Consumption of camel's milk by patients intolerant to lactose. A preliminary study.

OBJECTIVE To determine whether camel's milk can be consumed by patients intolerant to lactose without undesirable reactions.

PATIENTS AND METHOD Twenty-five patients with clinical and laboratorial diagnosis of lactose intolerance underwent provocation tests with growing amounts of cow's milk and subsequently with camel's milk.

RESULTS Except for two patients, who had mild reactions to the maximum dosage of camel's milk (250 mL), the acceptance was excellent. Pasteurization of camel's milk did not affect tolerance. Also, most of the patients showed significant clinical reactions when drinking very low amounts of cow's milk.

CONCLUSION Camel's milk can be considered an option for the individuals intolerant to lactose who present symptoms when ingesting cow's milk.