Nutrition News & Views

February 27, 2000
Overcoming Lactose Intolerance-February 2000/No.2

A study done by Dennis A. Savaiano, a Purdue University lactose specialist, showed that the digestive tract may be trained to tolerate milk. This could be a major benefit for people who do not drink milk because they are "lactose intolerant." Milk and milk products are major sources of calcium. Limiting or avoiding these foods especially in childhood and early adulthood is thought to increase the risk of osteoporosis (brittle bone disease) later in life.

The intestines become lactose intolerant when there is a lack of the enzyme, lactase, needed to digest (break down) lactose, the main sugar found in milk. The intestines of a young child contain adequate lactase. However, as a child grows into adulthood the lactase activity in the body gradually declines due to age or a combination of problems such as damage to the intestines by medications, diarrhea or malnutrition. Symptoms of lactose intolerance such as bloating, stomachache, gas, and diarrhea occur because the lactose builds up in the intestines when it is not digested.

Savaiano suggests that drinking milk in small amounts (no more than a cup at a time) over the course of a day results in a reduction in the symptoms of lactose intolerance. Drinking larger quantities of milk all at once does produce symptoms of lactose intolerance. However, Savaiano showed that drinking two cups of lactose-containing milk daily, divided between breakfast and the evening meal, presented only minor symptoms. Savaiano concludes that people with lactose intolerance can train their digestive systems to gradually become tolerant to milk by drinking it in small amounts spread out over the entire day.

Submitted by Catherine Kellner, MSU Dietetic Intern
Distributed by Barbara McLaurin, Ph.D., R.D., L.D., Human Nutrition Specialist, MSU Extension Service, February 2000.

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