Some of us can’t digest this milk sugar
What is lactose?
Lactose (also referred to as milk sugar) is a sugar that is mostly found in milk. Lactose makes up about 2–8% of milk (by weight.)
What is lactose intolerance?
Lactose intolerance is the inability to digest lactose. This happens when your small intestine doesn’t produce enough of the special enzyme that breaks down lactose, the main sugar in dairy foods.
Symptoms:
Symptoms include nausea, gas, diarrhea, bloating, and cramps. Symptoms often occur after you eat or drink milk products, and are often relieved by not eating or drinking milk products. Large doses of milk products may cause worsened symptoms.
Causes
Lactose intolerance happens when the small intestine does not make enough of the enzyme called “lactase.” Babies’ intestines make this enzyme so they can digest breast milk. Before humans started farming cattle and their milk, most people did not continue to drink milk, so their bodies did not make the enzyme “lactase” after early childhood.
Lactose intolerance is more common in countries where they did not historically farm cattle. It is more common among African, African-American, Native American, and Mediterranean populations than it is among northern and western Europeans. Lactose intolerance can begin at various stages in life. In Caucasians, it usually starts to affect children older than age 5. In African-Americans, lactose intolerance often occurs as early as age 2.
Lactose intolerance is said to be very common in adults, but it is usually not life-threatening. Approximately 30 million American adults have some amount of lactose intolerance by age 20.
Lactose intolerance is sometimes seen in premature babies. Children who were born at a full term pregnancy generally do not show signs of lactose intolerance until after the age of 3 years old.
Not having enough of the enzyme “lactase” (lactase deficiency) can also happen as a result of intestinal diseases such as celiac sprue and gastroenteritis, or after bowel surgery. Temporary lactase deficiency can result from viral and bacterial infections, especially in children, when the cells lining the intestine are weakened.
Rule out other causes
If you suffer from the above symptoms, you could be intolerant of other sugars instead of or as well as lactose.
“Fructose” is a sugar found naturally in honey, figs, pears, prunes and grapes. It’s also used in corn syrup to sweeten foods, gums, candies and sodas.
Other sugars include sorbitol, mannitol, and sylitol, which are included in sugarless or diet foods, beverages and chewing gums. Many people have trouble digesting these substances.
Don’t forget about gluten. This protein in wheat, rye, barley and oats gives a lot of people trouble. You could also be hypersensitive to gluten.
Prevention
As of today, there is no known way to prevent lactose intolerance. If you have the condition, avoiding or restricting the amount of milk products in your diet can reduce or prevent symptoms.
What you can do
- Keep a food diary so you can identify what you have eaten on days when you have symptoms.
- Avoid particular foods and check as to whether you have reduced symptoms by not having those foods.
- Beware of hidden lactose (or gluten, or fructose, or…) If you are particularly intolerant, it might be a good idea to limit your processed foods, and avoid anything with unfamiliar ingredients.
Make sure you get enough calcium
If it’s really lactose (milk sugar) that you are intolerant of, remember that milk is a good calcium source and you’ll need to get enough calcium through other sources. Good non-dairy sources of calcium include kale, sardines, turnip greens, salmon, peanuts and pinto beans.
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