Low-Lactose Foods

Lactose is a type of sugar you can find in dairy products. For lactose-intolerant people, dairy foods such as ice cream and milk are difficult to digest. As the University of Virginia Health System website points out, this occurs because of the absence of the enzyme in the intestines that aids in breaking down lactose. However, these people still can enjoy such products if they eat foods lower in lactose or take an enzyme when eating higher-lactose products.

Trace Level Lactose Cheeses

If you have lactose tolerance issues, you can choose from any of a number of cheeses with trace levels, or less than 0.5 g, of lactose. For example, you can still enjoy naturally aged cheeses, such as cheddar, at 0.5 grams of lactose per ounce, and Swiss, with the same amount of grams per ounce, according to the Wegman's website. Many people with such issues can eat cheeses with little or no problem because during the cheese-making process, the manufacturers drain off the whey, or liquid part of the cheese. Once the whey goes, a large part of the cause of lactose intolerance issues disappears as well.

Low-Lactose Cheeses

Fresh, unripened cheeses, such as mozzarella or cream cheese, might cause more of a problem because when the manufacturers prepare these types for packaging and distribution, only so much of the whey --- the part that remains in the curd --- can undergo conversion to lactic acid. According to the Wegman's website, cottage cheese tends to be at the high end of the low-lactose cheese classification because of the presence of additional liquid or milk mixed with the curd. Creamed cottage cheese, for example, contains 4 g per half-cup, but its non-creamed counterpart has only 3 g.

Yogurt

If you want to eat yogurt if your lactose intolerant, stick to the low-fat varieties. Most of these yogurts are safe if the manufacturers refrain from re-pasteurizing the food. Pasteurization compromises the yogurts by removing both the negative bacteria and the protective kind that lactose-intolerant people need to fight this sugar's harmful effects. If you are low lactose intolerant, you still could eat any kind of yogurt, but you would have to take an artificially made enzyme to aid in digestion. As the Wegman's website suggests, it's best to avoid all yogurts whose labels do not indicate the presence of bacterial cultures that are alive and active.

Enzyme-Treated Milk

This is milk the producers have pre-treated with an anti-lactose enzyme. The substance in the milk breaks down the lactose before it reaches your lips. As the Wegeman's website indicates, you can look for milk that already contains this enzyme, or you can buy it and add it to the regular milk you buy.