Most people will be asking what Lactose is and how it can affect our lives. For the benefit of most people, let us discuss what Lactose is and what it means to be Lactose free. It is a type of sugar naturally found in all milk that is produced by mammals like cow, goat and even human. Lactose will not be absorbed and used by the body if it is not broken down. For Lactose to be broken down by the body, an enzyme called as lactase is needed. A deficiency wherein the body is does not have sufficient lactase and is not capable of completely digesting lactose is called lactose intolerance. Since there is insufficient amount of lactase, lactose is not metabolized completely. As a result, a person that is lactose intolerant may show abdominal symptoms like bloating, flatulence and stomach cramps. These symptoms may appear due to lactose overload in infants, genetic disorders or gastrointestinal diseases.
You might confuse lactose intolerance with milk allergy but truth be told, they are not the same thing. Unlike lactose intolerance, milk allergy is a kind of food allergy that causes adverse immune reaction to a food protein that is usually harmless to individuals that are not allergic. On the other hand, lactose intolerance is a kind of non-allergic sensitivity and is caused by lack of production of an enzyme called lactase that is necessary to digest sugar that is found in milk. Lactose intolerance is not considered as a disease or sickness but people that are lactose intolerant make up 70% of the world population. People that are lactose intolerant can either take a lactase supplement for them to be able to digest sugar in milk or avoid taking milk and eating foods that contain milk. While people that has milk allergy needs to avoid all milk products.
The production of the enzyme lactase has the possibility to decrease or halt two years after being born but it is uncommon for children to be born with a deficiency in lactase. Different people may show different symptoms of lactose intolerance especially that there are varying levels of intolerance. There are people that may or may not exhibit symptoms of lactose intolerance after taking milk or milk products while there are people that cannot tolerate taking milk or any milk products.
Suggestion of taking milk products along with lactase supplement are being done by a lot of experts including dieticians, medical professionals and nutritionists. This is only one of the many options of persons with lactose intolerance in order to lower or eliminate his/her lactose intolerance symptoms. Other options include taking up lactase supplement either in pill or powdered form which are already available to be purchased. Also, regular dairy products are already being supplemented with the enzyme lactase for it to be digested easily especially for persons with lactose intolerance. These regular dairy products are known as lactose-free products and the lactose found in these products are already broken even before it has been consumed.
Diarrhea, bloating, abdominal pain, nausea, stomach cramps and flatulence are just some of the symptoms that lactose intolerant people may experience. It should also be known that lactose intolerance is more common in people of certain ethnicities and may present at any age but is more likely to happen in infants.
You might confuse lactose intolerance with milk allergy but truth be told, they are not the same thing. Unlike lactose intolerance, milk allergy is a kind of food allergy that causes adverse immune reaction to a food protein that is usually harmless to individuals that are not allergic. On the other hand, lactose intolerance is a kind of non-allergic sensitivity and is caused by lack of production of an enzyme called lactase that is necessary to digest sugar that is found in milk. Lactose intolerance is not considered as a disease or sickness but people that are lactose intolerant make up 70% of the world population. People that are lactose intolerant can either take a lactase supplement for them to be able to digest sugar in milk or avoid taking milk and eating foods that contain milk. While people that has milk allergy needs to avoid all milk products.
The production of the enzyme lactase has the possibility to decrease or halt two years after being born but it is uncommon for children to be born with a deficiency in lactase. Different people may show different symptoms of lactose intolerance especially that there are varying levels of intolerance. There are people that may or may not exhibit symptoms of lactose intolerance after taking milk or milk products while there are people that cannot tolerate taking milk or any milk products.
Suggestion of taking milk products along with lactase supplement are being done by a lot of experts including dieticians, medical professionals and nutritionists. This is only one of the many options of persons with lactose intolerance in order to lower or eliminate his/her lactose intolerance symptoms. Other options include taking up lactase supplement either in pill or powdered form which are already available to be purchased. Also, regular dairy products are already being supplemented with the enzyme lactase for it to be digested easily especially for persons with lactose intolerance. These regular dairy products are known as lactose-free products and the lactose found in these products are already broken even before it has been consumed.
Diarrhea, bloating, abdominal pain, nausea, stomach cramps and flatulence are just some of the symptoms that lactose intolerant people may experience. It should also be known that lactose intolerance is more common in people of certain ethnicities and may present at any age but is more likely to happen in infants.
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