My son Alexander has just been diagnosed as being lactose intolerant and so cant have certain types of milk. What are my options as far as replacements are concerned and are there any organic varieties I can get hold of?
Lactose intolerance is much more common that people generally realise and involves an inability to produce lactase. Lactase is the enzyme we produce to digest the milk sugar, lactose, found in breast milk and all other milks (cow, sheep, goat). After the age of two, which is presumably when mother nature thinks we should be fully weaned, about 70 per cent of people slowly lose the ability to digest lactose. This is particularly prevalent in those of Asian, African, Middle-Eastern, Jewish, Latin American and Southern European descent. Symptoms of lactose intolerance are bloating, cramps, trapped wind, nausea and, sometimes, diarrhoea after ingesting milk. Skimmed milk has the highest amount of lactose, semi-skimmed has less and full-fat milk has the least, which means some lactose intolerant people can tolerate it in small amounts. Goat and sheep milk have just as much lactose as cow milk. Cheese is mainly fat and protein and so has almost no lactose, and cream and butter also have almo
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