If you have lactose intolerance and are looking for help managing your symptoms, there's plenty of information that will make it easier for you to deal with symptoms and continue to enjoy your favorite foods without discomfort. Understanding your lactose intolerance will help you select foods and dietary supplements from among the many options available to you.
Diagnosing Lactose Intolerance
One of the first items you might need help with if you think you have lactose intolerance is confirming the diagnosis. While you might have your suspicions, based on uncomfortable symptoms when you consume dairy, not everyone with trouble digesting milk has lactose intolerance. In fact, a 1999 study published in the "American Journal of Clinical Nutrition" by Dr. John Saltzman and colleagues suggests that lactose intolerance is highly overreported, meaning that patients often incorrectly self-diagnose. You might wish to seek confirmation from your doctor before you determine that you're lactose intolerant.
Causes of Lactose Intolerance
Once you've confirmed that you're lactose intolerant, it can be helpful to understand exactly what's causing your digestive difficulty. Lactose intolerance results from insufficient production of lactase, the digestive enzyme your small intestine uses to break down milk sugar, or lactose. Many people become lactose intolerant as they age, never having been lactose intolerant when they were younger. Others become lactose intolerant following an illness. If you've been ill recently, your lactose intolerance may be temporary. Age-related lactose intolerance is unlikely to resolve with time.
Options
If you don't particularly care for milk or dairy products, managing lactose intolerance is relatively simple -- you can simply eliminate these foods from your diet. Alternately, you can seek out nondairy alternatives, such as soy milk, which don't contain lactose. If you're a fan of dairy, however, you have two options. There are lactose-free milks and other products that you'll be able to consume without trouble. Additionally, you can take over-the-counter lactase supplements that will help you digest the lactose in a meal.
Warning
Some sources suggest that papaya enzymes and herbs might help resolve lactose intolerance. However, evidence supports very few supplements as methods for managing lactose intolerance. Lactase supplements work quite well. Additionally, some studies have shown that supplemental probiotic Lactobacillus acidophilus can help you digest milk products if taken regularly. For instance, in a 1995 study published in the "Journal of Dairy Science," Drs. R. Montes and colleagues demonstrated that children consuming Lactobacillus cultures digested milk with fewer symptoms than those not given the probiotic.
References
- "American Journal of Clinical Nutrition"; "A randomized trial of Lactobacillus acidophilus BG2FO4 to treat lactose intolerance"; J. Saltzman et al; January 1999
- MayoClinic.com: Lactose Intolerance
- "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
