Review + GIVEAWAY: LACTAID® Brand milk {ends 9/17} #BeyondLI

*Disclosure: I received product coupons from the LACTAID® Brand to facilitate my review and giveaway. The opinions expressed here, however, are my own.

A few years ago, I used to love drinking skim milk. I drank it with every meal, and sometimes even drank it as a snack; I would drink 3+ glasses a day.

Then, my senior year of college, I started having stomach issues. I was no longer able to drink dairy, or even eat pizza, one of my favorite meals. I lost about 50 pounds in 2-3 months; it wasn't healthy, and in fact was kind of scary, although we now know what was causing the issues.

I started trying out different soy and almond milks, which I do enjoy in smoothies and mixed into teas and other drinks, but I never really liked drinking them on their own.

At the BlogHer conference this past July, I was able to attend a breakfast sponsored by the LACTAID® Brand, and I was surprised as to what I found. Usually when I consume things like quiche, muffins, and other breakfast sweets like those they served us, I have to use the restroom immediately afterwards; however, in this case, I felt fine.

I was also able to try the LACTAID® Brand 1% milk, as well as their chocolate milk, and I really liked it, especially the chocolate milk.

Some things I was surprised to learn:

• An estimated 30-50 million Americans believe they are lactose intolerant.
• Lactose intolerance is a condition that affects individuals who are unable to digest the lactose in milk and milk products
• Many lactose intolerant people who avoid dairy products are unaware of the consequences of not including them in their diet. Milk provides nine essential nutrients such as calcium, protein, vitamins A and D and other nutrients.
• Different people can handle different amounts of lactose, and there’s a solution to meet most needs in the dairy case –from lactose free milk like LACTAID® Milk to dairy foods that are typically easier to digest. For example, aged, hard cheeses are naturally lower in lactose and many yogurts contain live and active cultures which help digest lactose.

LACTAID® Brand milk is still a dairy product, so I was a little nervous to see how I would do with it. However, I think I may have figured out the key for me to be able to drink and eat dairy again: remove the lactose!

Yay for being able to drink dairy again!

I also was worried that LACTAID® Brand fat-free milk either wouldn't taste good, or would leave an after-taste - since college, I have been more sensitive to that, as well. However, it tasted very similar to how I remember the taste of skim milk to be, and it didn't leave an after-taste, either.

I was also able to try the LACTAID® Brand chocolate milk at BlogHer, which was delicious. Unfortunately, it's not currently sold in my area (metro Detroit), but you can check to see if grocers near you have it by clicking here.

I also picked up some LACTAID® Brand ice cream at my local Meijer the other day, and have been enjoying eating that too. Nowadays I usually only eat ice cream as a special treat, since it mostly doesn't agree with me, but I didn't have many problems after eating the LACTAID® Brand Butter Pecan, which tasted great. It also comes in Vanilla, Chocolate, Cookies & Cream, and Strawberry & Cream varieties.

I'm happy that I finally found a dairy product I can drink that tastes more like "regular" skim/fat-free milk, and I will definitely be drinking more LACTAID® Brand milk - I usually eat cereal for breakfast and it would be good added to that, as well. 

Are you or someone you know lactose-intolerant, and if so, have you tried LACTAID® Brand yet?

For more information on lactose intolerance, you can visit www.nationaldairycouncil.org and lactaid.com.

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GIVEAWAY:

One lucky Yes/No Films reader will be winning three LACTAID® Brand milk product coupons so that they can try them for free. 

{Varieties include milk [fat-free, low-fat 1%, reduced-fat 2%, and whole milk}, calcium-enriched milk, and chocolate low-fat milk}

Enter via the Rafflecopter widget below. Giveaway will end on Wednesday, September 17th, at 11:59pm EST, and winner will be emailed on September 18th and have 24 hours to respond, or an alternate winner will be chosen. 

U.S. residents only, please.

Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway