Lactose intolerance is a condition in which the person has difficulty digesting lactose, a sugar found in milk and many other dairy products. Typically, lactose is broken down by the enzyme lactase. Symptoms of lactose intolerance vary from person to person but can include:
Diarrhea
Gas
Bloating
Stomach Pains
Nausea
Etc.
Symptoms of lactose intolerance will likely occur at about 30 minutes to 2 hours after the person has consumed lactose.
Approximately 65% of people worldwide have lactose intolerance. Lactose intolerance is most common in people of African, Asian, Hispanic and Indian descent. In addition, infants born prematurely might have reduced levels of lactase because the small intestine doesn't develop lactase producing cells until late in the third trimester. Lactose intolerance is very common in adults. About 30 million American adults have some degree of lactose intolerance by age 20.
There are many ways to combat lactose intolerance. Personally, I take Lactaid pills before I eat dairy products. The Lactaid pills are an enzyme that gives me lactase. These pills help me to eat dairy products without the effects. However, I have found that it is hard to gauge the amount of pills to take. To add on, there are other ways to combat lactose intolerance. For instance, some people just lower the amount of lactose and dairy they consume in their diets. Some people have some sort of tolerance for lactose and can eat some dairy products without the effects. Some people just have to quit lactose altogether. People who have to quit lactose aren’t alone though. There are hundreds of products and substitutes for lactose such as the following:
Oat milk products (Oat milk ice cream, oat milk chocolate, etc.)
Lactose-free dairy products (Ghee [butter substitute], etc.)
Almond and non-cow milk products
In summary, everyone’s conditions are different and how you deal with lactose intolerance really just depends on your preferred method.
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