Symptoms of lactose intolerance are caused by the fermentation of lactose. As the lactose is not broken down into glucose, and then absorbed into the body, the conditions in the intestines provide the perfect forum for lactose to ferment and lead to the formation of gases. One particular gas formed is methane, which is usually the cause for pain and aggressive flatulence. The common symptoms are; cramps, nausea, bloating gas, wind diarrhoea that begins half an hour to 2 hrs after ingesting lactose containing substances.
People suffering from lactase deficiency and do not avoid lactose may suffer from weight loss and malnutrition.
The amount of lactose an individual can tolerate varies from person to person, this is dependant on the amount of lactase the person produces, often it is a trial by error method of finding how much lactose a person can tolerate. Although many foods contain lactose, supermarkets sell a number of products which are dairy free. The products available include butter, yoghurt, non dairy cream and Soya milk. Soya milk contains all of the nutrients found in regular milk and can be purchased in a sweetened or unsweetened form with the sweetened form usually containing fructose. Aside from obvious dairy products many products contain lactose as a preservative for instance ham often contains lactose traces.
One method of maintaining a regular diet is found in taking lactase enzymes in the form of drops added to the milk in capsules before a meal, they are very effective as they put enough lactase in the digestive system to replace that the body cannot make and digest lactose in reasonable quantities without any side effects. Prolactazyme can be added to food to achieve the same effect.
Some of the foods I found to contain lactose are:
Butter, milk powder, butter oil, all forms of mammal milks (skimmed to full fat, evaporated and condensed), milk solids, non-fat milk, cheeses, cream, artificial butter flavour, butter solids, caramel colouring, caramel flavouring, dried milk, milk protein, Simplesse (sugar alternative), Opta (sugar alternative), sour cream, sour milk, donuts, bread, cookies, crackers, cakes, waffles, pancakes, gravy, yoghurt, hot dogs, ice cream, margarine, salad dressing, seasonings, sausages and sherbet.
Considering all the foods that are only allowed to be eaten in certain quantities by lactase deficient people, it would be very difficult to maintain an average diet for people living in a similar society to this. Although this problem is not as devastating to dietary requirements as something like diabetes or nut allergies, this would cause a lot of care and attention to be taken in the choosing and eating of foods.
