DIGESTION-RELATED DISORDERS: LACTOSE INTOLERANCE

As many as 50 million Americans are unable to eat dairy products such as milk, cheese, ice cream, and other foods that the rest of us take for granted. These people suffer from a malady known as lactose intolerance, meaning that they have lost the ability to produce the digestive enzyme lactase, which is necessary for the body to convert milk sugar (lactose) into glucose. That cold glass of milk becomes a source of stomach cramping, diarrhea, nausea, gas, and related symptoms. Lactose intolerance, however, need not be a death knell for future dairy product consumption. Once diagnosed, lactose intolerance can be treated by introducing low-lactose or lactose-free foods into the diet. Through trial and error, individuals usually find that they can tolerate one type of low-lactose food better than others. As an alternative to learning to eat foods without lactose, some people find that they can purchase special products that contain the missing lactase and thus eat dairy foods without serious side effects. Most large grocery chains, food cooperatives, and drug stores have these products available in liquid or tablet form. It should be noted, however, that these products do not work for everyone. For someone who is lactose intolerant, some initial experimentation must occur before settling into a diet that works.
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This entry was posted on Saturday, January 22nd, 2011 at 10:11 am and is filed under Gastrointestinal. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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