New Information on Lactose Intolerance
Lactose intolerance is a group of signs and symptoms that include diarrhea, abdominal pain and abdominal bloating or swelling gases happens after eating food containing lactose. This is caused by malabsorption of lactose, a sugar found in milk and dairy foods. This malabsorption is caused by deficiency of the enzyme lactase. Which converts lactose into glucose and galactose. All babies produce lactase, which allows them to digest either breast milk or formula. But over the years many children, for genetic reasons, reduce the amount of lactase that they have.
The symptoms of lactose intolerance resulting from bacterial fermentation of undigested lactose in the colon. And the diagnosis is made with a breath test that measures the amount of hydrogen after ingesting a dose of lactose. It is a very simple test.
Current treatment is to avoid drinking milk or food containing milk. Others take pre-hydrolyzed milk with lactase. But it is important to know that it was shown that many people tolerate drink milk, if combined with other foods, and many of the abdominal discomfort are not bigotry, but by other causes.
What I noticed is that many parents decide that their children are intolerant, not having it and therefore are removed from the diet foods. This causes the intake of large quantities of Calcium, Vitamin D and other nutrients important in normal development of children is poor. This over time leads to a decrease in the density or bone strength and therefore may have more fractures or other diseases.
People with lactose intolerance can eat 12 grams of lactose in a wall (equivalent to one cup of milk) without delay. But taking 50 grams (equivalent to a quart of milk), you would cause symptoms, if not accompanied by other foods.
Among the strategies recommended are taking small amounts of milk, cheese or yogurt. Use products with lactose and probiotics, which bring them more food. I remember drinking milk combined with other foods and thus reduce your discomfort.
The important thing is to eat adequate amounts of calcium, protein, potassium, riboflavin, vitamin D, to avoid the complications of a diet low by not having milk and dairy products. This is more important in times of life such as adolescence, pregnancy, lactation and aging.
Therefore I suggest you make sure your child has lactose intolerance, before removing, diet milk and other dairy products. And if you give other foods in order to receive the necessary nutrients. Consult a registered dietitian and VidaySalud.com pages for more recommendations.