Top 10 Foods Highest in Lactose
Lactose is a disaccharide sugar made up of a combination of galactose and glucose. Lactose is found primarily in milk (dairy) foods.
At an early age almost everyone can digest lactose since it is an important source of energy from breastmilk. Later on in life, however, some people lose the ability to digest lactose and suffer from lactose intolerance. (1)
Symptoms of lactose intolerance include gas, diarrhea, and bloating. (1)
Foods high in lactose are those which contain milk. These include ice-cream, milk puddings, hot chocolate, eggnog, macaroni and cheese, yogurt, pancakes, milk chocolate, cottage cheese, and mashed potatoes. Below are the top 10 foods highest in lactose.
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1. MilkUp to 5.2% Lactose
Lactose per 16oz Glass Lactose per 100g 25.4g (6 tsp) 5.2g (1.3 tsp) -
2. Soft Serve Ice-Cream SmoothieUp to 6.2% Lactose
Lactose per 12oz Cup Lactose per 100g 21.7g (5 tsp) 6.2g (1.6 tsp) - 19g in a McDonald's McFlurry with Oreos
- 10.5g in a McDonald's hot fudge sundae
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3. Dulce De LecheUp to 4.9% Lactose
Lactose per Cup Lactose per 100g 15g (3.7 tsp) 4.9g (1.2 tsp) - 10.2g per 10oz serving of rice pudding
- 6.5g per 1/2 cup of egg custard
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4. Hot CocoaUp to 4.6% Lactose
Lactose per Cup Lactose per 100g 11.6g (2.9 tsp) 4.6g (1.2 tsp) - 19.9g per cup of eggnog
- 7.3g in an iced mocha
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5. Macaroni and CheeseUp to 4.1% Lactose
Lactose per Serving (6oz) Lactose per 100g 7.3g (1.8 tsp) 4.1g (1 tsp) - 4.7g per serving of Cracker Barrel Mac n' Cheese
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6. Low-Fat Greek YogurtUp to 2.9% Lactose
Lactose per 7oz Container Lactose per 100g 5.8g (1.5 tsp) 2.9g (0.7 tsp) -
7. Pancakes (Hot Cakes)Up to 2.4% Lactose
Lactose per 3 Pancakes Lactose per 100g 5.3g (1.3 tsp) 2.4g (0.6 tsp) The amount of lactose will depend on the amount of milk used in the recipe.
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8. Milk Chocolate (Kit-Kat Bar)Up to 8.2% Lactose
Lactose per 1.5oz Bar Lactose per 100g 3.4g (0.9 tsp) 8.2g (2.1 tsp) -
9. Cottage CheeseUp to 1.6% Lactose
Lactose per 1/4cup (4oz) Lactose per 100g 1.8g (0.4 tsp) 1.6g (0.4 tsp) Most other cheeses only contain 0.5g of lactose per 1 oz slice. (1oz = 28g of cheese)
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10. Mashed Potatoes (With Milk)Up to 0.7% Lactose
Lactose per Cup Lactose per 100g 1.5g (0.4 tsp) 0.7g (0.2 tsp) The amount of lactose will depend on the amount of milk used in the recipe.
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- Foods High in Lactose
- Foods Low in Lactose
- Vegetarian Foods High in Lactose
- Dairy High in Lactose
- Fast Foods High in Lactose
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Related
Data Sources and References
- Sieber R, Stransky M, de Vrese M. Lactose Intolerance Z Ernahrungswiss. 1997 Dec;36(4):375-93. doi: 10.1007/BF01617834. 9467238
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