• Question: @Elaine could u tell me more about lactose intolerance since I am lactose intolerant, thanks

    Asked by 786fddk47 to Elaine, Ciara, Golnaz, Gonzalo, Yannis, Yvonne on 10 Nov 2017. This question was also asked by Eamonn, 686fddk47.
    • Photo: Gonzalo Delgado-Pando

      Gonzalo Delgado-Pando answered on 10 Nov 2017:

      Lactose intolerance means that is hard to you to digest lactose. So when you eat lactose you get sick because you cannot digest it. This is because you don’t have enough lactase, a substance that helps the body to digest lactose. Lactose intolerance is very common around the world, more than half of the people in the world cannot digest lactose properly.
      Lactose is a sugar that is prsent in some foods like milk and dairy products, so now you have to be very careful and check what foods have lactose in it because some processed food might have it like hot dogs or cookies.

    • Photo: Ciara O'Donovan

      Ciara O'Donovan answered on 10 Nov 2017:

      As Gonzalo said you are lactose intolerant because your body does not make lactase or does not make enough of it. Lactose is a sugar which is made from two other sugars (glucose and galactose). Lactase is the enzyme in our body which breaks lactose down so we can absorb the glucose and galactose. This happens in our small intestines. However as you are lactose intolerant this does not happen and so the lactose passes into your large intestine. We have millions of bacteria living here which then ferment the lactose which causes the symptoms associated with lactose intolerance.

    • Photo: Elaine Kennedy

      Elaine Kennedy answered on 10 Nov 2017:

      The guys are both right but shops are getting much better at providing lactose free options you can now get lactose free ice-cream, milk and yogurt so you can still enjoy these foods. As foods that contain lactose are also usually good sources of calcium which is really important for healthy bones you should try to include foods that have calcium. The lactose free milk and yogurt are usually fortified with calcium and some orange juice is fortified with calcium too. Leafy green vegetables like spinach also contains calcium.

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