If you experience uncomfortable digestive symptoms after consuming milk or other dairy products, you may be lactose intolerant. Unfortunately, there's cure for lactose intolerance. For some people the condition is temporary, but for most it's permanent. Still, there are pills that you can take to help reduce symptoms and allow you to consume dairy products comfortably.
Lactose Intolerance
Lactose intolerance is the result of a lack of the enzyme lactase, which your body uses to digest milk sugar. Some people are born unable to produce lactase, while others become lactose intolerant with age or following an illness. The symptoms of lactose intolerance include gas, cramping and bloating after consuming milk or other dairy products. If you can't digest lactose, it passes unaltered into your lower gastrointestinal tract, where bacteria digest it. This process results in the production of large quantities of gas.
Lactase Pills
One of the most common and most effective pills you can take for lactose intolerance is a over-the-counter preparation of the lactase enzyme. Lactase supplement pills, sold under a variety of brand names -- including Lactaid -- temporarily provide your digestive tract with the enzyme you need to break down lactose. This means you can consume dairy for a short period of time -- usually a few hours -- without symptoms. You need to take the lactase pills every time you consume dairy to avoid symptoms.
Lactobacillus Acidophilus Supplements
Some research suggests that pills containing the probiotic bacterial species Lactobacillus acidophilus can help reduce symptoms of lactose intolerance. This is because the Lactobacillus bacteria -- which occur naturally in fermented dairy products like yogurt -- produce lactase. As such, they can break down the lactose in milk or dairy products that you consume, helping you to avoid symptoms. A 1995 article in the "Journal of Dairy Science" suggests that Lactobacillus supplements are quite helpful, but not all research reaches the same conclusion. A 1999 article published in "The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition" found no effect of Lactobacillus supplements on symptoms of lactose intolerance.
Caution
It's worth noting that not all digestive symptoms after consumption of milk or dairy products indicate lactose intolerance. Milk allergies, which are immune reactions to proteins in milk, can also cause digestive trouble. If you're allergic to milk, you will not experience any benefit or symptom relief from either lactase or Lactobacillus supplements. As such, make sure that you confirm with a doctor that you're lactose intolerant prior to trying pills or supplements, as allergies can be quite serious.
References
- "Biochemistry"; Reginald Garrett, Ph.D. and Charles Grisham, Ph.D.; 2007
- "Journal of Dairy Science"; Effect of Milks Inoculated with Lactobacillus acidophilus or a Yogurt Starter Culture in Lactose-Maldigesting Children; R. Montes et al; August 1995
- "American Journal of Clinical Nutrition"; A randomized trial of Lactobacillus acidophilus BG2FO4 to treat lactose intolerance; J Saltzman et al; January 1999
