Lactose Intolerance By @emmanuel-malume

Lactose Intolerance. You might have come across this term in a book or on television. I know I did, and from what I could generally make out of the conversation in that show, the character refrained from consuming dairy products. That was a basic explanation I was content with, but it leaves a lot of grey area, doesn't it?

So what then is Lactose Intolerance - without all that medical vocabulary that tends to confuse people?
Simply put, it is the inability of the body to completely digest the sugar lactose which is found in milk and dairy products simply because your small intestine produces substantially low amounts of lactase, the enzyme responsible for the breakdown of lactose.

This condition is usually harmless, but it does cause the patient some discomfort. It is important to know that the condition can be managed without resorting to complete abstinence from dairy products.

Symptoms

Speaking from a symptomatic point of view, a lactose intolerant patient exhibits the following symptoms on ingestion of milk or dairy products:

1. Diarrhoea.
2. Gas.
3. Bloating.
4. Stomach Cramps.
5. Nausea - can result in vomiting.

What Causes Lactose Intolerance?

Normally, lactase breaks lactose - be careful with that tongue twister - into glucose and galactose, which are absorbed through the lining of the intestine into the bloodstream.
A deficiency in lactase means that this absorption does not take place, and the food moves into the colon untouched, where bacteria present in the gut react with the undigested food to [produce the aforementioned symptoms.

Types of Lactose Intolerance

Primary Lactose Intolerance

Naturally, infants produce a large amount of lactase primarily because their diet is exclusively milk, and as time goes by, the amount of lactase produced decreases because the diet is no longer exclusively milk.
But here lies the problem: in the case of Primary Lactose Intolerance, instead of lactase production decreasing to a level that is still sufficient to support lactose digestion, production reduces drastically by adulthood, leading to intolerance.

Secondary Lactose Intolerance

This is caused by illness, injury, or surgical operations on the small intestine that affects lactose production. In case of illness, treatment of the disorder could increase lactase levels and alleviate the symptoms with time.
Congenital Lactose Intolerance

In rare cases, Lactose intolerance is developed even before childbirth. Genetics come into play here, as both parents have to possess the variant gene which expresses this disorder.

Treatment

Of course, the first thing that would come to one's mind is to not drink - say, a liter of milk every four hours? It's that simple -limit the amount of lactose-containing products you consume would go a long way in preventing those uncomfortable symptoms.
But if you still want to enjoy dairy products, then you can use a liquid or powdered lactase supplement.

Adding it to your milk helps to break down the lactose/
You can also purchase and consume ice cream, milk, and other dairy products that have had their lactose content reduced, of course with lactose intolerant patients in mind.
I hope this article was informative. Thanks for Reading!