Lactose-Free

Lactose-free whey contains less than 1 gram of lactose per serving, low enough that most lactose-intolerant adults can tolerate it. Whey isolate is naturally near-lactose-free; whey concentrate retains 3 to 8g of lactose per scoop and is more likely to cause bloating.

Why It Matters

Lactose is the milk sugar that whey was originally separated from. Concentrate carries the most lactose, isolate carries trace amounts, and hydrolysate is essentially zero. If you bloat, cramp or get gas from whey, switching from concentrate to isolate fixes the problem about 80 percent of the time.

How to Spot It on a Label

Look for 'lactose-free' on the front of the label, or check the ingredients for 'whey protein isolate' as the sole protein source. Isopure is the brand most aggressively positioned on this claim. Plant proteins are all naturally lactose-free.

Related Terms

Keep learning with these closely-linked entries:

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