Effects of Lactose Intolerance

As lactose intolerance is a gastrointestinal disorder, most of the effects of lactose intolerance are of a gastric nature. Somebody who is lactose intolerant can expect to experience a variety of unpleasant symptoms to a degree, as will be explored in this article.

Everybody who is lactose intolerant is intolerant to certain levels. Some people can quite easily consume a glass of milk and have no symptoms, or very little symptoms. Others may have a very high intolerance to lactose therefore the effects of lactose intolerance on these people are much more severe.

Subject to each individual's intolerance levels, and the levels of lactose consumed, any of the following symptoms may be experience to varying degrees:

• Stomach cramps
• Bloating
• Nausea
• Diarrhoea

If somebody who is lactose intolerant continues to consume lactose further negative effects such as malnutrition and weight loss may occur.

As a rule of thumb, those who are severely lactose intolerant should endeavour to cut down the amount of lactose in their diet to none. Once this has achieved, after your body's gastric system has had time to flush out any remaining lactose, you should feel immeasurably better for it.

For people with less severe lactose intolerance but wish to reduce their symptoms still, try cutting down on the amount of lactose consumed. One great way of vastly decreasing the amount of lactose consumed is to purchase lactose free milk rather than regular milk.

In some cases, some of the symptoms of lactose intolerance can be confused with the symptoms of milk allergy, and bearing in mind milk is present in a huge number of foods – even ones you wouldn't suspect – it may be the case you are in fact allergic to the proteins in milk rather than lactose intolerant.