If you consider yourself in a serious relationship with dairy, you’re definitely not alone.

Luckily for some, cheeses lower in lactose may be the key to happy, pain-free snacking.

What is lactose intolerance?

Michelle Konstantinovsky

“Adverse reactions to foods encompass both food allergies and food intolerances,” she adds.

What affects the amount of lactose in cheese?

Lactose levels are also affected by fermentation and time.Any remaining3lactose is transformed into lactic acid via fermentation.

The longer a cheese is aged (or ferments), the less lactose it will have."

Which cheeses are lowest in lactose?

“Hard, aged cheese tends to be lowest in lactosethink Parmesan and aged cheddar,” Fineberg says.

“Goat cheese also typically sits well with my lactose-intolerant clients.

While mild cheddar is aged two to three months, premium is aged anywhere between two to five years.

Mild cheddar is about0.0 to 2.1% lactose, while older cheddar contains trace amounts to 2.1%.

Grated Parmesan contains 2.9 to 3.7% lactose, and hard Parmesan contains 0.0 to 3.2%.

Swiss:

Many types of cheese fall under the category of “Swiss.”

Swiss cheese contains 0.0 to 3.4% lactose, and pasteurized, processed Swiss contains 0.0 to 2.1%.

Depending on the key in of milk used, Brie contains 0.0 to 2.0% lactose.

Feta:

Fresh cheeses like feta are significantly higher in lactose than some of the hard cheeses.

It contains anywhere from 0.0 to 1.8% lactose.

It’s made from the cultures of the mold Penicillium and definitely carries a distinct smell.

It contains 0.0 to 2.5% lactose.

It contains 0.0 to 2.1% lactose.