Beware of Milk

I don't have lactose intolerance, my Irish descent protects me from the damn thing. In fact, I've always been able to drink whole milk even in my adult life.

I've been sick for two days, and couldn't figure out why. I went through my food journal and I couldn't understand the reason, yet. Then, I had the light went on when I was in the bathroom.

I thought skim (fat free) and partially skim (low fat) milk were ok, while whole milk had to undergo to a dilution. I had not considered the cooking method!
I've been sick because I've eaten cappuccino (that is, coffee and heated milk). I couldn't make sense of it because the milk was either low fat or whole but diluted with coffee.

I think the mechanism is that the heat changes the fat structure. I still don't know how, but having a milk and coffee with whole milk gives me zero problems.

From Now On...

When you get diagnosed with Intestinal Lymphangiectasia (IL), you better not hope that doctors will help you, because most likely they won't. You'll be told blanket statements like

1. "stay on less than 30 grams of fat a day":
You will not be told that there are some (dietary) fats that are more digestible than some others (artificial) supplements.

2. "take MCT supplements"
You will not be explained that medium chain tryglicerides (MCT) also are naturally occurring in some foods (like butter, coconut, nuts and green tea).

There are many problems with such approach.

First off, dietary fats are not "all bad" for you even if you have IL. Some symptoms can be hugely ameliorated by eating foods rich in lecithin and omega3s, for example the pain and the shits. If you don't know anything about it, you could paradoxically eat a lot of saturated fats among those allowed 30 grams, and still have huge symptoms. If you know something more about it, you might need not be that restrictive in food intake and cooking methods. In other words, you might eat tasty foods that sit ok with you and aren't always the same few "balanced" dishes.

Some fats are essentials because, like vitamins, they cannot be manufactured by the body. When having restrictions in the amount of fats it's mandatory to know which fats can be safely avoided and which ones have not to be avoided.

MCT oil can give you diarrhea. There is absolutely no reason for you have to cope with that diarrhea, because MCT are not composed of essential fatty acids. If you can't tolerate them, don't take them.

Finally, you still have to eat food, and nobody teaches you its composition. You need to know what a food is composed of, how it is made, and how to make tasty, nutritional and safe food. You need to learn to avoid trans fats that can give you diarrhea and trigger IL.

Doctors won't tell you food information. Dieticians will usually put you on a diet. This blog is here to inform you and teach some tricks. But above all, use your brain, learn and be the master of your Fate.