Wait What

Fast forward twenty years to when the father of the biology professor who told me this is driving out from the east coast to see his son in California. Crossing the southwest at night.

An armadillo runs across the road. 

He comes to a screeching halt and the Thing Of Evil, which he never knew was actually a real animal, trots the rest of the way across the road and vanishes into the desert.

- Lactose intolerance is not a dairy allergy. You can, should, and hopefully will continue consuming dairy with lactose. You actually NEED lactose to fight lactose intolerance. If you cut it out of your diet completely then your sensitivity will increase. This is the big one that vegans will lie to you about. One actually tried to convince me that lactose was killing my body. No, it’s not a dairy allergy.

- This one is probably fairly obvious but you don’t need to stop drinking cow’s milk to avoid lactose in your milk. Lactose free milk is a thing and there’s lactaid pills you can take. 

- Lactose intolerance isn’t “because you’re not a baby cow” like vegans like to say. It’s because your body doesn’t produce enough lactase and can’t digest lactose. It’s extremely common in people of colour with upwards of 90% of Asian people having it. It’s less common in northern Europeans which might go a ways towards explaining why white vegans as a whole know very little about it and seem to mistake it for a dairy allergy.

- Lactose is found in non dairy foods like some breads, processed meats, cereals, chips, medications, etc. And certain dairy products have higher or lower concentrations. Butter has a stupid low amount for example. And everyone’s tolerance is different.

- The average LT person can have 12 grams of lactose per sitting. You’ll likely be able to have more if it’s consumed with a large meal.