe enjoying
some cheese.
Cheese is generally hard,cheeses are generally lower in
lactose because the whey, theliquid whey portion, is filtered
out, strained out, and that'swhat contains most of the
lactose in the dairy product.
(14:39):
Is that liquid whey.
So you can opt for things thatare going to be low in lactose.
You can opt for things that arelactose free and you can.
You know, stated, claimed andshown to be lactose free.
Right, because they have suchinsignificant amount that's not
likely to affect you.
Can, you know, stated, claimedand shown to be lactose-free?
Right, because they have suchinsignificant amount that's not
likely to affect you.
Or you can choose to go vegan,choose vegan products or yogurts
(15:01):
, yogurts oh my gosh.
Yogurts are great.
Right, because they have allthose beneficial probiotics
which the body break down anddigest and reduce incidence of
gas and bloating.
Furthermore, if you get a Greek, a highly strained yogurt, like
Greek yogurt or like the yogurtstyle, the skier right, much of
(15:23):
that whey has going to bestrained away.
That's what contains much ofthe lactose, so it's going to be
much lower in lactose.
So these are things that I justwant to emphasize, that it's not
black and white like, wow, nodairy products, no lactose
altogether.
It's finding a balance andfinding the amount that you know
that's tolerable for you.
(15:43):
Everyone's different.
Some people are so sensitive,and I get it you know that even
the smallest amount might affectthem, and I get it that even
the smallest amount might affectthem.
And the same thing with peoplewho have incidents like with
acid reflux, gerd,gastroesophageal reflux disease.
It's like, yeah, some people,absolutely forever, may have to
(16:04):
eliminate maybe certain thingsor really monitor the amounts of
, say, something like garlic ortomato, and some people find
that they're able to eventuallyadd those back into their diets
and have a little bit more nottoo much, but a little bit more
moderate amounts.
So, again, everyone's different, but in general, lactose
(16:24):
intolerance does not mean youneed to eliminate dairy
altogether.
Speaker 1 (16:29):
Right, yeah, thank you so much, and I love that how
you made it so personalized,right and unique to each
individual person, becausethat's essentially how it is
right.
It doesn't just like onerecommendation is not for every
single person.
I think, really understandingyou know what are the issues,
right, or what are the symptomsor what the individual person is
(16:51):
struggling with, and thenworking with them in figuring
out a balanced, well-balancedplan that is going to benefit
them and make sure that they'renot having potential
deficiencies and such.
And I love that you alsoprovided so many ways to still
add those lactose.
(17:12):
Well, not so much lactosecontaining, right, but if they
still want to have dairy right,they can still have it, but
maybe separate it or choose moreof, you know, like the Greek
style yogurt that provides somany benefits, right, or the
Greek yogurt.
So it's awesome that for thelisteners to understand that
right, that you have options,right, it's not.
Yet if someone says, oh, you'relactose intolerant, eliminate
(17:34):
it all, completely, right, butnot replace it with anything
else, because now we can get introuble, right, right right, you
don't want to just like swap itout and go oh well, you know
this milk is creamy, it'splant-based, I'll just swap that
.
Speaker 2 (17:47):
You know you're going to be missing out on certain
nutrients that you know.
Milk is stronger.
Strong in, right.
Like I mentioned, the calcium,the vitamin D, the fortification
of the vitamin D, you know, andI think it's great when they
can fortify products or productsstill have available dairy in
them, but not too much, wherethey can still have that
(18:08):
available calcium and vitamin D.
Challenge Butter does havecalcium and vitamin D.
It's not like you're going to beeating a whole stick or getting
a whole lot of it.
But remember that our nutrients, we can get a little here, a
little there and eventuallythose good things can add up.
We don't always have to punchin a whole ton of like that all
at once.
So, just like knowing thatlactose can build up and even a
(18:31):
little bit here and a little bitthere can eventually add up if
you don't watch it, the samething is to remember that you
can get a little protein here, alittle protein there, and
through a wide plant rich dietyou can still get a good supply
of protein.
Yeah, awesome, works both waysright.
The adding up works both ways.
Speaker 1 (18:50):
Right, exactly, amazing.
So for those that maybe are,who are new to lactose free
eating, what advice would yougive them to make the transition
easier or enjoyable?
Speaker 2 (19:02):
Yeah, like I said, I think like one thing is to be
able to use a little bit of whatthey love here and there, Right
, so just breaking it down intosmaller amounts throughout the
day, you know, managing thatamount.
I think it's really fun toexplore the variety of plant
based options.
I mean, we've got what?
Kite Hill ricotta cheese?
(19:23):
I mean that spreadable,meltable, ooey gooey shredded
cheese.
Right, we have chive and onioncream cheese.
I mean, I think it's fun to beable to explore the
possibilities out there and alsoremember that you can get
creamy, rich flavor using thingslike avocado, making cashew
cream or I'm sure they sellcashew cream, so you don't have
(19:45):
to make it yourself.
It's not that hard to make, butit is a process and I can
understand why some people don'twant to sit there with their
food processor and mix the cream.
We can edit that out.
I don't know why that happened.
I should turn my phone off.
Let's start again.
So let's see when were we?
Speaker 1 (20:05):
I think we can.
Let's do from the cashew thecashew cream, and then I'll put
it together.
Speaker 2 (20:10):
Okay, so cashew cream is certainly an option that you
could make yourself.
I'm sure that you can buy it.
There are various cashew basedice creams that are so rich and
flavorful.
I think it's like exploring theculinary possibilities A B,
knowing that you can still havea little bit of those dairy
(20:31):
products here and there,learning which items are more
likely to have more lactose thanothers, knowing that milk is
going to have more lactose thancheese, right, that yogurt,
especially Greek strainedyogurt's going to have less
lactose, and the fact that ithas its probiotics.
Yeah, so I just think that,just exploring possibilities,
(20:52):
having the alternatives that arethere.
If milk is certainly somethingyou want to continue to use and
not have to worry about addingit up, there's lactaid, so
you've got that possibility thatyou can use that.
They also have ice creams.
So I think, when possible,swapping out for something very
(21:13):
comparable right, and most ofthe time we can, usually for the
flavor and the texture.
When swapping out, just beingmindful that if something
doesn't contain a lot of protein, get your protein, add it into
your diet.
Elsewhere, some protein powdersthere's vegan protein powders,
even protein powders that havewhey isolate.
They're not necessarily goingto be super high in lactose.
(21:34):
And so again comes down to theidea of like okay, let's just
simplify it, not worry about somuch about counting, maybe lean
a little bit more toward somevegan sources until we get a
better understanding and we canreally suss it through and go
like if you want to and go.
Yeah, you know I'm going tohave the real deals, but I'm
(21:55):
going to limit it becausethere's just so much
alternatives available thesedays that it's almost ridiculous
.
Speaker 1 (22:00):
Right, you had so many options nowadays, right,
when we look at even you know,as I think, about our plan-based
options before the pandemic toafter the pandemic, right, it's
almost like it grewexponentially.
So there's so many options nowfor plan-based products that we
you know that were not availablebefore the pandemic, and so I
(22:20):
think it's great that there'sbeen a higher demand, which
helps right industries to beable to develop more
user-friendly products thattaste good.
Speaker 2 (22:32):
There's a competition to make things taste better.
Some things that came outweren't necessarily
great-tasting yogurts likecoconut yogurts Maybe a
particular coconut yogurt wasn'tthat great or almond yogurt
Maybe that particular coconutyogurt wasn't that great, or
almond yogurt.
And these days, you know,they're expanding the
well-roundedness and thecreaminess and the textures and
(22:55):
making things like a little bitcloser to, I feel, like what is
highly desirable, almost to thepoint like this is really good,
and I'm not even feeling likeI'm swapping something out.
This actually tastes likesomething I just want to use.
Anyway, it's a creamy,delicious spread.
Speaker 1 (23:15):
Right, exactly, without having the symptoms,
right, and so I want to talk alittle bit about how more so,
like, if someone is having maybesome of these symptoms of
lactose intolerance, that ifthey continue because sometimes
I get clients that say, you know, I know that I cannot have milk
, but I still have milk anyway,or cheese, or ice cream and I
know I'm going to pay for itlater right, how essentially,
how damaging can that be for,like, their gut health if they
(23:36):
continue to do that, as opposedto what you're suggesting, right
, like breaking it down and likejust having a smaller amount so
you don't have those symptoms?
Speaker 2 (23:44):
having a smaller amount so you don't have those
symptoms.
Yeah, I mean, honestly, youknow, anything that impacts like
with bloating and gas is goingto.
It's impacting your digestion,your ability.
You're not going to be eatingas well.
If you're feeling constantlybloated, you probably might be
losing weight.
Whether or not you're losingweight.
Some people they don't feelwell and they continue to eat
and they gain weight.
(24:07):
Okay, so it impacts how you feelabout eating, how you're going
to be eating, because the waythat you're feeling, I feel like
if you're having these symptomsand there's this distension and
there's this excess gases.
Excess gases can also, causingthat distension, press up on the
lower esophageal sphincter andso which, in the case of GERD
even though lactose intolerancedoes not cause GERD the
(24:29):
incidence of that bloating canaffect and cause the reflux,
which can affect your health,right?
Because then in that caseyou've got excess acid coming up
the esophagus, sometimes upthrough the throat, so this
causes health scare, right?
This irritates the passages,causes some irritation, makes it
difficult to say if you havesilent reflux swallow.
(24:52):
So there are always healthimplications when you're having
digestive discomforts, whetherit's diarrhea or just gas or
pain, and that certainly affectsyour health.
So I think it's very importantto be mindful.
So, on one hand and thatcertainly affects your health so
I think it's very important tobe mindful.
So, on one hand, not feeling arestrictive mindset, but, on the
other hand, not like, well, youknow, I know I'm not supposed
(25:13):
to be having it, I'm going toget the consequence later, but
I'm going to have it anyway.
You know you've got.
You have to educate yourpatients to find a middle ground
and educate them that hey,there's other ways to enjoy this
type of food that you like, orget that same creaminess that
you do get from, say, that creamthat you generally use in
(25:34):
whatever it is.
Or if you're making a smoothie,I can use avocado to make it
creamy, right?
Or I can use cashews.
So, just, I think it's a lotabout education and
encouragement and showing peoplethat there's other delightful
ways to enjoy food.
Speaker 1 (25:51):
Right.
Yeah, I love that.
There's no like you don't haveit at all, right and you're
miserable, versus like you haveit and you're miserable anyway.
There's a middle ground and away to incorporate these things
right in a way that are going tohelp you, and your gut health
is going to be safe as well,right.
Speaker 2 (26:07):
Well, it's so super important, right?
It's super important to be ableto digest well.
If you don't digest things well, then you know you're not
absorbing the nutrients properlyeither.
So that's true.
Speaker 1 (26:21):
Yeah, absolutely Awesome.
All right, Lauren, if you couldshare maybe three actionable
tips for our listeners toimprove their gut health today.
What would they be?
Speaker 2 (26:33):
Oh my gosh three, just three, wow.
Well, you know, I could go thewhole dodge and say, oh, eat
plenty of fruits and vegetables.
Just you know, I think it's morelike exploring the wide variety
of fruits and vegetables thatyou can enjoy.
I think that there's so muchout there and there's so many
(26:54):
websites and recipes and blogsthat show how well you can enjoy
that wide diversity ofvegetables.
So I think that's key ofimportance.
So I think that's key ofimportance.
I think that not only thephytonutrients, but the plant
fibers these are so necessaryfor your gut health.
I think another thing isfocusing on not eliminating
(27:17):
foods when possible and makingsure that you get plenty of
protein.
Protein is essential for likeevery element of your life, from
like your cells and everything.
Everything needs protein,whether it's your hair and your
nails.
Protein is necessary for manymetabolic reactions.
So, ensuring that you do getenough protein as well, and, you
(27:38):
know, obviously, fortification.
I think I'm going on and I'mjust going to give you like all
these tips, but I'm just goingto say key things.
And I'm just going to give youlike all these tips, but I'm
just going to say key things.
Use the wonderful resources thatwe have and see the wide
variety of delicious recipesthat we have available.
Lots of vegetables and fruits,I think, mediterranean type
(27:58):
diets when I say that when I'mspeaking to like Middle Eastern,
there's a lot of flavors andfoods and I've been seeing
lately a lot more Middle Easterninfluence.
I mean, I know we've had hummusavailable for so long and we've
had packages of like theeggplant dip I forgot what it's
called, but baba ghanoush, rightbut there's also, like other
(28:19):
things, that we're exploring inour culture and we're constantly
getting things from you know,whether it's Middle Eastern or
Spanish or European, but thingsthat do focus a lot on
plant-based foods, and I thinkwe're very fortunate to have
cookbooks like Orlingi, whichreally gives you a great Middle
Eastern influence, with a lot oftasty, zesty, rich,
(28:42):
well-flavored dishes.
I love all those steps rightrich well-flavored dishes.
Speaker 1 (28:44):
I love all those steps right, and these are tips
that you know, things that wecan do and we can incorporate
slowly, right, and try.
And I love that it's additionaddition of foods instead of
like complete elimination, right, that it feels restrictive.
So amazing, where can thelisteners find you?
Right, like if they're wantingto work with you?
(29:05):
Or I guess my question shouldbe who do you work with?
What's your niche?
And then, if the listeners wantto reach out to you or learn
more about you and yourcookbooks and everything, where
can they?
Where they can find you?
Speaker 2 (29:19):
Yeah, basically.
So my niche is Gut, health andGurt.
They can find me atNutrisavvyhealthcom, so
N-U-T-R-I-S-A-V-V-Y health,h-e-a-l-t-h Nutrisavvyhealthcom.
I know it's a big, big, longword, but they can find me there
or on Instagram, laurenO'Connor.
Speaker 1 (29:39):
Awesome, and I'll make sure to add all that
information in the show notes.
So if you are driving or busy,don't worry, just go to the show
notes.
So if you are driving or busy,don't worry, just go to the show
notes and all the informationis going to be there in the
links.
Lauren, any final thoughts?
Anything else that you wouldlike to share or that you would
like the listeners to know?
Oh my gosh.
Speaker 2 (29:57):
Just say listen to Leah Neela.
She's a great podcast host.
She really makes learning aboutcertain topics you know, very,
very interesting and veryconversational.
And, yeah, I can't think ofanything else that I like to say
(30:18):
.
I don't know that I fullyexplained what lactose
intolerance is, but if you wantme to explain it, I can pop it
in really quickly right now in anutshell yes, please.
I think that is wonderful andit's going to be useful.
Okay, so lactose intolerance isbasically when a person doesn't
have enough of the enzymecalled lactase, and this is what
is necessary to break down thecomplex milk sugar called
(30:41):
lactase.
Lactose sorry, it breaks downthe lactose in milk, milk and so
when we don't have this enzymeto fully break it down, that
lactose makes it down to thecolon where it ferments,
producing gases and ultimatelycausing discomfort, pain, gas,
bloating, sometimes diarrhea.
So if I mentioned this, deleteit, but if I didn't keep it,
(31:06):
yeah no, I don't think wementioned it, so that's.
Speaker 1 (31:08):
This is great it makes sense.
Speaker 2 (31:10):
That way, people can understand that.
That's why some lactose-freeproducts might add the enzyme
lactase to digest the lactosemore fully, and that's why there
are lactose-free productsbecause of that issue.
Right, but it is not a milkallergy, it's just that
inability to fully digest thelactose.
Speaker 1 (31:31):
Yeah, thank you for bringing that up.
I think it's also important,since you then mentioned, right,
that lactose intolerance versusa milk allergy or lactose
allergy.
So for the listeners, right,what is the main difference
between a lactose allergy or amilk allergy versus a lactose
intolerance?
No, lactose is more, it's anintolerance.
Speaker 2 (31:52):
So it's not the allergy, it's just that we can't
break it down, you know.
So when you consider thedifference between an allergy
which could be verylife-threatening or not, it's
not that you have that allergicreaction, not, it's not that you
have that allergic reaction.
It's just that because it's notbroken down fully, it's causing
gas and distension, which canbe causal for pain and some
(32:15):
obvious symptoms which arerather mild or severe.
So it's just the fact that it'snot broken down.
So the great thing about thelactose intolerance is that we
have things widely available.
You know you can get thatlactase enzyme.
You know supplement, you canget that included in a certain
product that breaks down thatcomplex sugar, the lactose.
(32:39):
Or you can choose food itemsthat are much, much lower in
lactose.
Speaker 1 (32:44):
Or you know vegan, non-dairy products much, much
lower in lactose or, you know,vegan, non-dairy products.
Yeah, thank you so much fortalking a little bit about that
as well.
Okay, lauren, thank you so muchagain for your time and for all
your insights and all your tips.
I really appreciate your timeAgain, I'll put all the
information where listeners canfind you in the show notes.
Yeah again, thank you again foreverything.
Speaker 2 (33:08):
Thank you so much for having me.
This was such a delightfulconversation.
You're so warm, You're so it'sjust.
It's such a pleasure to speakwith you, so thank you.
Speaker 1 (33:18):
Absolutely All right, everybody.
Thank you so much for your time.
Stay tuned for more episodes.
Stay safe and stay healthy.
I will talk to you soon.
Bye-bye for now.
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