Monday, September 9, 2013

Getting To Know More Facts About Lactose

By Scarlet Black


Lactose is a kind of carbohydrate or sugar that is mostly found in milk and other dairy products. Lactase, on the other hand, is an enzyme that is found in a person's digestive system and is the one able and responsible Lactose into simple form in order to be absorbed and used by the human body. Symptoms of digestive problems like abdominal pain and diarrhea are examples of what a person may experience if there is insufficient amount of lactase in the body and lactose is not broken down appropriately. The inability of the body to produce ample supply of lactase and the inability to break down, digest and metabolize Lactose or sugar in milk is called lactose intolerance.

The possibility of babies having lactose intolerance are rare however babies that experience irritability over some foods are usually wrongly diagnosed and parents are advised to change their baby's usual formula and buy lactose free formula instead. Most lactose intolerance occurs or develops after weaning and it is known as secondary lactose intolerance. Most common cause of secondary lactose intolerance is frequent gastroenteritis which causes weakening of the lining of the stomach. The good thing about secondary lactose intolerance caused by frequent gastroenteritis is that it is usually temporary and will typically heal once the stomach lining improves and strengthens.

Some of the basic symptoms of lactose intolerance are flatulence, abdominal pain and swelling and diarrhea after consuming milk or milk-products. But there are also people who are lactose intolerant but have some degree of tolerance for lactose. This means that they are able to consume foods containing lactose but in a limited amount or quantity. However if they consume excess amounts of food that contains milk or dairy products, symptoms of lactose intolerance may appear.

There are four main causes of lactose intolerance including:

-Congenital is the main cause of lactose intolerance. This means that it is in your genes and that the genes are the reason why lesser than normal amount of lactase is produced by the body.

-Next main cause of lactose intolerance is parasitic infection which causes the body to decrease production of lactase. This will then result to the inability of the body to digest and absorb lactose.

-Gastroenteritis which causes the stomach lining to be weakened and lactase may be stripped from your intestines. Lactose intolerance caused by gastroenteritis are mostly temporary and when the stomach linings are healed and repair, normal functions of the stomach as well as normal production of lactase will resume.

-Last thing on the list of four main causes of gastroenteritis is iron deficiency. Iron deficiency may lead to the body's inability to metabolize and break down lactose appropriately.

People that are lactose intolerant don't need to worry though, because despite the fact that they need to avoid or limit their intake of milk and other dairy products, there are already a lot of alternative food that they can enjoy without the burden of thinking and worrying that they will experience the symptoms of digestive problems as a result of being lactose intolerant. Therefore they will be able to eat foods like desserts that may contain milk or milk products.




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