What is Lactose Intolerance?

Lactose intolerance occurs when the body lacks the enzyme needed to break down lactose, the natural sugar in milk. This undigested lactose causes the body to become irritated.

Lactose in the natural sugar found in milk. If you are lactose Intolerant your body lacks the enzyme ‘lactase’ which is needed to break lactose down. This undigested lactose then causes the body to become irritated.

What causes lactose intolerance?

Lactose Intorelance Diagram

In order to digest lactose, we need an enzyme called lactase, which is specifically designed to breakdown milk sugar in the digestive system.

For some people, the amount of lactase produced in the body is not enough to digest lactose properly and this can cause the milk sugar to stay undigested in
the gut.

Any undigested lactose will then pass into the large intestine (colon) where it will be fermented by bacteria which live in the gut. These bacteria then produce gases and fatty acids which cause bloating, flatulence, stomach
cramps and diarrhoea.

The 3 Types of Lactose Intolerance

Hereditary

This means that lactose Intolerance runs in your family and is very rare. The body doesn’t produce any of the enzyme ‘lactase’. In this case, lactose needs to be completely omitted from the diet.

Primary

This is more common in certain races, for example African, Asian, and American Indians. In this case the amount of lactase made by the body reduces after infancy. You will need to manage your lactose intake for life.

Secondary

This occurs when the small bowel is damaged due to inflammation of the gut wall, for example, in Crohn’s disease, Coeliac disease or Gastroenteritis. This intolerance is usually temporary and eventually resolves. You will need to eat less lactose for the duration of the disease activity or until the gut heals and lactase levels return to normal.

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AVONMORE LACTOSE
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Avonmore Lactose Free Milk is a delicious milk drink that has all the goodness of low fat milk but none of the lactose

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