Whether you're lactose intolerant, can't consume lactose, and wonder what you might be missing, or eat dairy regularly and are hoping the lactose has health benefits, you may be curious as to just what lactose can do for you. While lactose has benefits for your cells, it can't do anything other sources of carbohydrates can't do.
Lactose
Lactose is the chemical name for milk sugar, a carbohydrate made up of two smaller sugar units called monosaccharides. All carbohydrates consist of one or more monosaccharide units, so lactose has much in common with the related sugar sucrose -- table sugar -- and also with starch. The specific monosaccharides that make up lactose are called glucose -- also found in table sugar and starch -- and galactose.
Use Of Lactose
When you consume lactose, you digest it into its glucose and galactose constituents using the enzyme lactase. You then absorb these into the bloodstream, and your cells take them up from there. You can break the monosaccharides down for immediate energy, convert them into the storage carbohydrate glycogen, or convert them into body fat, explains Lauralee Sherwood, Ph.D., in her book "Human Physiology." You can do these same things with monosaccharides from other sources, including table sugar and starch.
Lactose and Health
Because you can use the monosaccharides in lactose for a variety of beneficial purposes -- including providing your cells with energy -- lactose is a healthy component of diet. However, none of its effects in the body are unique; you can consume any carbohydrate and get an identical effect at the cellular level. This means that if you can't consume lactose for health reasons, you're not missing out on anything in particular.
Considerations
For some people, lactose isn't good for health. If you have lactose intolerance, you can't digest the lactose in milk into its glucose and galactose constituents, because you don't produce enough of the lactase enzyme. Lactose intolerant individuals experience uncomfortable symptoms including bloating, diarrhea and cramping when they eat lactose-containing foods. While lactose intolerance won't hurt you, it decreases your feeling of well-being, so it's a good idea to avoid lactose-containing foods if they cause you problems.
References
- "Biochemistry"; Reginald Garrett, Ph.D. and Charles Grisham, Ph.D.; 2007
- "Human Physiology"; Lauralee Sherwood, Ph.D.; 2004
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