Have you ever noticed that milk has an inherently mild sweet
taste? If you never had plain milk, you may not have noticed. Try plain
milk and observe the taste.
This is because milk has a type of
sugar called lactose. Lactose is one of the many types of sugars or
simple carbohydrates that are found in different food sources.
Lactose
cannot be absorbed during digestion as it is. It needs to be broken
down The human small intestine produces an enzyme called lactase. The
function of lactase is to break down lactose into glucose and galactose.
Both of which are simple sugars, which can be easily absorbed through
the small intestinal wall.
About 10% of the population do not produce enough lactase to properly digest a glass of milk.
When
you don't have enough lactase, residual lactose makes its way to the
large intestine. There unfriendly bacteria feed on lactose and produce
lots of gas. This could easily turn into foul-smelling gas.
Along
with gas, it will also produce bloating, stomach discomfort and other
symptoms. Many times it can cause diarrhea also, because the large
intestine reacts to the large amount of lactose with releasing lots of
water.
The symptoms usually appear anywhere between 1 to 4 hours
after consuming the milk or dairy products. It takes about that much
time for the bacterial fermentation or the colon reaction to start.
Lactose
is present in milk and any product that is derived from milk. Lactose
is present in milk, yogurt, cheese, kefir, sour milk, buttermilk,
butter, whey, curd, milk solids, dried milk and anything else made using
milk. The amount of lactose will vary. Hardened cheese has less
lactose, butter has less lactose and milk has the highest.
Many
people are tempted to self-diagnose lactose intolerance. It is
recommended that you see a medical professional to confirm the
diagnosis. Typically you will be administered a certain breath test.
Diagnosis is done using the breath test results in conjunction with the
observable symptoms with the dairy products.
Lets say that you are
suffering from foul-smelling flatulence and you found that you have
lactose intolerance. What do you do now? Do you give up dairy
completely? You have a few choices.
There is a debate raging in
the scientific community about whether we should be consuming any dairy
at all. Some people believe that although human milk is essential for
infants, we should not consume cow's milk. They believe cow's milk is
for calf and not for humans.
This article is not the place to settle this debate. I will make some concrete recommendations for you.
If
you have consumed dairy for calcium, you don't need to. We don't need
dairy products for our calcium requirements. It is possible that
consuming dairy products can make you lose more calcium.
Best
source of calcium is leafy green vegetables like spinach, kale, collard
greens and okra. It is best to limit just the milk or cheese for special
occasions. It may be helpful to consume dairy products with live
cultures, like yogurt, kefir and buttermilk more often.
You should
check with your parents and grandparents. Find out in your culture or
family history how dairy was used in the past. There are some ethnic
groups who use dairy more than others and have done for ages. They
probably have good genetic buildup to support dairy use. In general
dairy is not for everyone.
As indicated above, you have an option
to give up dairy. If you decide to give up dairy, make sure you get
enough vitamin D from other sources. Dairy products are fortified with
vitamin D and are a big source. But you don't have to worry about
calcium and never need to take calcium supplements.
Another option is to go for lactose free dairy products. The recommendation is to use it sparingly.
You can also try a lactase supplement that you can use right before consuming dairy.
Do
not use dairy products by itself. Rather consume dairy products along
with the meal or other food that have some fat and protein. The idea is
that if you drink milk by itself, you overwhelm the areas in the small
intestine responsible for lactose breakdown.
But if you consume
milk with other foods that have protein and fat, you slow down the
digestion process and the small intestine has to deal with a gradual
load of lactose rather than a sudden dump.
Lactose intolerance
usually means you don't produce enough lactase for lactose processing.
You still produce lactase. Lactase production never completely stops in
anyone. This means you can tolerate small amounts of dairy. One has to
experiment, but usually less than 4 Oz is okay without any discomforting
symptoms.
In summary if you are suffering from frequent
foul-smelling gas, it is likely that you may be lactose intolerant. You
should rule out this possibility. If you happen to have this
intolerance, I have provided with you few options to deal with the
condition.
By
Rimas Sony
