A healthy breakfast is the ideal way to start the day for many people. It makes you feel fresh and full of energy, so you can easily take on the day and its tasks. However, quite a few people eat a lot of dairy products for breakfast – whether it's yoghurt with fresh fruit or milk with cornflakes, for many people dairy products are an integral part of their morning routine.
But what if you are lactose intolerant? Can you still have a healthy breakfast or do you have to go without important nutrients?
In this article, we will address these and some other questions on the subject of breakfast for people with lactose intolerance. But before we look at breakfast tips, we should first clarify what makes a healthy breakfast and remind ourselves of what lactose intolerance is all about.
Discover lactose-free breakfasts from Verival
What makes a healthy breakfast?
A healthy breakfast should not only be characterised by optimal nutritional values but also by a unique taste. Thus, not only the main nutrients such as carbohydrates, fats and proteins should be sufficiently covered, but also the many essential micronutrients. These range from minerals to trace elements and vitamins.
To supply the body with all these nutrients, you should therefore ensure you eat a wide variety of foods.
What is lactose intolerance?
Lactose intolerance means that the body is unable to break down the milk sugar contained in milk . This means that this component of dairy products cannot be utilised and can lead to gastrointestinal problems.
Lactose can be found in almost all dairy products. This means that a large number of foods used every day are no longer an option for those affected. As a result, eating yoghurt for breakfast or drinking milk with coffee or muesli is no longer an option.
This means that some important nutrients that are usually consumed through dairy products are also lost. In particular, minerals such as calcium and B-complex vitamins (especially vitamin B2) must be supplied to the body from other sources.
What nutrients are characteristic of dairy products?
To know how best to replace dairy products at breakfast, you should consider not only the taste component but also the nutritional values. But what are these foods known for? Why are they such an important part of breakfast for many people?
From a health perspective, the nutrients found in milk and dairy products are the main reason for the importance of these foods at breakfast. That's because yoghurt, cheese and the like contain a variety of important nutrients. In addition to their reputation as a source of protein, they also have a decent fat content that helps you feel full.
Furthermore, the calcium content is worth highlighting – hence milk's reputation as the number one food for strong bones and teeth. Dairy products also contain plenty of vitamin B2.
Discover a lactose-free recipe for calcium-rich quinoa porridge with berries here:
Substituting dairy products – what is the best way to do it?
Since milk has repeatedly fallen into disrepute in recent years, not only lactose-intolerant people want to avoid it, but also more and more people who could actually tolerate these products.
However, it is questionable whether doing without them is healthy. The answer to this question is controversial, as it is with many health issues, but there are some ways to get the ‘lost nutrients’ in other ways. In addition, the question arises as to which alternatives are not only suitable in terms of nutritional value, but also in terms of taste and processing.
That is why we will now look at the classic breakfast options and their alternatives.
Breakfast without dairy products – here's how
There are now endless breakfast options without dairy products. However, not all of them are suitable for health-conscious people – because often foods such as yoghurt are simply replaced by heavily processed alternative products to which nutrients have been artificially added in order to come as close as possible to the original product.
However, if you prefer natural products that have been processed as little as possible, you should take a close look at the list of ingredients on the milk substitute products.
The vast majority of our recipes are vegan and therefore also suitable for lactose-intolerant people. For example, the porridge mixtures can also be prepared with water and muesli & crunchy also taste wonderful with plant-based milk alternatives. If you want to decide for yourself what goes into your lactose-free, vegan milk substitute and what doesn't, you can try out our various recipes for homemade plant-based drinks. How about preparing your own oat or almond milk as a base for your muesli, for example?
Why not let our recipe ideas inspire you – this way you can create something new every day, not only adding variety to your breakfast routine, but also providing your body with sufficient nutrients.
And if you're in a hurry, you can always prepare a delicious porridge mix. This is ready within a few minutes and provides you with plenty of energy for a good start to the day.
Conclusion
If you want to or have to avoid dairy products, you can choose from a variety of alternative products that are just as nutritious and tasty as milk.
However, it is important to make sure you prepare as much as possible yourself to avoid heavily processed foods.
Find out more about healthy breakfast options for those with food intolerances
