Contents:
- Medical Video: Living with Lactose Intolerance
- What Is Lactose?
- Why can anyone with lactose intolerance?
- Symptoms and characteristics of lactose intolerance
- Foods containing lactose
- Causes of lactose intolerance
Medical Video: Living with Lactose Intolerance
Do you often feel a stomach ache until you eat diarrhea or drink products from milk? Be careful, you may have a lactose intolerance condition. Lactose is an ingredient in dairy products that can indeed cause certain reactions in some people. Why is that, huh? See the full explanation of the problem of lactose and its intolerance below.
What Is Lactose?
Lactose is one of the sugar molecules consisting of a combination of two smaller sugar molecules, namely glucose and galactose. Lactose is found in milk or other milk-based products. Absorption of lactose in the body requires the enzyme lactase, an enzyme found in the intestine. This enzyme will break down lactose into glucose and galactose which will then be absorbed in the small intestine.
Why can anyone with lactose intolerance?
Lactose intolerance is a condition in which the body is unable to absorb lactose properly or at all. This can be due to a disruption of the production of lactase enzymes in your body. Therefore, when consuming a variety of dairy products, your body will be intolerant, or cannot receive it properly. Especially if you consume too much milk products.
Instead of being absorbed by the body, this entering and not digesting lactose will actually cause various reactions or symptoms of digestive disorders. For example flatulence, abdominal pain, or nausea.
Lactose intolerance is an incurable condition, but there are several ways to reduce symptoms.
Symptoms and characteristics of lactose intolerance
Symptoms of lactose intolerance usually appear around 30 minutes to 2 hours after consuming dairy products. There are some people who are very sensitive to lactose and there are some people who can still consume small amounts of lactose. The symptoms of lactose intolerance are as follows:
- Bloated
- Abdominal cramps
- Diarrhea
- Stomach filled with gas (feels bad)
- Nausea
Foods containing lactose
Foods containing lactose are all types of products that contain or are made from milk, such as:
- Milk, milkshakesand other milk-based drinks
- Whipped cream (whipped cream) and creamdairy
- Ice cream, ice milk, gelato, yogurt, or any cold snack containing milk
- Cheese
- Butter
- Pudding
- Cream soup or sauce and cream from milk (eg pasta saucecarbonara)
- Other foods made from milk
Other foods that may contain lactose in small amounts are:
- Bread and pastries
- Chocolate Candy
- Salad dressing and sauce
- Cereals and creations
- Meat
- Sweets and snacks
- Pancake dough and biscuits
- Margarine
- Viscera (like liver)
- Beet sugar, peas, and lima beans
Lactose is also often found in some drugs such as birth control pills, and free drugs such as stomach ache or stomach ulcers
Causes of lactose intolerance
Lactose intolerance is a digestive disorder in which the small intestine does not have enough lactase enzymes. As a result, lactose cannot be absorbed and eventually turns into a gas which causes the above symptoms to appear.
For some people, lactose intolerance can develop according to age. This is because as you get older, the small intestine will produce less lactase enzymes. A decrease in lactase production can also occur due to intestinal injury or suffering from Crohn's disease and Celiac disease.
Hello Health Group does not provide advice, diagnosis or medical treatment.
