Overview
About Dairy Proteins
Dairy protein sensitivity focuses on casein and whey — found in milk, cheese, yogurt, and whey protein — which remain even in lactose-free dairy products.
Dairy proteins (casein and whey) can cause reactions in people with milk protein allergy or intolerance. This is different from lactose intolerance and can cause both digestive and systemic symptoms.
In the data
Where you will find dairy proteins
- Still graded high in dairy protein, so yogurt is no help whatsoever for a cow milk protein allergy, and it grades incompatible with an EoE elimination diet
- Strained yogurt sits lower in lactose because the whey drains away with the sugar in it, while flavoured yogurt usually gains fruit puree, syrup or added inulin and lands higher in FODMAPs than the plain version
- Contains casein and whey, the milk proteins behind dairy sensitivity and congestion
- High in dairy protein (casein and whey) in every type, so it still triggers a milk protein sensitivity even when the cheese is aged and low in lactose
- Graded high in dairy protein. Casein and whey are the allergy half of the story, and they survive every process that targets the sugar, including lactase drops and lactose-free labelling.
Examples
A few ingredients either way
Rated high
Grading
How we grade dairy proteins
Every ingredient in the database carries one grade for dairy proteins, and this page, the checker and the app all read that same grade. It describes the ingredient as it is usually eaten. Portion size and preparation move it.
Practical
Working with dairy proteins
- Lactose-free products still contain dairy proteins.
- Try goat or sheep dairy - some people tolerate these better.
- Dairy protein allergy requires complete dairy avoidance
- Casein and whey are the main proteins to avoid
- 'Non-dairy' products may still contain casein
- Ghee may be tolerated as proteins are removed
- This is different from lactose intolerance - treatment differs
Method
Test it with a diary
Most people find their own triggers by logging meals and symptoms for a few weeks and reading the result back. Three steps.
- 1Log every meal for a few weeks. Type it, say it out loud, or scan a barcode, and it lands as a list of ingredients.
- 2Rate how you feel through the day on whatever you are tracking, whether that is bloating, headaches, skin or sleep.
- 3Read the pattern back. Every ingredient you logged is scored against the days you felt worse, and the result ranks dairy proteins against everything else you eat.
Questions
Questions people ask
Is heavy cream safe if I have a dairy protein allergy?
No. A cow milk allergy is a reaction to the proteins casein and whey, and both are concentrated in heavy cream. Heating or whipping it does not remove them, so cream is not a safe swap for a true milk allergy. Lactose-free cream still contains these proteins.
More about heavy cream
Read next
Where to go next
References
Dairy Proteins sources
Where the dairy proteins grades come from: food composition databases, clinical guidelines and patient organisations.
4 sources from peer-reviewed research, regulatory bodies, and clinical guidelines.
Get started
Tracking dairy proteins?
Log what you eat and how you feel, and the app finds the pattern for you. Or look an ingredient up here first.
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