Lactose intolerance: Lactose intolerance is the story of unrequited love between a woman and cheese. Kidding! Lactose intolerance is a common digestive problem where our body is unable to digest lactose. Lactose is the leading sugar present in the milk you drink. Don’t confuse it with any food allergy. This problem is common in most adults. Some individuals end up not consuming milk products at all because of it. Mostly people from Native America, Asia, and Africa suffer from this condition.
After eating milk products, people can suffer from bloating and also diarrhea. Different types of milk products have a different amount of lactose and thus, everybody deals with it differently. It all depends on your lactose tolerance level, some can tolerate it while some cannot.
Learning how to eat to avoid twinge and get enough calcium for healthy bones is a big challenge for people who suffer from lactose intolerance. The symptoms of lactose intolerance usually evolve during the teen or adult years. The reason for this problem is that it happens because of the deficiency of the intestinal enzyme lactase that bisects lactose into two smaller sugars, one is glucose and other is galactose, and therefore allows lactose to be absorbed from the intestine.
Symptoms of lactose intolerance
Symptoms of lactose intolerance may occur between 30 minutes and two hours after consuming milk products such as milk and cheese. Symptoms such as gas, bloating and nausea are common and also symptoms may range from mild to critical. The extremity of lactose intolerance symptoms when they come into sight depends on the amount of lactose you’ve consumed.
How do you know you have lactose intolerance?
If you drink a glass of milk and feel sick, it’s not lactose intolerance but if you feel sick everytime you drink milk, then it surely something to worry about. People who never had problems with milk products can also suffer from this condition. Most people can manage the state without having to give up all dairy products. Some of the culprits of this condition are soups, margarine, pancakes, biscuits, waffles, cereal bars, creamy alcoholic refreshments, processed food items such as hot dogs and sausages, candies and milk chocolates. It can also be hidden in some medicines like birth-control pills. If one is suffering from constipation, he/she should not confuse it with a symptom of this condition.
Remedy for lactose intolerance
There is no remedy for lactose intolerance. Treatment includes decreasing or completely disconnect milk products from your diet. Lactose-free milk products are easily available at the supermarkets. Additional Vitamin D and calcium is required to make your bones healthier and stronger. Lactase substitutes in form of drops or tablets should be taken with meals or drinks to refine your digestion of lactose. If you are enough worried about this condition, you may consult a doctor as soon as possible.
Don’t miss your milk as other products such as broccoli, spinach, oranges and soy milk are also great in taste and have an adequate amount of calcium in them. Be careful always as the food you eat can be either the safest and most hefty form of medicine or the slowest form of poison.