Lactase 9,000 units (enzyme)
The enzyme you are missing, put back in the right place at the right time. Nothing more, and that is already a lot.
The short version
What it does It digests the lactose for you, for the length of one meal. Taken a quarter of an hour before, it markedly reduces the bloating, gas and pain that follow a dairy product.
What it does not do It cures nothing: the missing enzyme is still missing at the next meal. And it has no effect on a milk protein allergy, which is a different and sometimes serious illness.
What the studies say
Ianiro’s trial studied 47 adults with confirmed intolerance, each taking lactase and a placebo in turn. Undigested lactose ferments in the gut and produces a gas you then breathe out: measured over three hours, that gas falls by 55 % on lactase, and symptom scores improve. An earlier randomised trial in 60 people finds the same direction with a dose fifteen minutes before the meal.
There are few participants, and what the trials measure first is that gas in the breath — not day-to-day comfort over time. Above all, the response is very uneven: in a study of 96 people, only 22 % fully normalised their test, and 18 % did not respond at all. We found no meta-analysis in adults.
If your intolerance is confirmed and you want to eat a cheese without paying for it three hours later, it is worth trying — it is risk-free and cheap. But some people do not respond, and you should accept that before buying.
How to take it
Relevant in confirmed lactose intolerance, for meals where you do not want to give up milk, fresh cheese or cream. Pointless if you already avoid lactose without difficulty, or if your digestive trouble has not been attributed to lactose — many people self-diagnose wrongly.
About 9,000 FCC units roughly fifteen minutes before the meal, swallowed with a little water. For a dish very rich in lactose, double the dose. Take it again at each relevant meal: there is no cumulative effect.
Judge across three or four comparable meals. If nothing changes, two explanations: the dose is too low for the amount of lactose, or your problem was not lactose. In the second case, look towards irritable bowel — and peppermint oil.
What is inside
Lactase (beta-galactosidase), an enzyme produced by fermentation, most often from Aspergillus oryzae. Activity is measured in FCC units, and that is the only figure that counts — the tablet weight says nothing.
Look for activity in FCC UNITS stated per tablet, not a quantity in milligrams. 9,000 units is the most studied dose for a standard meal. Chewable forms act a little faster than capsules you swallow.
Products stating only a weight with no enzyme activity. Heat destroys the enzyme: do not mix it into a hot dish, take it separately. And if you are vegan, the question does not arise.
Cautions
- Milk protein allergy: lactase changes nothing
- Mould allergy: the enzyme is produced by fungal fermentation
The three options
15,000 FCC, released over 6 h
15,000 FCC, spread over six hours
80 tablets, 443 reviews. A reading point: the list expresses activity in ALU per gram where the title speaks of FCC. Those are two different scales, and only the title’s figure compares with the trial doses.
For whom — Very dairy-heavy meals, or an insufficient response to a standard dose.
9,000 FCC units
9,000 FCC units stated
No additives, pocket pill box. The FCC unit is the only figure that counts: it is a measure of enzyme activity, not a weight. A product advertising “200 mg of lactase” with no FCC units tells you nothing about what it digests.
For whom — The default choice: it is the dose used in the trials.
The dairy foods naturally low in lactose
Nothing to buy
Matured cheeses, butter and yoghurts contain very little lactose: ripening and fermentation have already digested it. Plenty of people tolerate them with no enzyme at all.
For whom — Before buying — a large share of intolerant people handle 12 g of lactose per sitting, which is a glass of milk.
Nothing to buy here — the text above explains why.
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