What is lactose intolerance?
Q: What is lactose intolerance?
A: Lactose intolerance is when a person cannot digest milk or milk products, such as cheese or yogurt. This is because they do not have the enzyme called lactase which breaks down the double sugar molecule of lactose into two simple sugars, glucose and galactose.
Q: How common is it?
A: It varies from 5% in northern Europe to over 71% in Sicily and over 90% in parts of Africa and Asia.
Q: Is there a cure for lactose intolerance?
A: No, there is no cure for lactose intolerance. Those people need to change their diet to eat and drink substances with very little lactose. There are many milk substitutes available.
Q: Is milk allergy the same as lactose intolerance?
A: No, they are not the same thing. Milk allergy is an immune reaction to some of the proteins in milk whereas lactose intolerance occurs when someone does not have enough of the enzyme needed to break down the double sugar molecule of lactose into two simple sugars, glucose and galactose.
Q: What happens if someone with lactose intolerance drinks milk?
A: If someone with lactose intolerance drinks milk that has not been digested properly then it may ferment in their small intestine which can cause a problem called pseudoallergy where amino acids are changed to other substances which may act similarly to histamine in a true allergy.
Q: Are all mammals born drinking mother's milk?
A: Yes, all mammals start off on mother's milk but almost all change to a non-milk diet at some point - this process we call weaning.
