The fate of lactose intolerant people with (fermented) cheeses
When the lactose in milk is transformed into lactic acid, they can eat, and this happens with both sawfish and bluefish, as well as many others.
People with lactose intolerance can eat fermented cheeses, and they're very lucky that there are many that are: Serra, Garrotxa, or blue cheese. And more. From abroad, there's Brie, Parmesan, Gruyère, Manchego, and many others. If a cheese is fermented, it means that bacteria like Lactobacillus have survived and managed to transform the lactose in the milk into lactic acid, which is a very different story, to the point that people with lactose intolerance can eat it.
Now that we've explained the big news, let's take it step by step. Lactose is a disaccharide, meaning it's made up of two sugars joined together: glucose and galactose. In the small intestine, we produce an enzyme called lactaseLactase is responsible for breaking down the two sugars into a single sugar (monosaccharide) to facilitate its absorption. People with lactose malabsorption (who know this through specific tests and also because of physical consequences they notice when they eat lactose) produce less lactase for various reasons, including inflammatory bowel diseases or severe gastroenteritis.
One gram of lactose per 100 grams
For all these reasons, people with lactose intolerance can eat cheeses like ricotta (yes, ricotta!), Serrano, Garrotxa, or blue cheese, which we have more and more of in our house every day. "Ricotta has a low lactose content because, essentially, it's a protein coagulation, and the aqueous part, where the lactose is dissolved, is removed," says dietitian-nutritionist Anna Costa, who adds that some lactose remains in ricotta, but not much. She continues, Serrano, Garrotxa, and blue cheeses are semi-cured and cured, and some contain mold, which also helps eliminate lactose. "Even a soft cheese is a fermented cheese, but be careful, because it has a short maturation time and, therefore, a higher lactose content than a cheese with a longer maturation time, such as Serrano or blue cheese." A cured cheese can have up to 1 gram of lactose per 100 grams, "and in many cases even less than 1 gram of lactose," says Anna Costa, who compares this figure with the amount of lactose provided by 250 ml of milk: 12 grams.
People with lactose intolerance can also eat other types of cheese, such as those made with buffalo milk. An example would be the florida rind cheese made in Moià by the Montbrú family, as its lactose content is minimal: 1.5 g per 100 grams, according to the nutritionist.
Finally, when shopping, there are a few nutritional tips to help you determine if a cheese is semi-cured or cured. Check the cheese's nutrition label for the amount of sugar it contains per 100 grams. Since lactose is the sum of two sugars, if the label indicates a high proportion of sugars, it's not a cheese suitable for lactose intolerant people. If the label says it contains 0.5g of sugars, there's no problem. Another tip for those who want to eat all types of cheese is to use lactase tablets, which provide the enzyme for a period of two hours. They can be purchased at pharmacies and should be taken immediately after consuming cheeses that are not suitable for lactose intolerant people. The tablets are effective for two hours, and you can take another one if you continue eating the lactose-containing cheese.
It is worth highlighting, then, how lucky those with lactose intolerance are with fermented cheeses, and even more so with the quality of those from our house.