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If you are consistently suffering from problems such as nausea, gas, and diarrhea or bloating, these are symptoms to take seriously. It could be a problem within your digestive system such as IBS - or Irritable Bowel Syndrome - but there is also a high probability that you might just be lactose intolerant. It is nearly impossible to diagnose this problem by yourself, so calling on the help of your physician is necessary. What Exactly Does Lactose Intolerance Mean? If you are diagnosed as being lactose intolerant it means that your body is not able to digest the lactose - a sugar - that is present in milk and other dairy products. Lactose intolerance develops when there is a lactase deficiency within the body. Lactase is an enzyme within your body that is produced within the small intestine of our digestive systems. The primary function of lactase comes into play when the enzymes break lactose down into two separate components - galactose and glucose. Without the breakdown, these sugars cannot be absorbed by our bodies. The condition does not usually show up until after the age of two when our body decreases the amount of the lactase it creates. While it may start as young as age two or three, if you are lactose intolerance you will not typically exhibit symptoms until adolescence or beyond. There are several different reasons why a person may become lactose intolerant. For example, it may be passed down amongst the gene pool or it could be the result of an illness that damages the small intestines. Such illnesses that may affect the small intestine include Celiac or Crohn's disease. The small intestine can also be damaged through chemotherapy treatments. When do Symptoms Appear and How Can I find Relief? If a person is lactose intolerant they will begin to exhibit symptoms between 30 minutes and two hours after digesting any product containing lactose. These symptoms may include but are not limited to bloating, gas, diarrhea coupled with nausea and abdominal pain. The symptoms may range from mild to severe depending on the amount of lactose that was consumed. Each person will have a different range of symptoms. You can eliminate these symptoms by simply changing your diet. You may find relief by simply reducing your lactose intake rather than eliminating it. First try eating lactose products with a full meal rather than by themselves. Ideas you can try include eating yogurt or firm cheese that contains less lactose than milk. If you find that you are unable to get any relief by decreasing the amount of lactose, you may find relief within a tablet or drops that contain lactase enzymes. Simply take the tablets or drops when you are consuming products that contain lactose. If this solution does not work, it is very possible
that you will have to drastically change your diet and eliminate lactose completely. If you are indeed lactose intolerant, your physician will be able to diagnose you. Talking to your physician is important before you cut out lactose completely. This is because the lactose products are the main sources of our calcium intake. Without this necessary component, our bones will be slower to heal and grow and the chance of developing osteoporosis later in life increases. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6782741
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