Do you have stomach upset after you drink milk or does your stomach agitate? Do you have diarrhea right away? If so, you may be lactose intolerant.
What is lactose intolerance?
Lactose is a disaccharide found in milk and other milk products containing glucose and galactose units. Lactose intolerance is therefore the inability or insufficient ability to digest lactose and it is caused by a deficiency of the enzyme (chemicals in the body that help digestion) called lactase. This lactase is produced by the cells lining the small intestine. Lactase breaks down lactose into two simple forms of sugar called glucose and galactose, which are then absorbed into the blood stream.
Is lactose intolerance same with milk allergy?
People sometimes confuse lactose intolerance with cow milk allergy. Kavita Dada (pharm. D), a senior health improvement officer in the food and drug administration’s division of drug information said that lactose intolerance is not the same as a milk allergy. As earlier elucidated, lactose intolerance is the inability or insufficient ability to digest milk which results with a discomfort after consumption of milk or its products while milk allergy is a reaction by the body’s immune system to milk proteins and can be life-threatening when a small quantity of milk or milk product is ingested. Milk allergy most frequently appears in the first year of life while lactose intolerance takes place usually in adulthood.
Causes of lactose intolerance
The cause of lactose intolerance is best explained by describing how a person develops lactose deficiency.
Primary lactose deficiency: This develops over time and commences after about two years when the body starts to produce less lactose. Most children who have lactose insufficiency do not encounter symptoms of lactose intolerance just before late adolescence or adulthood.
Secondary lactose deficiency: This results from injury to the small intestine that takes place with severe celiac disease, diarrhea illness, crohn’s disease or chemotherapy. This type of lactose deficiency can occur at any age but is more common in infancy.
Who is susceptible to lactose intolerance?
Lactose intolerance is a frequent condition which is more likely to arise in adulthood with a higher incidence in older adults. It is more common in some ethnic groups than others. The national centre of diabetes, digestive and kidney diseases estimated that 90% of Asian Americans and up to 75% of adult African Americans and indigenous Americans are lactose intolerant. As people grow old, their bodies produce fewer lactase enzymes, therefore most people do not have symptoms until they are adults.
It is important to state that lactose intolerance can be passed down to children from parents. Lactose intolerance is very uncommon in children less than two years of age, unless the child has a lactose deficiency because of a lesion to the small intestine.
Manifestations of lactose intolerance
When there is not adequate lactase to digest the lactose in the foods an individual eats or drinks, the person may have the following manifested symptoms:
Diarrhea
Bloating
Gas
Nausea
Stomach cramps
These symptoms typically happen in less than 30 minutes to 2 hours after ingesting food containing lactose. Some sicknesses or disorders can cause the same problems but a health care professional can do tests to see if the problems are caused by lactose intolerance or by another condition.
Diagnosis of lactose intolerance
Lactose intolerance can be difficult to diagnose based on symptoms alone. People may think that they suffer from lactose intolerance because they have digestive symptoms, in spite of that, other disorder like irritable bowel syndrome can cause similar symptoms.
After taking a medical history and performing a physical and clinical examination, the physician may first recommend eliminating all milk and milk products from the individual’s diet for a short period to know if the symptoms resolve. Tests may be necessary to provide more information.
Two tests are employed to measure the digestion of lactose. They are hydrogen breath test and stool acidity test.
Hydrogen breath test
The person drinks a lactose-loaded beverage and then the breath is analyzed at consistent intermissions to measure the quantity of hydrogen. Naturally, very little hydrogen is detectable in the breath but undigested lactose produces excess amounts of hydrogen.
Cigarette smoking, some foods and medications may affect the accuracy of the results.
Faeces (stool) acidity test
This test is used for infants and young children to measure the amount of acid in the feces. Undigested lactose produces lactic acid and other fatty acids which can be detectable in a fecal sample. Glucose may also be present in the stool due to undigested lactose.
Note that, because lactose intolerance is uncommon in infants and kids less than 2 years, a health professional should take special care in determining the cause of a child’s digestive symptoms.
Management of lactose intolerance
There is no treatment to make the body produce more lactose enzymes although the symptoms of lactose intolerance can be kept in check through diet. Most older children and adults do not have to absolutely avoid lactose. People have various levels of tolerance to lactose. Some people might have a very small quantity of milk in a cup of tea with little or no discomfort. Others have reactions that are so bad they totally stop drinking milk. Some people who cannot drink milk may eat cheese and yoghurt (that contain less lactose than milk) without having any problem. They may also consume a lactose-containing product in smaller amounts at any time.
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