Healthy living
Additionally, results showed patients were consuming significantly higher amounts of milk and dairy, with significant improvements in their global assessments compared with placebo.
In short, better treatments are in great demand and researchers are showing some promising results. Nevertheless, the best defence against symptoms is still to avoid lactose altogether, and the food industry is making it far easier for consumers to make dietary changes that provide the right nutrients and are not too onerous.
Foods created to feed wellness While the community of people suffering the inconvenience and discomfort of lactose intolerance wait for more effective treatments to emerge, the best strategy remains a change in diet to eliminate lactose as far as possible. Luckily, food producers have access to an ever-growing range of foods that cater to their needs.
In fact, these foods have found a market beyond those dealing with lactose intolerance, and the number of people moving to a dairy-free or reduced- dairy diet has been growing steadily in recent years. According to NPD Group, milk consumption represented a 15% share of all eating occasions in the US, but by 2019 that had fallen to just 9%, and US milk consumption continues to fall. Meanwhile, sales of non-dairy alternatives have been rising. According to research by Nielsen, US sales have grown by 23% in the past four years. Soy milk and, to a greater extent, almond milk are now commonplace on supermarket shelves and, while not to everyone’s tastes, they have made significant inroads into the dairy market – as have other alternatives made from oats, hemp, cashews, coconut and more. At the same time, however, the dairy industry has responded, with lactose-free milk having a significant impact on the supermarket shelf. Lactose-free milk – produced by treating dairy milk with the enzyme lactase – is setting new sales records each year. Market research from Technavio suggests that the market will expand by $118m between 2019 and 2022, with growth coming in the US, Europe and Asian, while Nielsen estimates that around $1.2bn of lactose-free milk is already sold around the world each year.
Indeed, the growth in sales of lactose-free milk seems to be outpacing its plant-based alternatives, at least in the US. Figures for 2019 supplied by market research firm IRI suggest the US market for lactose- free milk grew twice as fast as sales of plant-based alternatives. That said, the market for almond milk is growing rapidly and, again in 2019, sales of oat-based beverages grew by 872% in the US, though from a low base – up to $68m from only $7m in 2018.
Ingredients Insight /
www.ingredients-insight.com 75
Highest prevalence of lactose intolerance:
1. Ghana 100% 2. Malawi 100% 3. South Korea
100%
4. Yemen 100% 5. Solomon Islands
99%
6. Armenia 98% 7. Vietnam 98% 8. Zambia 98% 9. Azerbaijan 96% 10. Oman 96%
Lowest prevalence of lactose intolerance:
1. Denmark 4% 2. Ireland 4% 3. Sweden 7% 4. United Kingdom 5. New Zealand
8% 10%
6. Netherlands 12% 7. Norway 12% 8. Niger 13% 9. Belgium 15% 10. Cyprus 16%
Source: World Population Review
Milk is obviously the main battleground for the dairy industry in its attempts to counteract the rise in plant- based substitutes, but lactose is a core ingredient in many foods. There is much for the food industry to do to create and promote foods free from lactose, but the outlook for sufferers is positive indeed. While researchers work on more effective supplements that can allow sufferers of lactose intolerance to consume whatever foods they choose, food producers will no doubt continue to develop dietary alternatives for anyone who feels a dairy- free diet might be healthier for them as individuals, whether they are lactase-deficient or not. ●
Lactose-free milk is setting new sales records each year, aiming to compete with dairy-free alternatives.
Hanna Lepisto/
Shutterstock.com
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