Lactose intolerance is the reduced ability to digest milk sugars, due to insufficient amounts of the gut enzyme called lactase. Symptoms include bloating, gas, abdominal pain and diarrhoea. Most people with lactose intolerance can tolerate cheese well, and small amounts of milk and yoghurt.
People with lactose intolerance are unable to fully digest the sugar (lactose) in milk. As a result, they have diarrhea, gas and bloating after eating or drinking dairy products. The condition, which is also called lactose malabsorption, is usually harmless, but its symptoms can be uncomfortable.
ANSWER: Lactose intolerance isn't a true allergy, and it can develop at any age. In some people, lactose intolerance may be triggered by another medical condition, such as Crohn's disease. In others, it develops without a specific underlying cause.
People who are lactose intolerant have unpleasant symptoms after eating or drinking milk or milk products. These symptoms include bloating, diarrhea and gas. Lactose intolerance is not the same thing as having a food allergy to milk.
If your body can't digest lactose-containing dairy products, you can experience unpleasant side effects, including abdominal pain, bloating, cramps, flatulence, nausea and diarrhea. These symptoms normally start within 30 minutes to two hours after consuming lactose.
Most cow's milk contains two types of casein proteins: A1 and A2. Recently, small studies have suggested that some people who think they're lactose intolerant actually aren't. They're simply unable to digest the A1 protein, and as a result, they experience symptoms that mimic lactose intolerance.
You can develop secondary lactose intolerance suddenly as a result of damage to your small intestine. Injury, surgery, infections or chronic diseases may damage the cells that produce lactase. This can cause sudden lactose malabsorption and intolerance, even if you could previously digest lactose.
If you notice bloating, changes in bowel movements, or any other type of digestive upset after eating dairy, this could be a red flag that dairy causes inflammation for you. Then, note other symptoms, like increased mucus production.
If you are eliminating dairy from your diet, you may lose out on key nutrients such as calcium, vitamin D, and protein. Here are some alternative foods you can eat to receive these nutrients.
Hives. Wheezing. Itching or tingling feeling around the lips or mouth. Swelling of the lips, tongue or throat.
In the skin-prick test, a liquid containing milk or a milk protein extract is placed on your forearm or back. Your skin is pricked with a small, sterile probe, allowing the liquid to seep into your skin. If you develop a raised, reddish welt, typically within 15 to 20 minutes, that can indicate an allergy.
It is entirely possible to be allergic to cow's milk but not other types of dairy.
Both lactose intolerance and milk allergy could cause you to avoid dairy products, but they are not the same.
Most people with an allergy to milk have symptoms which appear when they are infants and outgrow them as they get older. However, some people do not outgrow these symptoms and continue to be allergic as adults. It is unusual to develop an allergy to milk proteins later in life.
Types of lactose intolerance tests include hydrogen breath tests, blood glucose tests, and stool acidity tests.
Someone with lactose intolerance may notice bloating, stomach cramps, or nausea within a couple hours of eating foods with lactose. Some people say the gas they get feels like having a bubble in the belly — they might even feel it moving through the digestive system.
Lactose intolerance develops when the small intestine does not make enough of this enzyme. The digestive system organs in the abdominal cavity include the liver, gallbladder, stomach, small intestine and large intestine.
Symptoms of lactose intolerance are similar to those in some other digestive disorders such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) or inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Some people have both lactose intolerance and another disorder like IBS.