If you’ve ever felt bloated, gassy, or just plain sick after eating ice cream, a glass of milk, a yogurt, or a meal that featured cheese, it’s more than possible that you are lactose intolerant.
People with lactose intolerance cannot fully digest this sugar found in milk and dairy products . This digestive disorder is caused by the lack of a certain enzyme, lactase , responsible for breaking down lactose into two simple sugars: glucose and galactose and produced by the small intestine. It can also happen that lactase is manufactured, but not in the right amount to break down the lactose. As it is not divided into glucose and galactose, lactose will continue its way through the digestive system without being absorbed, it will produce fermentation and gases.
Most babies and children do not have a problem making enough lactase, but as we age, lactase production decreases progressively . This leads to lactose intolerance in many adults.
In fact, it is estimated that approximately 65% of adults have some degree of lactose intolerance. In Spain it affects 30% or 40% of the population.
These are the five most common symptoms you may notice if you are lactose intolerant:
1. Swelling
2. Acute diarrhea
3. Gases or flatulence
4. Stomach cramps or colic
5. Nausea and sometimes vomiting
According to the prestigious Mayo Clinic, symptoms usually appear between 30 minutes and two hours after eating foods that have lactose. If lactose intolerance is suspected, medical advice is recommended. Especially if there is concern about obtaining a sufficient amount of calcium.
The latter could be perfectly offset by eating non-dairy foods rich in calcium such as sesame seeds, tofu, blue fish such as anchovies, sardines or anchovies, almonds and pistachios, steamed vegetables such as spinach, broccoli , lettuce, chard, parsley, and seaweed like wakame, and legumes like chickpeas.
Also dairy products that are sold as lactose-free continue to provide calcium, in fact, their nutritional values are exactly the same as those of regular dairy products, the only thing they differ is that lactose-free (they do contain lactose) adds lactase to be digested.
