From the same site I cited before, a page of lactose percentages.
In theory you’re quite right about hard, aged cheese (although not about softer cheeses). In practice there may be a surprising amount of variation.
Yogurt doesn’t give me any problems, and I generally just avoid milk. Lactaid allows me to eat a quantity of cheese, which is good for me because I’m a confirmed cheese-aholic (a habit developed before I became LI). The other day a friend lamented the fact that when we ordered pizza we couldn’t get extra cheese, and I said that I could try taking two Lactaid instead of my usual one.
But according to that interesting list you cite, even such soft cheeses as Brie (which I was eating last night when I saw this thread & I feel fine this morning) could have zero lactose and in a worst-case scenario only 1.8% lactose. Camembert could also have zero or, worst-case, as much as 1.0%. And that site also suggests that most LI sufferers can eat foods of 2% lactose or less as long as it’s in moderation. I would be curious what factors cause the variation in lactose levels & whether that’s something the cheese shopper can take into consideration before buying.
Something to watch out for with soy milk substitutes: they might give you gas. Really, terribly, apocalyptically stinky gas.
Seconding the Tofutti cream cheese. It is more delicious, IMO, than standard cream cheese.
As far as soy milk, my roommate the vegan hates Silk, I don’t have a preference for brand, because I just pour it on cereal anyway. I do buy the “plain” kind, after experimenting, I realized that I can’t drink a glass of the “unsweetened”, and the “vanilla” is waaaay too sweet, especially with any cereal with any amount of sugar.
I know they’re two totally different foods, but I enjoy fruity ice cream over chocolately ice cream, usually, so I find sorbets delicious.
And soy yogurt: I’ve only had the Stonyfield O’Soy yogurt, and it is TERRIBLE. It is somehow too sweet, and chalky all at the same time, with a raw grain kind of aftertaste. The Silk soy yogurt, I have eaten only a couple of times, both times with fresh strawberries, so the yogurt wasn’t exactly a focal point, but it didn’t offend me.
–chaoticbear - ex-vegetarian, with a vegan roommate, who eats all the dairy he pleases 
I used soy for coffee (can’t stand it black, unfortunately), but it’s harder on the system and as Shot from Guns said, gave me gas. I much prefer Rice Dream. Regular, unflavored soy tasted like drinking tofu in my coffee and made me gag, so I used vanilla. That was much sweater than regular rice dream, so when I switched, I didn’t find rice dream too sweet.
My sister is LI and uses water on her cereal. I think she’s crazy, but she likes it!
The Lactaid tablets always made me throw up for some reason, but I do fine with lactose-free milk, as well as most yoghurts and cheeses. I find including a little bit of dairy from time to time seems to help build a tolerance. But I’ll avoid it on job interview days and the like.
Almond milk is absolutely splendid and a much better alternative to narsty soy milk.
I’m lactose intolerant, but besides milk and lattes, I can usually eat most cheese, yogurt, ice cream, and dairy products without feeling uncomfortable. I had the impression that the lactose was already broken down in a lot dairy products or exist in small quantities, but I guess I’m wrong. I drink lactose-free milk and soybean milk - not the soymilk from American supermarkets, but the ones found in Asian supermarkets and restaurants.
LI makes for some ‘interesting’ events to say the least. The worst ones for me are ice cream and American cheese. I grew up in North Dakota where the love of dairy products is pretty much the same as it is in Wisconsin. I sure wish I could use all the extra gas I get from dairy products and somehow put it into my car’s gas tank…I’d save a bundle! I have tried soy milk and to me it tastes awful. I’m thinking about trying the rice milk to see if it’s any better.
For years I was lactose-intolerant. A single mouthful led to excessive gas for hours. However, not knowing the science involved, I kept on with what I could eat, at first ice cream and cheese, and later cream cheese (which was poison before). I didn’t know why I was no longer reacting to cream cheese, but learned that our bodies stop making lactase when we don’t need it, so I tried a bowl of cereal, having planned for hours of misery and receiving none. My gradual reintroduction of foods that required lactase apparently started back up its production.
IANAD and I won’t say, “Try this at home,” but I suggest you give it plenty of time (months), start out with sugary ice cream and cooked cream cheese, and ALWAYS have a bathroom ready. :eek: