Alyssa Miller

I recently discovered I was lactose intolerant; this discovery has posed many issues for me. I used to eat a lot of dairy in my diet.  I had milk in my cereal for breakfast, cottage cheese for lunch, a cheese stick for lunch, and something else with dairy for dinner.  With all of this in my diet, I would have bad stomach pains that I couldn’t explain.  Recently my mom decided I was lactose intolerant; therefore, I cut the dairy out of my diet.  I haven’t had any more stomach pains so I think diary must have been the cause of my issues.

Living without dairy is harder than you think.  I can’t eat pizza with the rest of my family.  I should get ice cream when all of my friends are.  I can’t eat the same foods I have been used to.  My mom has to buy me new food to supplement my foods I used to buy for lunch.

Some of the things my mom buy me that are lactose free are almond or soy milk; these milks taste a little different plain but are still good in my cereal.  Spinach, broccoli, and other green leafy vegetables have calcium in them.  Canned tuna or canned salmon also contain a lot of calcium without lactose.  Almonds and orange juice also have calcium for strong bones.  Vitamin supplements may also need to be used to get the extra calcium needed in my diet.