70% of adult humans are lactose intolerant. Don’t let that stop you enjoying dairy

Bloating. Cramps. Gas. These are all too familiar for many people who enjoy dairy products but their bodies fail to break down lactose, the sugar found in milk.

Instead of addressing the problem, most tell themselves they can no longer eat dairy so seek out alternatives.

One of the brains behind Leaving Lactose, Seb Anderson (pictured top left), looks at the issue more closely and explains why we don’t have to give up our favourite foods.

With his co-founder Will Jackson, also 24 (pictured top centre), the pair from Birmingham have become focused specialists on dairy digestion since graduating with business, law and finance degrees. Their solution – a tablet containing the enzyme lactase, to be taken before meals.

Seb identifies the problem and its cause: “When you feel bad after eating a Domino’s or your stomach begins cramping after that first Starbucks of the day, chances are its the dairy contents of those products that are causing upset to your digestion

“As babies, we’re perfectly able to digest milk as it’s the only food we have for the first few months of life. But as we get older we lose our ability to break down lactose. This is what causes annoying but avoidable pains.

“Severity and symptoms vary from person to person but most of us are lactose intolerant to an extent.

“This, however, is not the same as being allergic to dairy. It’s important we make this distinction.”

On the prevalence of lactose intolerance, Seb said: “It turns out the majority of people worldwide have difficulty absorbing lactose with various ethnicities coping differently based on their respective food cultures.

“African and Asian diets are much lower in dairy historically and this means people from those regions have limited capacity for lactose absorption.

“In Nigeria, 87% suffer from lactose maldigestion. Yet Ghana, alongside South Korea, have 100% of their population struggling to digest dairy properly.

“We fare comparatively well here in the UK. Northern European diets typically have much higher dairy consumption.”

Lactose intolerance impacts the daily lives of sufferers, according to Seb: “People think they can’t enjoy the foods they love because the milk in them causes them discomfort. They have to buy alternatives and this can affect their whole grocery shop, often to great expense.

“We’re always hearing that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Think about breakfast foods – cereal, bread, yoghurt, croissants, they’re all packed with dairy products. The day hasn’t started well if you’ve got indigestion and bloating.

“You might be on a dinner date or on holiday and the food is making you gassy and needing the toilet loads. It puts people off and stops them having a good time.

“Or you could have a wedding but you don’t want to have any of the cake because you know it’ll make you feel rubbish afterwards.

“Ultimately people don’t want the bother so start avoiding these foods.”

In response, Seb and Will wanted to develop something that would offer effective relief in a small and convenient package. Seb said: “An 8mm tablet containing the enzyme lactase.

“You take it before meals and the lactase gives your body what it needs to digest milk products efficiently.

“We wanted to give people peace of mind. They can put them in their bag and not have to worry.

“People sometimes don’t like the idea of taking anything in tablet form. What you have to remember is it’s a supplement, not a pharmaceutical. The food supplements industry is plagued with disinformation and asymmetrical advice.

“The lactase enzyme is sourced from a mushroom, called aspergillus oryzae. We produce the tablets here in the UK in collaboration with world-renowned enzyme experts.”

There was a clear niche in the market as Seb said: “There were gleaming inefficiencies in what was currently available.

“Our supplements are double the strength of Boots’ offering and thrice that of Milk Aid.

“At 20p per meal, we’re also much better value.

“Our lactase tablets are suitable for vegetarians and are the only supplements of their kind to be certified by The Halal Trust.”

Seb finishes by saying: “We want to achieve unrestricted peace of mind whenever we’re indulging in the foods we love! Life is too short for us to be limited in what we can enjoy.”