“Mature ones are practically free.”

For most of our history, humans have consumed milk only during infancy. Like other mammals, during our first years of life we ​​can produce an enzyme called lactase to digest the milk sugar lactose. After weaning, the gene responsible for the production of this enzyme was turned “off.” But something happened thousands of years ago. In different parts of the world and at different times in history, mutations have made it possible for humans to consume milk into adulthood.

The -13910*T gene mutation explains the so-called “lactase persistence,” allowing adults to consume milk from other animals and providing an evolutionary advantage when food was scarce during the Ice Age. However, not everyone has this mutation. In Northern Europe, more than 90% of the population is lactose tolerant, while in East Asia, the prevalence of intolerance can exceed 90%. Globally, it is estimated that approximately 68% of the world’s population has some difficulty digesting lactose during adulthood.

Lactose intolerance is not an allergy, but rather malabsorption. It occurs when the small intestine does not produce enough lactase enzyme. Undigested lactose is sent straight to the colon, where intestinal bacteria ferment it, producing gas and drawing water into the intestines. The consequences are familiar to people with lactose intolerance, who experience symptoms ranging from 30 minutes to two hours after ingestion, including bloating, gas, abdominal pain or cramps, nausea, and sometimes diarrhea.

It must be understood that intolerance is not absolute, but is dose dependent. Most people with intolerance can ingest up to 12 grams of lactose, the equivalent of one glass of milk, with no or mild symptoms.

cheese and lactose

Cheese is a processed food thanks to the magic of fermentation. The main result of fermentation is the disappearance of lactose from the product. The basic process of making cheese is the coagulation stage, but it can also be done at home. In so-called lactic acid coagulation, acid is added to milk, or sometimes to whey from fermentation or another product, which separates some of the whey and lactose from the proteins, and lactic acid bacteria convert the remaining lactose into lactic acid. For example, this is how soft cheese and raw milk cheese are made.

In enzymatic coagulation, rennet, a mixture of enzymes, especially chymosin, is added, which is extracted from the stomach of lactating animals such as calves, lambs, and lambs, or from several plant sources. These enzymes destabilize casein, turning cheese into a chewy, pliable cream. Many cheeses combine lactic acid and enzymatic fermentation.

You can also find aged cheese in supermarkets. In this case, the cheese paste is pressed and goes through a ripening stage. Meanwhile, fermentation of the cheese continues through the action of enzymes and microorganisms that continue to convert proteins and fats and convert remaining lactose to lactic acid.

“Matured cheese is virtually lactose-free, as most of the lactose is separated from the whey fraction and what remains is completely converted to lactic acid during the first stages of ripening,” explains cheese refining expert Miguel Ángel Frías.

The stage of ripening determines the classification of cheese. Soft cheese is cheese that has been aged for less than 30 days. Aging for 1 to 3 months is called semi-curing. Healing occurs in 3 to 6 months. Cheese that has been aged for 6 to 9 months is called aged cheese, and cheese that has been aged for more than 9 months is labeled as aged cheese.

Which cheese has the least lactose?

The rules are simple. The more ripened the milk, the less lactose there is. Fresh cheeses that are barely ripe, such as Burgos cheese, ricotta, and fresh mozzarella, still contain large amounts of lactose (more than 2 to 3 grams per 100 grams). Conversely, cheeses that go through a long aging process will have minimal or no lactose levels.

For Fleiss, you have to be very careful about what you display. “Milk curd cheese contains more or less all the lactose,” he clarifies. “Cooked and pressed cheeses such as Grana Padano, Emmental and aged Manchego cheese contain about 0.05%,” he added.

The regulation states that a food labeled “lactose-free” is one that contains less than 0.01% trace amounts of lactose. A “low lactose” product is one that contains less than 1% residual lactose.

However, even without this label, there is still room for people with intolerances to consume these cheeses. Cheeses that are considered safe for people with intolerances include:

You’ll have to become a label detective to reliably identify these cheeses. Most importantly, look at the nutrition facts on the package and look for the carbohydrate section. There is an item that indicates which carbohydrate. Unless cheese is served with fruit or jelly, the only carbohydrate in cheese is lactose. Cheese with less than 0.5 grams of sugar per 100 grams of product is naturally considered to be very low in lactose, making it a fairly safe option for people with intolerances.

Still, no one knows the level of their own intolerance better than those who suffer from it, so this data should always be used to consider each specific case.