Yogurt and tons of gas?

[CathyA]

I've heard of people who just can't tolerate probiotics/yogurt.
I've never had big problems with it. But awhile back, I began to eat Fage yogurt (love it!) and now I'm having gas pains all the time.
Anyone else find this to be a problem......especially with the Fage?
Dangit.......one more thing to add to the list of things I love that I can't tolerate.

[Rosemary]

I suspect it's more the lactose than the probiotics? Maybe a different brand would be better; or make homemade, which you can culture for a long time so that the cultures consume all the lactose.

Only one way to tell if it's the yogurt; go off it for a couple of weeks and try again.

[ApatheticNoMore]

Yea probably the lactose, probably just a problem tolerating dairy as such. Yogurt should actually be less of a problem than many other types of dairy precisely because of the pro-biotics and the fermentation having broken down much of the lactose. But if your tolerance of dairy is very low it will still be an issue (it's also possible the lower fat varieties have additional milk solids added that may cause problems - full fat for me :)). I also found the Fage with the honey tube on the side to be a problem to digest, the honey yogurt combo was just very indigestable (gave me stomach cramps) and yet I am fine with the TJs yogurt with honey mixed in, go figure, and I'm fine with Fage yogurt without honey.

Really, I don't even bother to explain my body, I just know that these are repeatable experiences that I had to keeping trying and being in pain for many times to learn to stop (bananas with peanut butter was another of these repeatable experiences, it caused stomach cramps. Even though I can eat both in separate meals just fine, just not together).

If even the full fat yogurt without honey is a problem then it is probably just that dairy doesn't agree with you period, I guess you could try products designed for lactose intolerant people but it may just be better to avoid the whole thing (because I'm not so sure we should override the body's signaling mechanisms).

[CathyA]

Thanks Rosemary and ApatheticNoMore,
Yes, I do have problems with dairy, but things like yogurt (other than Fage), cheese have never bothered me. The worst is skim milk and vanilla ice cream.
I discovered the same thing about dairy and fat! I do much better with higher fat things. I only eat the Fage with honey! Hmmmm......I should try it without it and see if that helps. I sure like the honey with it though.

Its funny.....I know I've had too much milk or ice cream when my neck and chin start itching! I can get away with it occasionally, but once I get over a certain amount, the itching starts.
I've been eating both the 0 % Fage and the 2% Fage, depending on what the local store has. They seem to both give me gas. I'll try having it with something other than the honey........but I'll be sad. lol!

[Gardenarian]

I find that I can digest organic yogurt just fine, but I tried the Fage and had the same problem as you.

[CathyA]

Hmmm.....that's interesting. I think I'll give it up for awhile.....after I finish the 2 big containers of it I have! Can't bring myself to waste it.....

[Rosemary]

Lowfat dairy has more lactose than full fat - read the labels ("Sugars")!

Perhaps you could use the yogurt that you have in something cooked or baked?

[Amaranth]

It's also possible that there may be some allergy to the honey going on in addtion to the dairy problems if the bees were making honey from plants you are allergic to.

[Jemima]

I've just recently started having a bad reaction to yogurt, much like my reaction to gluten-containing foods. I wonder if this is another move by food distributers to cheapen the product, along the lines of shrinking packaging? Perhaps the live cultures and fermentation period are being reduced. Trader Joe'sometimes has yogurt made from goat milk, which I understand is much better for us humans than cow milk. (This is supposed to be one of their regular products, but it's so popular they have trouble keeping it in stock. It's very tangy, like I remember yogurt from years ago, and good with honey mixed in.)