I Live For Cheese and Forced Myself to Overcome Lactose Intolerance
I couldn’t bear the thought of never eating cheese again.
I have an immediate answer when people ask, “If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be?” Cheese. There’s no hesitation in my mind.
I read LEVEL Editors’ essay, “6 Cheeses That Are Worth the Aftermath, Ranked” and chuckled aloud when I saw the subtitle: Bring on the bubble guts!
I know that feeling all too well. A significant number of people are lactose-intolerant, which the Mayo Clinic explains is when a person’s small intestine doesn’t produce enough of the enzyme (lactase) to digest the lactose (sugar) in milk. This shows up as
- Diarrhea
- Nausea, and sometimes, vomiting
- Stomach cramps
- Bloating
- Gas
That same website explains, “Lactose intolerance is most common in people of African, Asian, Hispanic and American Indian descent.” It seems many of us can drink milk and eat ice cream and other dairy products as children, but then lactose intolerance develops later in life.
When I was in my mid-20s, I started to get painful stomach cramps, bloating, and gas after eating cheese…
