Lactose Intolerance - What it is PLUS Symptoms and Treatment

It has been estimated that about 70% of the world’s population has difficulties digesting milk products, otherwise known as lactose intolerance. I have been lactose intolerant ever since I can remember; I believe my mom said I was not intolerant as a baby but that I developed it as a young child (it’s actually rare in newborns).

Symptoms of lactose intolerance vary from person to person and can be mild to pretty severe. Some people experience uncomfortable bloating after consuming dairy products, and on the opposite end of the spectrum some individuals experience severe stomach upset and diarrhea. Some people who are lactose intolerant are still able to drink a glass of milk on occasion without suffering any consequences; others can’t have any dairy products at all without the inevitable suffering. Lactose intolerance can be hereditary, but not always. In my case, I seem to be the only one in my family to suffer from it – lucky me!

Many people go undiagnosed and many people wind up being misdiagnosed.  Common examples of misdiagnoses include irritable bowel syndrome and an allergy to milk.  Don’t mistake a milk allergy for lactose intolerance as it is not the same thing.  Lactose is a type of natural sugar that is found in milk products.  A lactose intolerant person’s body can’t digest the lactose because the small intestine does not produce enough lactase, the enzyme responsible for breaking down and digesting lactose.

Sometimes a person becomes lactose intolerant after an illness such as a stomach flu or something more serious like cystic fibrosis or a surgery to remove a part of the small intestine.  It’s pretty rare to see newborns with lactose intolerance, although some premature babies may be intolerant temporarily due to the fact that their intestines are not yet developed enough to produce lactase; the intolerance is usually resolved when their intestines mature a bit. 

There are several different symptoms that lactose intolerant individuals may suffer from, here are the most common:

• Bloating
• Pain and/or cramping
• Stomach rumbling/gurgling
• Vomiting
• Gas
• Loose stool/diarrhea

As you can see, some symptoms are mild and some are severe.  Some people may start to experience symptoms just 30 minutes after consuming milk products, others may not experience any effects for 12-24 hours – it depends on how much lactase you body produces. 

The best way to determine if you are lactose intolerant is to stop drinking milk products altogether for a couple of weeks.  If you feel better after abstaining, then you can test your possible intolerance by slowly re-introducing dairy foods.  Start with drinking a bit of milk or eating some cheese and then wait a couple of days to see what happens – yes, it can sometimes take that long for symptoms to occur.

There are more definitive tests that your doctor can do like a hydrogen breath test or a blood sugar test; these tests can tell if your body is digesting lactose normally. 

There is no cure for it, but it can be treated by avoiding or limiting your intake of dairy products.  There are dairy products on the market these days that are lactose free like Lactaid Brand milk.  Soy milk and soy cheeses can also be consumed.  There are also dietary supplements that you can take to help you digest lactose which have lactase; an example is Lactaid, which comes in different forms (a chewable, tablets, even liquid.)  I always keep Lactaid chewables, which come in conveniently individually wrapped, on hand in my home and purse.  In time, most lactose intolerant sufferers get to know their body’s reactions well enough to be able to avoid symptoms.

One thing that I learned much later in life than I would like to have is that a lactose intolerant person can usually consume yogurt (make sure it has active live cultures).  When I learned this, it was a huge revelation for me!  Yogurt is made from pasteurized milk that’s inoculated with live friendly bacteria called lactobacillus bulgaricus and streptococcus thermophilus.  During incubation these cultures digest the milk sugar lactose, producing lactic acid – the taste associated with yogurt.  Yogurt is an excellent source of calcium, which many lactose intolerance sufferers may be deficient in.  Yogurt is nutritious and it is also rich in essential vitamins and minerals.  I have also found that I can tolerate frozen yogurt, which to me is very much like eating ice cream (I just wish someone would make chocolate chip mint flavored frozen yogurt!)

Most people who are not lactose intolerant get plenty of calcium from their diet, as many dairy foods are high in calcium.  If you are lactose intolerant, however, it’s very important that you are aware of the need to make sure give your body the calcium that it needs to be strong and healthy.  There are several foods that are non-dairy that are great sources of calcium and that includes: 

Some dairy products are naturally low in lactose, like swiss and cottage cheese.  I recently learned that Bohr’s Head makes a lactose-free swiss cheese that my grocery store’s deli carries!

Of course there are also plenty of calcium supplements on the market which even people who can consume dairy products may need.   Make sure you discuss with your doctor what your calcium intake and supplementation should be.

Having lactose intolerance is not an all-or-nothing circumstance; the amount of lactose an intolerant person can tolerate varies widely from person to person.  Determining how much you yourself can tolerate may be painstaking as you suffer the consequences when you over-do it, but it’s worth it in the end to know your body.