All around the world, approximately 68 percent of people are prone to lactose intolerance and have difficulty in consuming any dairy product. Lactose Intolerance poses trouble for people since they cannot consume most milk products, including certain sweetmeats.
Lactose Intolerance is a condition in a person where his/her digestive system is unable to break down lactose in the body, resulting in several unpleasant symptoms. Lactose is mainly a sugar substance found in milk or the products made from it.
Our body releases an enzyme called lactase that helps our body digest lactose consumed along with milk. But the digestive system of people with lactose intolerance does not produce lactase enzyme, which makes them unable to tolerate any milk or dairy product. Lactase enables the digestive system to break down lactose and is needed so that an individual could consume milk.
Let’s look into the precise reason for lactose intolerance in a person in-depth.
What Causes Lactose Intolerance?
Our body has a way to work, and those mechanisms regulate all the final results of our smoother functioning of the system. Although it is clear that the digestive system’s inability to break down lactose causes lactose intolerance, there is more to it that one should be aware of.
Lactase enzyme is produced in our small intestine, which our digestive system uses to break down consumed lactose from the milk or its products. Lactase breaks down lactose into small compounds known as galactose and glucose, which is then absorbed in the blood later.
If the number of lactase produced by the small intestines less, there are chances of not properly breaking lactose and not getting absorbed in the bloodstream. The lactose then passes towards the large intestine and from there towards the colon—the chances of getting infected from lactose when it reaches the colon increase somewhat.
The infection symptoms when lactose reaches the colon could be fairly unpleasant and lead to gas and bloating. The discomfort varies from mild to an extreme case of lactose intolerance then. Although it a notion that lactose intolerance is natural since, after the weaning period, humans are the only ones to be able to consume milk, but there are apparent loopholes to it.
There are types of lactose intolerance based on the deficiency, which varies from person to person. It is mostly an inherited condition, and the kinds include:
- Primary Lactose Intolerance
It is a common type of intolerance and deficiency, which is inherited by a person. The symptoms of this sort of lack are visible from the time a child moves from the weaning period and enters into the stage of consuming solid food. The small intestine then doesn’t produce enough lactase that leads to the intolerance of lactose.
- Secondary Lactose Intolerance
The probable reason for this deficiency is an occurrence of an uncertain disease or illness, a surgery that involves your small intestine explicitly. It leads to then a reduction in the production of lactase by the small intestine.
Lactose intolerance might pass in a few weeks if the illness is a short-term occurrence such as gastroenteritis, but a chronic disease like Crohn’s disease makes the matter worse, and the intolerance could last longer. To cure this condition, improving the underlying disease causing it is essential.
- Congenital Lactose Intolerance
This condition of lactose intolerance involves the passing down of the same gene from both the parents, and only then is there a chance of a child born with low levels of lactase. The gene mutation leads to a child born with low or no lactase enzyme in his/her body that leads to lactose intolerance in them. The condition is, although rare but possible.
Symptoms of Lactose Intolerance
- The evident symptom would be the inability of the person to tolerate lactose. Hence, the moment he/she consumes milk, they feel the urge to use the washroom for approximately 30 minutes to 2 hours.
The symptoms severity always varies on how severe the case of intolerance is. Most lactose-intolerant people could consume a small number of milk products depending on the lactase enzyme levels in their bodies.
Some of the symptoms resulting from lactose intolerance include:
- Abdominal pain
- Cramping
- Bloating of Stomach
- Nausea
- Diarrhea
- Dehydration due to diarrhea
- Vomiting (but not always)
Diagnosis of lactose intolerance could depend on what your physician asks you to do. Several tests are requested to be done, such as the Hydrogen Breathe test, lactose intolerance test. If you consistently feel nauseous and discomforting after consuming dairy products, it’s best to meet a consultant physician for advice.
Foods to avoid and consuming the alternate to milk
A lactose intolerant person should carefully check for food ingredients while buying them because particular food has hidden lactose in them. Moreover, lactose levels vary in different food products depending on their processing method.
Some of the foods to look for if you have an extreme intolerance to milk include:
- Scrambled eggs
- Cake and biscuits
- Custard
- Milk Chocolate
- Cream
- Boiled Candies
- Pancake
- Bread
- Chocolate Candies
- Mayonnaise
One can instead go for some alternatives to all the dairy products such as
- orange juice, broccoli, figs, okra, nuts, etc. have Calcium in them that could help in fulfilling the need for calcium in the body
- Go for lactose-free milk, which must be made sure while buying by looking at the label and searching for proper ingredients.
- Instead of consuming vitamin D from dairy products, consume them by exposing yourself more to sunlight and eating more fatty fish and egg yolk.
- Vitamin A is also obtained from dairy products, which could be consumed from Carrots, broccoli, sweet potatoes, spinach, melon, papaya, mango, etc.
Do not forget to consult an expert for the condition so that a proper diagnosis could be made and effective measures are taken to make the deficiency reduce to some extent.
