Although many IC professionals do suggest milk is bladder friendly, many of you are suggesting that it is not. According to the ICA, Lactaid is an acceptable alternative, but products, such as Lactaid, fall short when trying to imitate the creaminess of milk. I do not have IC, so much like you, Lactaid is very unsatisfying. So on my refrigerator door, you will find Lactaid nestled tightly next to the ketchup and mustard, staring at me. So here goes….
Lactose free milk will never have the natural creaminess that regular milk will have. I recommend you stay away from pouring it over cereal or drinking it from a glass. But I have discovered that you can use lactose free milk in many similar ways as regular milk. How about chicken Alfredo, or pizza made with white sauce. Gravy, and even ice cream can be made right there in your kitchen. Check out the recipe section of our page for more recipes!
Just a note that may help others with IC. I can’t use milk because of the additives A & D in it. But my health food store sells a brand of whole milk without these additives and I can drink this. I also find that in simple things like cream cheese, cottage cheese, ricotta, whipping cream, even mozzarella etc. all seem to have vinegar or other additives that might cause flares. Again, the health food store has come to the rescue with pure versions of these dairy items which I find I can tolerate. Sometimes I use Rice Dream classic as a substitute too which works fine in some recipes. So if you think you can’t do dairy, you may want to do a little more investigating, you may find some products that your bladder is friendly with.
Erika are there certain name brands that specialize in subtracting the additives?
Chef Daniel - I use Cedar Summit Farm Whole Non Homogenized Old Fashioned Milk, Organic Valley powdered milk, Rice Dream Original Classic, and even raw milk. Kemps, a Midwest brand, has an additive free whipping cream. For cheese, I can’t recall any brands off the top of my head, I just read the labels and pick the one that has the least bothersome ingredients. Next time I buy cheese I’ll pay more attention and post the brands here.
The Cedar Summit Farm milk can only be found in the Twin Cities area but there may be other farms near you that sell an additive free milk. I had to do a lot of box reading and just to be sure, I e-mailed Cedar Summit Farm as an added precaution.
Organic Valley powdered milk comes in regular and buttermilk flavors. It is fat free and can be purchased on Amazon.com with free shipping too.
Rice Dream Classic has been recently reformulated to be gluten free (which I have to deal with too) and has a lot less stuff in it than it use to. I keep some on hand in case I don’t have milk and/or I want to use something a little less fattening than whole milk.
I have found raw milk to be very soothing to my bladder. It does have to be purchased from a local farmer. I believe the law says(at least in MN) that farmers cannot advertise that they sell raw milk and you as a customer have to go to the farm to pick it up. Also, you have to bring your own container. I found the local farmer I go to through an internet search. If the idea that the milk is raw scares you, you can always pasteurize it yourself by scalding the milk first before use. I found fresh milk to be the best though, and it is yummy tasting too.
I hope this info. helps. I realize that even with additive free milk products, it might not be bladder friendly for some, so use with caution.
Im loving all your information!