How I drink lattes again after 10 years of Lactose intolerance

Taken a cup of latte and started to have a small diarrhoea shortly after?

Or, feeling bloated right after milk or anything that fresh milk in it?

Does not happen when you are on soy or oat milk?

Rest assured - it is NOT permanent. It is NOT a problem of getting older or age. I was like you, I started to have all these symptoms going into my 30s and no longer enjoy latte. I started to only drink (iced) americano, but sometimes, you know, you just want to have that latte. Coffee does taste different and better at times. I like that picolo latte. I thought it was just because I was getting old, especially since that sentiment is shared across people in that age bracket.

It is likely that for you, and many others like you, have lost the good bacteria in your gut. The bacteria that can actually metabolise lactose. When we were born, we had high levels of an enzyme called lactase that breaks down lactose. If you're Asian, especially, you lose 90% of these enzymes by age 5.

Regardless, we can replace the ability to break it down through natural colonisation of our gut microbiome with Lactobacillus or Bifidobacterium. Unfortunately, over years of processed food and what-not, we often lost balance in our gut microbiome, which leads to a state called dysbiosis. Historically, high-sugar and high-fat processed diets have been shown to elevate the proportion of Firmicutes relative to Bacteroidetes, a shift heavily linked to obesity and metabolic dysfunctional state that is also pro-inflammatory.

But perhaps that's too complicated. A really simple hack is kimchi. Kimchi contains a variety of bacteria (including Lactiplantibacillus plantarum) which then contains the wonderful enzyme beta-galactosidase which breaks down lactose.

Keefe's kimchi biohack

Here's a trick that you can use to restore your gut microbiome. It worked for me. Caveat, it may not work for you. So try it at your own tolerance, because it might not work for everyone. Do in this sequence to minimise discomfort.

1. Slow down your daily meals, changing to a one meal a day diet (OMAD) of whole foods for a week.
2. Do a 4-day water only fasting, e.g. from Monday to Thursday. This clears your gut microbiome.
3. On Friday, start taking in whole foods like vegetable. Just one meal, to let your body restart. Eat a portion of kimchi.
4. Eat just kimchi as one meal a day, for the next two days (e.g. Sat and Sun). Supplement with Akkermansia muciniphila, which is really important to reduce inflammation as well.
5. Repeat this cycle 2-3 months later.

How much kimchi is sufficient for the day? About 3/4 of the portion of the picture shown above is good. If you require a tiny bit of rice to reduce the saltiness, that is fine. I buy my kimchi from a local ajumma store that reeks authenticity, but I am pretty sure it should work for store bought kimchi as well.

It is really critical to repeat the cycle 2-3 months later. In fact, this should be done on a yearly basis. Fasting (as noted in my other post) has huge benefits and helps to reset all the toxins stored up in your body over the year.

I do this exercise regularly now for 2 years.

I am proud to say that I can drink my latte without that sput of poop.

And if it works for you, drop me a note of thanks! It might change your life entirely.