A panel of experts assembled by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) revealed that people who are lactose intolerant usually avoid milk and dairy products, because of which they deprive themselves of calcium, vitamin D, and other essential nutrients.

The NIH Consensus Development Conference on Lactose Intolerance and Health was convened to examine the latest research on lactose intolerance, strategies to manage the condition and the health outcomes of diets that exclude dairy foods.

After a thorough review of the scientific evidence, the Consensus Development Conference panel completed a draft consensus statement seeking to correct some of the common misconceptions related to lactose intolerance, including the belief that dairy foods need to be excluded from the diet.

In addition the panel suggested that consuming low fat or fat free milk with meals or a snack instead of an empty stomach, trying small, frequent portions or buying lactose-free or lactose-reduced milk - which contain all the same nutrients as regular milk.

Dr. Robert P. Heaney, a prominent researcher at Creighton University who presented findings to the panel on the health outcomes of dairy exclusion diets quoted, "With modern diets, eliminating dairy from the diet - for any reason whatsoever - will result in poor nutrition with long-term consequences for health".