Most "lactose-free" wheys you see on the market are isolates. I pay a premium for that. But maybe you don't need to. I'll explain what's really behind it.
What is lactose and why does it appear in whey.
Lactose is the natural sugar in milk. When cheese is made, the solid part (the curd) retains most of the fat and protein, and the liquid whey carries a fraction of lactose with it. When this whey is dried to make protein powder, the lactose remains in small quantities.
Specifically:
- Whey concentrate 80%: contains on average between 4 and 6 g of lactose per 100 g of product. In our Catalan cream Whey Protein, a 30 g serving provides 1.7 g of total sugars (mostly natural lactose).
- Whey isolate 90%+: lactose has been filtered until it is usually below 1 g per 100 g. A 30 g serving has about 0.3 g.
What "lactose intolerance" really means.
It's important to separate two cases that are often confused:
Diagnosed intolerance. The intestine does not produce enough lactase, the enzyme that digests lactose. Undigested lactose reaches the colon and causes fermentation, gas, bloating, and diarrhea. It is diagnosed with a medical test (hydrogen breath test or genetic analysis). It affects between 30% and 35% of adults in Spain, with a lot of regional variation.
Sensitivity or occasional discomfort. You might have a stomach ache after a cream soup or a coffee with milk, but you tolerate yogurt or aged cheese well. This usually indicates a reduced but not null capacity to digest lactose, not strict intolerance.
For those with diagnosed intolerance, isolate is worth it. For those with occasional sensitivity, concentrate is often well tolerated, especially if taken with other foods.
The practical test.
If you don't have a clear diagnosis and want to know how concentrate works for you:
- Buy a sample (at Quota Vita we have 30g, one serving).
- Take it alone, with water, after you've eaten something.
- Observe your body for the next 4 hours.
If there is no reaction, concentrate is your option and you save 30-50% compared to an isolate. If you react badly, you know you need an isolate or another type of protein.
What we do at Quota Vita.
Our protein is an 80% concentrate. We do not sell it as "lactose-free" because it is not. The amount of lactose per serving is modest (1.7 g, comparable to a quarter cup of milk), and most of our customers tolerate it without problems.
If you have diagnosed intolerance, our protein is not for you and I would not recommend it. There are isolates on the market with low lactose profiles that will work better for you.
If in doubt, start with a sample before buying a large format. It's how you taste any new food.
Frequent question: what about digestive enzymes?
Some brands add lactase (the enzyme that digests lactose) to the product. It's an intermediate solution: the concentrate retains its flavor and price, but the lactose is broken down during digestion.
At Quota Vita we do not add enzymes. The reason is the same as all our formulation: five ingredients and that's it. If we add lactase, it would have to justify the extra cost and label complexity. For now, I haven't found the demand to justify it.
Gerard, founder.