Monday, August 26, 2013

Information About Being Lactose Free

By Scarlet Black


A lot of people are still not aware what lactose really is and how it affects a lot of people nowadays. That is why we will be discussing more about the topics of lactose and being lactose free. Lactose is a type sugar typically found in milk including goat's milk, cow's milk and even human milk. For lactose to be used and absorbed by the body, it needs to be broken down with the help and use of the enzyme lactase. Lactose intolerance is a deficiency wherein the body does not have sufficient supply of lactase. As a result, the body will not be able to digest and absorb lactose properly. When this happens, the person will exhibit abdominal symptoms including flatulence, stomach cramps and bloating. Causes for this include genetic disorders, gastrointestinal diseases and lactose overload in infants.

There are people that confuse lactose intolerance with milk allergy, but it should be known that these two are different. Milk allergy is a kind of allergy in food that causes adverse immune reaction to a food protein that is deemed as not harmful to non-allergic people. While lactose intolerance is a kind of non-allergic sensitivity which is caused by a deficiency in the enzyme lactase, which means there is insufficient amount of lactase in the body. When there is insufficient amount of lactase in the body, lactose will not be broken down and metabolized properly. A lot of people are lactose intolerant, they make up 70% of the world's population but this is not considered as a sickness or disease. People with milk allergy are advised to avoid taking milk and milk products at all cost while lactose intolerant individuals can either avoid taking milk or milk products or take lactase supplement for their body to be able to digest sugar in milk.

There are varying levels of lactose intolerance which causes different symptoms in different individuals. There are individuals that can tolerate taking milk and milk products and will not immediately show signs of lactose intolerance while there are also others that cannot completely tolerate taking milk and products containing it. While it is not common for children to be born with a deficiency in lactase, there is a tendency that lactase production may lower or stop at age two years old.

Different ways are available for a lactose intolerant individual to decrease or lessen his/her lactose intolerance symptoms. People like medical professionals, nutritionists and dieticians have been suggesting taking lactase products along with milk and milk products. Lactase enzyme supplement pills or powdered form are available in the market to be purchased. There are also dairy products that are incorporated with lactase for the benefit of lactose intolerant individuals. Lactose-free products are those regular dairy products that re added with lactase during production phase therefore the lactose found in those dairy products are already broken down before it is even ingested.

People with lactose intolerance may experience different symptom including abdominal pain, stomach cramps, nausea, flatulence, diarrhea and bloating. Lactose intolerance is more common in people of certain ethnicities. Aside from that, lactose intolerance may present at any age but is more likely to occur in infants.




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