Lactose Intolerance

Don’t be too quick to jump on the bandwagon of self-diagnosis of lactose intolerance. Even though it is estimated that 30 to 50 million Americans suffer with lactose intolerance, those common symptoms may be caused by a sensitivity to other components of milk and not just an intolerance of one component. Lactose is the primary sugar in milk. Individuals with lactose intolerance cannot break down the simple sugar, lactose, found in milk and most other dairy products. As a result, the lactose in these foods passes virtually unchanged through the digestive system, creating a wide range of effects including painful gas, bloating, and severe stomach cramps. These symptoms of lactose intolerance typically worsen with age, and can be extremely uncomfortable, but are not usually serious or life threatening.

There are dairy products made to help people who truly suffer from lactose intolerance be able to enjoy all of the things made from milk. Some of these products work because they are supplemented with lactase in order to assist the sufferer of lactose intolerance to be able to digest the lactose. Others are simply “lactose-free.” The problem comes in when someone with a sensitivity or allergy to milk thinks they are lactose intolerant and consume these lactose-intolerant-friendly products thinking they are safe when in fact they are not.

Adding all of the lactase supplements your body can take will do nothing to help a sufferer of dairy sensitivity or dairy allergy reduce symptoms since there is not a problem for them with the lactose in the dairy products. Whey or casein are two protein components in milk and are often the components that are triggering sensitivities or allergies. Just because Uncle Elroy says the kid has lactose intolerance doesn’t mean Elroy is right.

The symptoms of lactose intolerance can mimic many of the symptoms of a dairy sensitivity and even a dairy allergy. The symptoms of lactose intolerance are commonly abdominal pain, diarrhea, and flatulence. Be aware that those symptoms can be indicative of many other disease processes as well.  However, if they commonly occur after consuming dairy products, or overindulging in dairy products, lactose intolerance could be the culprit.

There are those who are lactase deficient as well, which is similar to being lactose intolerant. When someone has lactase deficiency syndrome their bodies do not make enough lactase as defined by a scale considered to be normal amongst healthy adults but who do not show any symptoms of lactose intolerance. For those people, they have reached equilibrium in not consuming more dairy than their own bodies can successfully digest with the amount of lactase they produce. These people may develop symptoms at any time when there is an overindulgence of dairy products, but if dairy products are ingested only to the point of what they can tolerate, then all is well for them.

There is no known way to make the body produce more lactase, but there is lactase available in supplemental form. It is also already in some dairy products marketed toward those with lactose intolerance. A definitive diagnosis needs to be found out by visiting a healthcare provider who will test for lactase insufficiency. If no lactase insufficiency is found, then the disease may very well be a dairy sensitivity or a dairy allergy, or it could be an entirely separate malady unrelated to dairy consumption. Whatever it may be, knowledge is the key to the vault of health.

If you are lactose intolerant, try not to feel too bad about it. All is not lost. Great dairy alternatives exist and the bottom line to it all anyway is that eliminating those embarrassing digestive symptoms will help you to feel great.

Nothing tastes as good as HEALTHY feels.

For More Information on Lactose Intolerance and other Food Intolerances Go To: http://www.FoodIntoleranceInfo.com

Lactose intolerance is a very common digestive disorder that makes it difficult for people to digest a complex sugar called lactose that is present in dairy products made from cow’s milk. This disorder affects people who lack a special enzyme called lactase that allows the digestive system to break down lactose in the small intestine into simpler sugars for absorption into the bloodstream.

This difficulty breaking lactose down into simpler sugars causes people who suffer from lactose intolerance many embarrassing symptoms. These symptoms include a prolonged feeling of fullness in the stomach, bloating, an upset stomach and excessive gas that makes sitting in place very uncomfortable. These symptoms often appear immediately after eating foods that contain cow’s milk and they can lead to more serious symptoms if they are not treated promptly.

These more severe symptoms are also common for people who suffer from more extreme forms of lactose intolerance. These symptoms often include problems with diarrhea, nausea and vomiting. These symptoms often vary in severity from person to person and they can be triggered by eating sweets, breads and other foods that use cow’s milk as an ingredient.

People who believe that they suffer from lactose intolerance should ask their doctors to perform a test for the disorder. These tests use breath or stool samples to look for higher than normal hydrogen levels in the blood. While it may be embarrassing to do this, it can be a good idea because there are several treatments available to reduce the severity of the symptoms. Avoiding dairy entirely, however, is by far, the best treatment for lactose intolerance.

Many of the symptoms of lactose intolerance are often easily mistaken for other maladies. For example, some people who have an upset stomach and excessive gas could believe they are suffering from irritable bowel syndrome instead of lactose intolerance. As a result, people who think that they could be suffering from lactose intolerance should speak to their doctor today to get tested for this disorder.

One of the more embarrassing, but not necessarily dangerous, effects of lactose intolerance is the onset of flatulence after eating dairy.  When the body does not have enough lactase to breakdown the lactose in the food, the undigested lactose sits in the gut and is broken down by bacteria.  The bacteria releases gases which in turn fill up the intestines and cause gas.  Depending on the amount of lactose, the individual, and the sensitivity of the person, symptoms could range from simple flatulence to cramps, diarrhea, or belching.

http://www.dairysensitivityinfo.com/articles/lactose-intolerance-and-dairy-sensitivity-how-they-differ

OR

http://ezinearticles.com/?Lactose-Intolerance-and-Dairy-Sensitivity—How-They-Differ&id=3995099

Lactose intolerance—the inability to digest lactose—affects about 75% of the  world’s population.  3 out of four people.  It’s not life threatening–just a challenge to overcome.

Dairy sensitivities—like lactose intolerance—affect up to 75% of the world population!