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Health Kartik Goyal The Medical Hub

What is lactose intolerance? Types, causes, and symptoms.

Lactose intolerance occurs when your small intestine cannot make a digestive lactose enzyme called lactase. Lactase helps to break down lactose in food after your body can absorb nutrients and protein. Lactose intolerance happens when your body can’t break down sugar lactose. It is mainly shown in dairy products and milk when consumed. These symptoms show when you suffer lactose intolerance, such as gas, belly pain, and diarrhea. If you are allergic to regular cow milk, choose A2 milk , which is completely free from A1 beta-casein and does not cause digestive issues.

Type of lactose intolerance

Primary lactose intolerance 

When a baby is born, he needs a lactase enzyme for digestion. Most people are born with enough enzymes. In these conditions, our body is unable to make lactose. Then lactase level decreases, you can not take a milk product, and when you take milk, you feel sick such as nausea, vomiting, stomach pain, etc. 

Secondary lactose intolerance

injury, surgery, and intestine disease can be causes lactose intolerance 

Developmental lactose intolerance

This type of lactose shows in premature babies. Because premature babies do not make enough lactose, they suffer from digestive lactase. After 34 weeks, he showed less symptoms.  

Causes 

  • Premature babies are not able to make proper lactose. Then they suffer from digestive problems.
  • After injuries and infection, or small intestine stops making a lactose
  • People born with the inability then suffer from making lactose. That case rarely shows in people. 

Symptoms 

If you have lactose intolerance, you cannot digest milk. If you take dairy milk products, then you suffer from 

  • Gas
  • Abnormal cramps 
  • Nausea 
  • Diarrhea 
  • Bloating 

How to diagnose 

You’re suffering from nausea, diarrhea, and abnormal pain when you drink and eat milk products. You can check with your doctor. Your healthcare reviews your past medical history. After symptoms and diagnosis. They find lactose intolerance through some tests, such as 

  • Lactose tolerant test
  • Hydrogen breath test 
  • Stool acidity test 

Lactose tolerant test 

This test is like a blood test measuring your body’s reaction after taking a liquid. Because it contains a high level of lactose intolerance 

Hydrogen breath test

Hydrogen breath test in which the doctor measures the hydrogen in your breath when you consume a high quantity of liquid in lactose. Your body is unable to digest the lactose. Or high levels of hydrogen in your breath mean you have a lactose intolerance. 

Stool acidity test 

The stool acidity test is in which the doctor measures the amount of acid in the stool. Mainly this test applies to children. When he does not digest lactose, their stool will have lactose acid, glucose, and other acids. 

Treatment 

In this treatment, your healthcare suggests avoiding milk products in your diet. It helps to decrease the level of lactose intolerance. And also recommend trying other dairy products if they show fewer symptoms than if you take a small quantity of milk. You can buy Cow milk because cow milk is full of nutrients, protein, and minerals essential to our body. After taking milk to show those symptoms, you can take calcium, vitamin D, protein, and riboflavin supplements. Those supplements help to get enough calcium.   

Tips for managing lactose in your diet 

  • You can start by taking a small quantity of milk product into your diet after measuring your body’s reaction. 
  • You can take a milk or milk product with your meal, showing fewer symptoms. 
  • You can ask your doctor about lactose. They provide some pills then you relive those symptoms after taking a milk product.