Some people experience temporary gut symptoms when consuming dairy after gastro, even if they’re not lactose intolerant. This is usually short-lived—listen to your body and reintroduce dairy when you feel ready.

During a bout of gastroenteritis, the gut becomes inflamed. In some people, this means they may temporarily lose their ability to produce lactase which is the enzyme that helps us break down lactose in dairy foods. Undigested lactose in the gut can lead to classic symptoms of lactose intolerance, including bloating, gas and diarrhoea.¹

The good news? This is usually temporary. Once the gastro subsides, which typically happens within 3–4 days, your gut begins to heal, and lactase production resumes. This process can take a few weeks, so it’s important to gradually reintroduce dairy as your gut recovers.²

Gastro can be hard on the body and the gut, so it’s important to balance carefully reintroducing foods back in with resuming a normal diet as soon as you’re able. It is important to get back to a normal and healthy diet to help restore fluids, nutrients lost from vomiting and diarrhoea and build muscle stores back up.

Dairy foods contain a wide range of nutrients essential to good health, including calcium, protein, zinc, vitamin A and electrolytes, which are especially important for rehydrating your body. For more information on the goodness of dairy, visit the Dairy Nutrition page.

The time it takes to tolerate dairy foods again is highly individualised, as is the amount you can tolerate. Introduce small amounts of dairy at first and see how your body responds. The aim is to build your tolerance back up to meet your daily requirements. For most adults, this is two and a half serves of dairy per day, with older adults needing more.

References

1. Lactose intolerance - Better Health Channel [Internet]. www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au. Available from: https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/conditionsandtreatments/lactose-intolerance#causes-of-lactose-intolerance
2. Dietitians Australia. Lactose intolerance [Internet]. Dietitiansaustralia.org.au. 2022. Available from: https://dietitiansaustralia.org.au/health-advice/lactose-intolerance