Lactose intolerance is one of the more common food intolerances, and results in digestive upset when you consume dairy. If you're lactose intolerant, you may be wondering whether your condition carries with it any hidden benefits, as some other conditions do. Unfortunately, there aren't really any direct benefits of lactose intolerance.
Lactose Intolerance
When you consume foods, digestive enzymes in your gut break down the larger nutrient molecules into their smaller building blocks, which you can then absorb into the bloodstream. Lactose, the sugar in milk, is one such larger nutrient molecule. To absorb its components, you have to break it down using the enzyme lactase, which you normally produce and secrete in the small intestine, explain Drs. Reginald Garrett and Charles Grisham in their book "Biochemistry." If you don't produce sufficient lactase, you'll be unable to digest lactose.
Symptoms
Undigested lactose passes through the small intestine into the large intestine, where bacteria break it down to fill their own energy requirements. The waste products of this bacterial digestion of lactose include large quantities of gas, leading to the cramping and bloating sensations commonly experienced by those with lactose intolerance upon consuming dairy, explains MayoClinic.com. While lactose intolerance isn't dangerous -- it's distinct from an allergy in this regard -- it's very uncomfortable.
Benefits
There are no direct benefits of lactose intolerance; having it doesn't give you the ability to do anything you couldn't otherwise do, nor does it cause your digestive function to improve in other ways. Generally speaking, lactose intolerance is nothing but a minor irritation; while you can't treat it and it doesn't help you at all, it's very easy to avoid symptoms by either avoiding dairy or taking an over-the-counter lactase supplement.
Indirect Effects
There's one very indirect way in which you might consider lactose intolerance to have some fringe benefits: if you particularly love ice cream and other fatty dairy products, you may be less inclined to consume them if you have or develop lactose intolerance, which might help you to lose weight. Of course, you can consume your favorite lactose-containing treats if you take lactase supplements, but for some people, the inconvenience is enough to encourage avoiding fattening forms of dairy.
References
- "Biochemistry"; Reginald Garrett, Ph.D. and Charles Grisham, Ph.D.; 2007
- MayoClinic.com: Lactose Intolerance
