Lactose is a sugar found in milk and other dairy products that is able to be digested by nearly everybody at birth. Through childhood most people lose the ability to digest lactose. LactAid is a brand of food that can be digested by people unable to digest lactose, it is also a drug with the generic name lactase. It is important to consult a physician or other health care professional for dietary guidance and the diagnosis and treatment of health conditions.
Lactose and the Body
Lactose is a carbohydrate known as a disaccharide. This means that it is composed of two simple sugar molecules linked together -- glucose and galactose. In infants and those who can digest lactose, it is broken down into its component parts in the gastrointestinal tract and absorbed into the blood stream. There, it can be taken up into the organs' cells and used for energy.
Lactase and the Body
Lactase is the enzyme in the gastrointestinal tract that breaks down lactose into glucose and galactose. It is a protein that is genetically expressed in nearly everybody except those with the rare disorder called congenital lactose intolerance. Most people stop expressing the lactase enzyme as they get older, and can no longer digest milk or dairy products. Lactose intolerance is therefore not truly a disease. The majority of people have the enzyme when they are infants in order to digest milk, but no longer need it when they reach an age at which they are no longer nursing.
Symptoms of Lactose Intolerance
People with lactose intolerance develop some degree of bloating, nausea, diarrhea, gas and abdominal pain when they ingest lactose. This is largely because, when the body does not digest lactose, the bacteria in the intestines ferment it instead.
Treatment of Lactose Intolerance
There are presently three approaches to treating lactose intolerance. First is simply to avoid lactose by avoiding the dairy products that contain it. Second is to process dairy products with lactase so that the lactose is broken down into glucose and galactose. The third approach is to ingest lactase in pill form with a meal that contains lactose.
References
- "Physiology"; Linda S.Costanzo; 4th Ed 2008
- "Nutrition Concepts and Controversies"; Frances Sizer, Ellie Whitney; 11th Ed 2007
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