Lactose intolerance: how to deal with it?

Does your stomach feel uneasy after you have milk? Is it one of the main reasons that cause you to avoid drinking milk? In fact, this problem, which is called “lactose intolerance”, is very common among the world populations.

What is lactose intolerance?
Every food we consume need to be broken down into simpler form before they can be absorbed and utilized in our body. Lactose, a complex form of sugar found mostly in dairy products, has to be broken down by lactase (one of the digestive enzymes) into glucose and galactose. If our body can’t produce enough lactase, these lactose will be transferred into colon undigested and enteric bacteria will undergo lactose fermentation that causes abdominal symptoms (eg. flaturence, diarrhea, nausea, and stomach cramps).

What is the consequence?
People tends to withdraw from drinking milk because of the uncomfortable experience. However, milk is an excellent source of some key nutrients including calcium, protein, vitamin D and vitamin A. Inadequate calcium and vitamin D intake can affect your bone health and may develop osteoporosis in later stage of life.


Different kind of lactose-free or alternative products found on the market

How can you deal with it?
1. Consume milk together with other non-lactose containing foods.
2. Drink a smaller portion of milk and add it up slowly to determine your tolerance threshold.
3. Choose alternative dairy products such as yogurt, soy milk, rice milk and cheese.
4. Choose lactose-reduced or lactose-free milk.
5. Take lactase enzyme supplement before you consume lactose containing products.
6. Consume calcium-fortified fruit juice
7. Consume non-dairy products that have rich calcium content (eg. rhubarb, sardines, salmon and spinach)

Finally…
Lactose intolerance is not considered as a disease. It is a reduced or absent activity of lactase in your body to metabolize lactose. If you can follow just a few suggestions given above, you might be able to avoid the occurrence of the problem. So begin with a small glass of milk and enjoy the benefit it provides starting from today!