When To Avoid The Ketogenic Diet

If You’re Lactose-Intolerant

If you struggle with a dairy allergy or lactose-intolerance, the ketogenic diet may be more of a challenge for you considering a majority of the recipes call for heavy creams, butter, sour cream, yogurt, and cheese. In fact, dairy plays a significant role in the ketogenic diet, as heavy cheeses, creams, yogurts, and butter are an excellent source of high-quality fats, and some of these dairy options even provide protein; the two main components of the ketogenic diet. A dairy allergy is when the body struggles to break down lactose, as, without the lactase enzyme, the lactose becomes metabolized by gut bacteria, which can result in an upset stomach, diarrhea, bloating, nausea, and flatulence.

Although challenging, it is not impossible to go completely dairy-free while following the ketogenic diet, as there are a wide variety of dairy substitutions and dairy-free recipes. An individual following the ketogenic diet with a dairy allergy will need to consume more low-carb fruits and vegetables, animal-based fats, red meat, poultry, and seafood, plant-based oils, and more nuts and seeds to make up for the lack of dairy. However, this restriction does pigeon-hold you to consume a lot of the same foods without a ton of variety. If you are having difficulty finding keto-friendly recipes that are dairy-free, you can also take a lactase enzyme supplement before consuming dairy-heavy meals.