Tuesday, August 20, 2013

The Truth About Lactose

By Scarlet Black


Mostly found in milk and other dairy products, lactose is a kind of carbohydrate or sugar. While lactase is the enzyme found in a person's digestive system and is responsible of digesting and breaking down lactose for it to be used by the body. Insufficient amounts of lactase in the body will result in the inability of the body to break down and absorb lactose which will cause symptoms of digestive problems such as diarrhea and abdominal pain. Lactose intolerance is the term use for the inability of the body to supply sufficient amounts of lactase therefore resulting in the inability of the body to process and metabolize lactose.

Babies are not usually affected by lactose intolerance but there are instances that babies experiencing irritability that is caused by consuming some foods are wrongly diagnosed and parents are recommended to change their usual baby formula into lactose free formula. Usually, lactose intolerance develops after weaning stage and this is also known as the secondary lactose intolerance. Different factors can cause secondary lactose intolerance but one of the main causes of secondary lactose intolerance is frequent occurrence of gastroenteritis which causes the lining of the stomach to weaken. However, this kind of secondary lactose intolerance is normally temporary and will improve once the stomach lining is healed and strengthened.

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.

Lactose intolerance has four main causes including:

-One of the main causes of lactose intolerance is congenital which means that a person's genes are responsible for the insufficient amounts of lactase 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.

-The body's inability to digest and absorb lactose properly may also be caused by iron deficiency. This is one of the four main causes of lactose intolerance.

Despite the fact that people who are lactose intolerant should avoid intake of milk and dairy products, there is no need to worry because nowadays, there are other available foods that can substitute milk and other dairy products as main ingredients in many recipes especially for dessert recipes. Also, there are available milk and dairy products that are already lactose free which helps those people who are lactose intolerant to enjoy the foods that they normally avoid to consume.




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