Cheese (nai lao) made using traditional methods has a very low lactose-content - especially hard cheese like cheddar. Chinese cheeses such as "ru bing", a firm goat's milk cheese from Yunnan province, and cheeses from Tibet, Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang autonomous regions are usually tolerated. Be wary of much of the sliced cheese available in Chinese supermarkets as this usually has milk products added back into it during processing.

Fermented dairy products, such as yoghurt (suan nai), which is now widely consumed here, are usually well-digested because the bacteria involved in the yoghurt-making process produce lactase which breaks down the lactose before it is consumed. Mongolian nomadic cuisine features several dairy foods fermented with kefir (bacterial culture), such as "Eezgii" which is roasted to a golden color, and has a slightly sweet and grainy texture and "Byaslag" - cheese which is eaten dried or fresh.

If you are lactose intolerant, it is essential to include other sources of calcium in your diet to keep bones healthy and blood pressure controlled. In addition to the low-lactose dairy products previously described, lactose-free calcium sources are aplenty in China.

Calcium-fortified soya milk (dou jiang) and tofu (doufu) are excellent; green vegetables such as spinach (bo cai), kale (gan lan) and broccoli (xi lan hua) make a good contribution; sesame seeds (zhi ma) and nuts, such as almonds (xing ren), also contain reasonable amounts.

Seafood - especially shell fish, prawns and tinned fish with soft bones - are also a good way to ensure your calcium intake.

This nutrition-related column is written by Nina Lenton, a qualified dietitian living and working in Beijing. Contact her at nina.lenton@ikang.com.

(China Daily 05/14/2008 page19)