What Is Lactose Intolerance And How Does Diet Help?

By Author: William Riddle
Total Articles: 70
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Lactose is a disaccharide sugar found in milk, and the term Lactose Intolerance means that a person cannot digest any food that contains lactose in them. It is basically an inability to accept or digest any type of lactose based product in small intestine. Lactose is the principle carbohydrate or a typical sugar form present in milk. It is contained in varied quantities in different types of dairy products; for milk the lactose content would be different from that of yogurt or butter or ice cream.

Lactose intolerance is a typical condition in which a person’s body fails to break down the lactose content because of under-production of the lactase enzyme. Lactase enzyme is product by small intestines, and any deficiency leads to intolerance. It is often believed that people are born with lactase intolerance. Babies having problems like diarrhea, bloating and swelling of stomach are often reported to be lactose intolerant. Though not a serious condition, it is still advised to be careful with diet and eating habits in order to make sure that the condition doesn’t aggravate any further.

The cause of lactose intolerance ...
... is attributed to how a person tends to develop lactase deficiency. The primary condition develops gradually over time. It begins at the age of 2, usually when the human body starts producing less lactase. Children with this deficiency usually don’t experience any symptoms until they attain adulthood or become adolescents. Researchers have also pointed out some genetic connection to primary stage of lactase deficiency. There are some people who inherit the gene from parents and this makes it more evident that they would also develop the condition over time.

The typical symptoms of the condition includes diarrhea with frothy and acidic stools; tummy pain, bloating and gas. These symptoms would commonly last for approximately 30 minutes minimum to 2 hours maximum after consuming some dairy product. Breast milk is also included in dairy products, which might cause the same symptoms in children.

The condition is more commonly observed during adulthood, with much higher incidences in older adolescents. There are some racial and ethnic populations that have been more affected by this condition than others, such as Hispanics, African Americans Asian Americans and American Indians.

Prolonged and untreated lactose intolerance leads to severe problems. While diarrhea is a common condition, some people might develop constipation, which leads to other problems. Constipation eventually leads to hemorrhoids and other related digestive problems. Whilst there is no proper solution or treatment for lactose intolerance, only dietary adjustments seem to be of great help. A detox diet or diet therapy can be beneficial. A lactose free diet would also help in reducing lactose intake and improve the condition. However, other diets like Cabbage Soup Diet or Lemonade Diet or Grapefruit Diet does not have any major impact on health. Taking a healthy diet with no lactose based product can be beneficial.
Diarrhea is a common symptom of lactose intolerance; however, it might cause constipation too.