So, unfortunately, if you were wondering whether you could drink goat milk and not have the same problems with lactose, you’re out of luck.
Goat milk is no better than cow milk, except in a couple of very small and largely negligible ways.
Let’s look further into this.
Firstly, what is lactose?
What is lactose?
Firstly, just to be clear, let’s look at lactose itself—since lactose is the problem substance.
Lactose is simply a special kind of sugar, which is found only in animal milk.
In infancy, all mammals have a special enzyme in their gut that allows them to break down the lactose of their mother’s milk.
This is essential for early development.
We have varying levels of tolerance to the substance, but essentially, we are all lactose intolerant to a degree.
No one really has the means to digest this sugar.
As I said, the only time, in nature, that any animal drinks its mother’s milk is in the earliest stages of its development.
Some animals may breastfeed for longer than others, but eventually, everyone moves on to solid food.
That said, some are far worse with it than others to the point that it will very frequently cause diarrhea or other similar stomach and gut problems.
The big question, then, is whether goat milk contains lactose.
Let’s look into that.
Does goat milk contain lactose?
Unfortunately, it does, yes.
As I said, lactose is present in all animal milk, without exception.
Goat milk contains, functionally, the same amount as cow milk.
There may be an average difference in the concentration, but it’s not going to make a difference if you’re lactose intolerant.
Baby goats need that lactose in their early development.
As I said, lactose is a kind of sugar, and pure ‘sugar’ in some form or another is one of the best kinds of energy.
It’s easy for the kids to digest, swallow, and a small amount can contain a very high concentration of energy.
So, yes, goat milk does contain lactose.
If you have had trouble with animal milk in the past, then goat milk, unfortunately, will not be any different.
Lactose is a universal feature of all mammal milk.
So, then, will goat milk cause diarrhea?
Does goat milk give you diarrhea?
If you have any degree of lactose intolerance, then yes, goat milk stands a good chance of giving you diarrhea.
If you’ve had diarrhea after drinking animal milk in the past, then it’s more or less guaranteed.
The reason for this comes down to what I mentioned earlier—the lack of the enzyme needed to break this sugar down.
The enzyme normally lives in the gut, but is lost with age.
So, when you drink goat milk if you are particularly lactose intolerant, then it’s going to sit in your gut, undigested, unbroken down.
When this happens, you end up with diarrhea because the substance is completely undigested.
Goat milk contains lactose, then, and if you have trouble with lactose generally, you’re going to have trouble with goat milk.
Can we define goat milk as a laxative, then?
Is goat milk a laxative?
It depends on how you look at it.
I certainly wouldn’t recommend it as a laxative for someone who is prone to diarrhea from drinking milk.
That will be worse than constipation, really.
Having said that, if you haven’t had such problems before and you can digest goat milk without much trouble, then it could be seen as a laxative for you.
The bacteria found in goat milk (and other kinds of animal milk) can help relieve constipation by essentially the same mechanism they might cause diarrhea.
So, again, it probably isn’t the best choice.
If you are having trouble with constipation, I wouldn’t try too much goat milk.
There are other, healthier alternatives.
Furthermore, the options presented as laxatives are often fermented drinks made from milk, rather than just the milk itself.
This can be even worse if you are lactose intolerant.
So, no, goat milk is not really a laxative.
So, if you’re lactose intolerant, you’re going to have to stay away from goat milk, too.
There are plenty of plant-based milk that you can enjoy instead, but any animal milk is going to contain lactose.
The reason we’re all a least a little bit intolerant is the simple reason that we aren’t evolved to drink milk after infancy.
Certainly not the milk of another species.
So, goat milk stands every chance of giving you diarrhea if you’ve had that problem with other milk in the past.