The Beginner's Guide To Lactose Free Living

In the United States, millions of people experience lactose intolerance. By lactose intolerance we refer specifically to a condition that prevents a person from fully digesting lactose. Lactose is a special sugar that is found in cow’s milk, goat’s milk, etc. Lactose can also be found in milk-derived food products such as cheese and bread. Anything that was prepared with dairy products such as butter and cream will have some lactose content, even if it’s just a little.

Lactose intolerance occurs when a person is no longer able to produce sufficient amounts of the enzyme lactase. Lactase breaks down the components of lactose and enables the body to absorb both of its components, galactose and glucose.

Glucose is a type of sugar that can easily be utilized by the body. Galactose on the other hand, is the indigestible component of lactose that is separated by the enzyme lactase and is excreted by the digestive system.
Not every lactose-intolerant person experiences horrible symptoms. More often, lactose-intolerant individuals suffer from very mild manifestations of the condition – unless they abuse their digestive processes, of course.

For example, a person may be able to tolerate one or two glasses of milk a day, but the symptoms of lactose intolerance may worsen over time if this person decides to drink a whole carton of milk every day. It is also believed that excessive consumption of dairy products increases one’s risk for Crohn’s disease, a type of I.B.D. or inflammatory bowel disease.

So how do you know if you have lactose intolerance? The best way to know is to check with your doctor. If you have mild symptoms only, you can check the following list and see if you have any of these symptoms:

- Excessive gassiness
- Bloating sensation
- Acute abdominal pains
- Cramps
- Excessive sounds in the stomach

Note that these symptoms are also common in people who regularly experience indigestion. So unless your doctor has already diagnosed you with the condition, you wouldn’t really know. You can probably tell if dairy products are causing your symptoms if you cut down on dairy products for a few days and see if your symptoms improve. If your symptoms improve, you are probably suffering from a mild case of lactose intolerance. That means you have to control your lactose intake every day.
Lactose intolerance is not a complicated condition. In fact, even without medication or supplementation, you would still be able to manage this GI condition on your own. The trick is to listen to your body well and adapt your actions based on what your body is telling you.
Sometimes the digestive process is just slow in digesting lactose. If your digestive process can in fact digest lactose but is slow in doing so, you have to give it time. So don’t eat all your dairy products in one go! If you are going to have some ice cream at lunch time, skip the dairy at dinner time. That way, your GI tract will have time to digest the ice cream completely before the next batch of dairy is consumed.

The Beginner's Guide To Lactose Free Living