Symptoms of Lactose Intolerance

It is highly likely the vast majority of adults all around the world will have experienced some of the unpleasant symptoms of lactose intolerance to some degree at some time or other. It is even more likely that the person experiencing these symptoms was aware they were been caused by lactose intolerance.

A brief explanation of lactose intolerance

Lactose intolerance is the encapsulating term given to ones degree of intolerance to the sugar compound lactose. Lactose is found in all milk produced by both animals and humans (breast milk). During the early stages of a baby's life, the tolerance to lactose tends to be at its highest, and this is to enable them to be weaned on breast milk. Around the ages of 2 to 5 years old, much of the tolerance to lactose is lost due to the diminishing production of ‘lactase'. Lactase is a digestive enzyme produced in the small intestine which deals with lactose. The lower lactase production is the more lactose intolerant an individual will be.

Symptoms of lactose intolerance

The symptoms of lactose intolerance experienced will depend mainly on two factors:

1: The levels of lactase enzyme being produced by the small intestine.

2: The level of lactose consumed.

Some individuals can produce enough lactase to enable them to consume maybe a cup or two of milk without experiencing symptoms, whilst for others the quota may be almost none. Typically, the symptoms of lactose intolerance will be varying degrees of any of the following: Bloated feelings within the stomach, stomach cramps, diarrhoea and perhaps even nausea.

Often, the symptoms of lactose intolerance can be similar to those of Irritable Bowel Syndrome and sometimes mistaken as such.