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Everything You Need to Know about Lactose Intolerance

Who here has a weird relationship with lactose?

Like many of you, we absolutely LOVE the taste of ice cream, cheese, chocolate milk, all that good stuff. But we can’t stand the way they make us feel.

Trust me, we’re not the only ones out there who have a love/hate relationship with lactose. In fact, it’s more common than you think. 65% of Americans are lactose intolerant. Yes, you read that correctly. 65% of people have trouble digesting milk.

We've all been in the same position: You eat some cheese paired with a beautiful red wine, or you spend the night hanging with your two best buds, Ben and Jerry, then - boom -- immediate regret. The belly aches ensue. Most people…

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Adventures in Lactose Intolerance

Not to go into too much gross detail, let’s just say that if you are in the unfortunate position I am, any amount of lactose would, putting it lightly, make you feel like an inflated balloon. A balloon that is ready to burst, at any moment.

An Evolutionary Whodunit: How Did Humans Develop Lactose Tolerance?

Got milk? Ancient European farmers who made cheese thousands of years ago certainly had it. But at that time, they lacked a genetic mutation that would have allowed them to digest raw milk's dominant sugar, lactose, after childhood. Today, however, 35 percent of the global population — mostly people with European ancestry — can digest lactose in adulthood without a hitch. So, how did we transition from milk-a-phobics to milkaholics? "The first and most correct answer is, we don't know," says Mark Thomas, an evolutionary geneticist at University College London in the U.K.

As Scientists Pinpoint the Genetic Reason for Lactose Intolerance, Unknowns Remain

Though lactose intolerance may sound like a disorder, it is in fact natural. In most people the gene for lactase, the enzyme that digests lactose, is switched on at birth and switched off at the age of weaning.

Can changing the microbiome reverse lactose intolerance?

Lactose cannot be directly absorbed in the intestinal tract and must, instead, be broken down into its two smaller component sugars by an enzyme called lactase. Normally, the activity of the gene that produces lactase, LCT, declines after infancy. New evidence suggests that this decline occurs not because the genetic code is changed, but because the DNA is chemically modified so that the lactase gene is switched off.

Can I just become lactose intolerant “all of a sudden”?

Umm – yes. You can. That’s all. Thanks for reading! Just kidding, just kidding. But seriously, you can.

Can One Lose Lactose Intolerance as an Adult?

Lactase (the enzyme that breaks down lactose) is produced by cells in the lining of the small intestine. All humans have the ability to produce lactase during infancy, but for many, that ability is turned off in adulthood.

Coating our gut walls with glue could treat lactose intolerance

A synthetic glue that sticks to the inside of the small intestine could form the basis of a treatment for several health conditions, including lactose intolerance, diabetes and obesity. Tests in pigs show that the glue, when enhanced with enzymes or other chemicals, regulates the gut’s ability to absorb key nutrients.

Could Lactose Intolerance Be All in Your Head?

Most people who suffer from the telltale symptoms of bloating, gas, gut pain and nausea after consuming milk believe they have lactose intolerance. But a new Italian study suggests that only a third of such patients actually do. For many others, the symptoms may be a manifestation of a psychiatric condition.

Early Europeans unable to stomach milk

The majority of humans around the world lose the ability to digest lactose – a sugar in milk – before reaching adulthood. This is because their gene for the enzyme lactase, which breaks lactose down, is switched off by late adolescence. Symptoms of this “lactose intolerance” include bloating and diarrhoea after drinking milk.

Is A2 Milk Good For People With Lactose Intolerance?

Growing up, I loved milk. I drank it at dinner. I drank it at breakfast. I drank it with cookies—only Europeans and monsters don't. But by my late 20s, a glass of milk could bring on a hellish, bloaty stomach ache, and more than that would absolutely wreck me. I figured I was one of a quarter of Americans who self-report as lactose intolerant.

Just How Distressing Is Lactose Intolerance?

"This is not a disease," Dr. Riepe said. "In almost all humans, the level of lactase drops when they mature, and I don't think this is an abnormality. Perhaps the genetic variation that is abnormal is the one that allows producing a lot of lactase after you are weaned."

Lactose-free milk is driving sales for the struggling dairy industry

Changes in world markets has some businesses struggling to adapt. In the US, the largest milk company, Dean Foods Co. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy at the end of last year. They joined 48 other dairy companies to file bankruptcy in 2019. To a smaller degree, plant-based milk alternatives and the changing consumer taste that they cater to are challenging the industry as well. The dairy industry responded with lactose-free milk to try to match the appeal of milks made from oats, cashews, bananas, almonds, and others.

New Lactose-Intolerance Advice

Children who are lactose-intolerant should consume some dairy products to ensure that they get enough calcium and vitamin D, according to a new recommendation from the American Academy of Pediatrics. Individuals with lactose intolerance don't have enough of the enzyme lactase to digest lactose, the primary carbohydrate in milk, and can get stomach cramps, gas and diarrhea when they drink milk or eat dairy foods.

No Dairy? No Worries: Making the Best of Lactose Intolerance

Many people would have a big problem if they were asked to give up dairy. The comforting familiarity of a gooey grilled cheese sandwich or an ice cream on a hot day is impossible for almost anyone to resist. When you’re left without a choice in the matter, it helps to get creative very quickly, and that’s become much easier within the last few years.

Study Shows Once and for All That Raw Milk Doesn't Help Lactose Intolerance

Although the study is small, it brings into question the benefits of raw milk for people with lactose intolerance. “It’s not that there was a trend toward a benefit from raw milk and our study wasn’t big enough to capture it; it’s that there was no hint of any benefit,” said Gardner in a statement.

The answer to lactose intolerance might be in Mongolia

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When Lactose Intolerance Makes You Scream For No Ice Cream

Babies digest milk with ease, but it can get harder with age, unless you picked up a gene from your northern European ancestors. Between 30 million to 50 million American adults can't crank out enough of the enzyme that digests lactose, or milk sugar, which can turn a bowl of ice cream into a roller coaster of stomach discomfort. Lactose-intolerant people who want to indulge in dairy without suffering the consequences have two options: take supplements of the enzyme lactase, or buy lactose-free dairy products, which are made by adding lactase to break down the milk sugar.

Why Do People Become Lactose-Intolerant?

Most of us drank milk every day when we were young without a problem. Then, sometime in our teens or early 20s, we start to feel bloated or have discomfort after consuming a lot of milk, typically two or more glasses at a time. Scientists have discovered that most people develop some degree of lactose intolerance as they get older. Why we lose this ability to break down lactose, the key sugar found in milk, is a puzzle that researchers have been trying to figure out.

Why humans have evolved to drink milk

Humans didn’t start out being able to digest animal milk – but now many populations do. Why has evolution favoured tolerating dairy?