Crohn's disease is a digestive condition that affects the lining of your intestines. It is considered an inflammatory bowel disease that causes thickening and chronic swelling to occur throughout your digestive tract. The condition can spread into deep parts of the intestinal tissue, causing permanent damage, such as lactose or milk intolerance. While Crohn's disease can cause dairy-related intolerances, it does not cause a milk allergy, which commonly is confused with milk intolerance.
Crohn's Disease
Crohn's disease is still a mystery to the medical field. At one time it was believed that diet and stress could cause the development of Crohn's disease, but according to MayoClinic.com, studies have shown that this is not the case. Crohn's disease is most likely genetic and caused by a defect in the immune system. Symptoms can include stomach pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, blood in your stool and rapid weight loss. At times the pain can be severe, debilitating your normal functionality.
Lactose Intolerance
Lactose intolerance can be a long-term complication of Crohn's disease. Because of the damage to the lining of the intestines, the villi that line the surface of your small intestines might stop producing lactase, an enzyme that helps digest lactose, the sugar found in dairy products. If you are deficient in lactase, your body will not be able to absorb lactose, causing various symptoms to develop within 30 minutes of ingesting dairy products. Lactose intolerance will cause cramping, bloating, gas and diarrhea as a result of consuming dairy products.
Milk Intolerance
Milk intolerance differs from lactose intolerance because while lactose intolerance is the inability to digest the sugar found in dairy, milk intolerance is the inability to digest the proteins in dairy. Milk contains two primary proteins, casein and whey. Casein is used to make cheese and curd, while whey is found in the liquid part of milk. If the affects of Crohn's disease cause a deficiency in the enzymes needed to digest milk proteins, you will develop milk intolerance. If diagnosed with milk intolerance, you will be advised to avoid all dairy products.
Milk Allergy Consideration
A milk allergy cannot be caused by Crohn's disease. A milk allergy will affect your digestive system when you consume dairy products, but a milk allergy is a hypersensitivity of your immune system. Milk allergies occur when your immune system mistakes the proteins in dairy as an intruding substance that could harm the body. This mistake causes the body to defend itself with various chemicals that cause allergy symptoms.
