Lactose intolerance occurs when the body stops producing a sufficient amount of the enzyme necessary to digest lactose, the natural sugar found in milk.  The significance is enormous when you consider that an estimated 80 million Americans are affected. 

For the dairy-sensitive individual, the list of foods to avoid seems endless.  No more creamy soups and sauces; no more milk chocolate, cheesecake, ice cream, crème brulée and almost all desserts (unless it’s fresh berries); no more butter, cheese, lasagna, Caesar salad, pizza, pasta Alfredo ... and the list goes on.

Fortunately, there are products that can significantly reduce the frequency and intensity of lactose intolerance symptoms.  However, these medications require regular administration (anywhere from one to several tablets daily or with each meal) and such treatment remains impractical and often unreliable. With symptoms that may include flatulence and diarrhea, most would leave nothing to chance. (Am I right?)

Milk protein allergies involve a completely different biochemical process than lactose intolerance. In fact, the medications used for lactose intolerance are ineffective for (and potentially harmful to) those with milk allergies.  Food allergies occur when the body recognizes an individual food protein as “foreign,” and activates a cascade of biochemical events, which produce allergy symptoms. The symptoms vary in severity and can range from a rash, headache, halitosis, nasal congestion and sneezing to more life-threatening symptoms such as shortness of breath and anaphylactic shock.

It’s important to understand that 100% avoidance is necessary in the case of severe milk protein allergies.  Unfortunately, this means that any product with the labeling “may contain trace amounts of milk protein” is off-limits to those with severe milk protein allergies.  In contrast, the lactose-intolerant individual can usually ingest trace amounts of dairy without any symptoms whatsoever. 

The symptoms of lactose intolerance and milk allergies are typically so unpleasant, that many forego the transitory pleasure of their favorite foods for peace of mind (and stomach).  Dining out can become a frustrating and potentially unsatisfying experience. Hopefully, through public awareness and increased consumer demand, more restaurants will begin to cater to their dairy-sensitive patrons.  In the meantime, we are left no option but to cater to ourselves. Hopefully, our creativity in the kitchen can be shared with friends and family.  (Why eat home alone, when you can have a party?)

For those of you who have suffered both the temptations of a favorite food and the unpleasant consequences, this cookbook will allow you to enjoy one of life’s simplest pleasures again. After all, it's not to much to ask to occasionally dine with dignity, and without fear.