What is lactose and why are some people intolerant of it?
How can they change their diet to deal with this condition. Lactose is a natural sugar found in milk ( glucose and galactose bound together). In the small intestine, lactase, an enzyme, works to split the bond between the glucose and galactose. This is done to break apart all lactose molecules ingested in the milk. The intestinal walls can absorb glucose and galactose, but not lactose so it must be split apart. If you have lactose intolerance what is really happening is you do not have the lactase, or the natural enzyme, to break apart the lactose so it can be digested. The lactose, in a person without the ability to break it down, will just sit in their stomach and get sour. Or in other words, bacterial fermentation will produce gas causing pressure on the intestinal wall. The intestine tries to get rid of the gas with contractioning and bringing in fluid. Painful, crampy diarrhea is the result. These symptoms usually show up within 24 hours of eating a food high in lactose.
