Preview

Lactose Intolerance

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
3427 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Lactose Intolerance
Final Paper
5/2/2013
Lactose Intolerance The topic I chose to research was lactose intolerance. Lactose is the natural sugar found in milk. Lactose is made by joining a molecule of glucose with one of galactose (Willett 101). We are born with the enzyme lactase, which digests and breaks down the lactose. Some people do not digest lactose well due to a lack of lactase or their body may make lactase that does not work properly. Not all people with a lactase deficiency have digestive symptoms, but those who do have lactose intolerance.
The symptoms of lactose intolerance are not severe. The severity of the symptoms varies from person to person and how much of the food you have consumed. The symptoms also depend on the amount of lactose consumed (what food you ate or drank) and what other foods you consumed throughout the day. Your body usually reacts within thirty minute to two hours after consuming the food. You get symptoms because when “lactase can no longer break down lactose, it passes intact through the intestine until it reaches the colon, where it is finally fermented by the bacteria that reside there. As the bacteria do their job, they produce gas as a byproduct”, which causes discomfort and pain as well as bloating, cramping, nausea, stomachaches, gas, loose stool, and diarrhea (“Lactose Free Diet”). The symptoms are not terrible, but they can make a person very uncomfortable and might as well be prevented. Lactose intolerance can sometimes be mistaken as a milk allergy. However, they are not the same; being allergic to milk is more serious. A milk allergy is a reaction by the body’s immune system to one or more milk proteins and can be life threatening when just a small amount of milk or milk product is consumed. Milk allergy most commonly appears in the first year of life and typically fades after childhood (“Lactose Intolerance”). The symptoms include blood in their stool and abdominal pain.
Lactose intolerance affects many people; between 30-50

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Better Essays

    Ulcerative Colitis

    • 1025 Words
    • 5 Pages

    A number of other problems may be associated with colitis. These are more likely when the disease is active and include skin…

    • 1025 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    This is caused by a lack of lactose. Milk and milk products are the only source of lactose in the diet. When people who are lactose intolerant take in milk and milk products they can experience indigestion, stomach cramps, wind and diarrhoea.…

    • 1445 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Intolerances aren’t as severe as allergies, and are generally identified by parents as they notice their child may have diarrhoea after eating certain foods.…

    • 315 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Is Milk Healthy for You?

    • 3022 Words
    • 13 Pages

    The start of every mammal’s life begins with the consumption of milk, whether it is from its mother or a bottle. All female mammals produce milk and it’s their responsibility to feed their milk to their offspring. The ultimate reason is to give the offspring all of the vitamins and minerals in milk that will allow them to grow big and strong, while also filling their appetite. Some of the ingredients found in milk that are necessary for our bodies to function on a daily basis are things such as carbohydrates, fat, protein, enzymes, and vitamin D and A. All baby mammals must drink milk to start their life so that they can grow up living strong and healthy lives. Without all of these vital components found in milk, life as we know it may cease to exist. Drinking milk has been the way of life for all mammals and humans since the beginning of time, which only backs up the fact that milk is very healthy for our bodies. Some people think differently of this issue and say that milk is the wrong choice for us and that it can be quite harmful. If we’ve been drinking milk for thousands of years and it contains all of these necessary ingredients for our bodies to function properly, how can milk suddenly be a terrible choice for our bodies?…

    • 3022 Words
    • 13 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Since the birth of the human race, the consumption of milk has been a popular nutrient. Currently, cow’s milk is considered the most consumed in the entire United States. However, contrary to popular belief, cow’s milk is not a viable source to drink from. Although it may contain many vital ingredients that living organisms need to survive, it is riddled with hormones, antibiotics, pus, and even blood. Cow’s milk is not intended for the consumption of humans; cow’s milk is for cows. The milk from cows is also believed to directly influence the creation of cancer cells.…

    • 389 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Peanut Allergies

    • 2112 Words
    • 9 Pages

    When development occurs inside the mother of an unborn child, certain traits and genes are thought to be handed down through the stages of pregnancy. One particular gene although, not proven to be true is the gene for allergies, such as a peanut allergy. Researchers believe that an allergy such as a peanut allergy are transferred to the fetus through what the mother has eaten and or what the mother has an allergy to (Ryan 2). There is no direct evidence of such a transaction, but then again there is nothing to prove that it is not transferred that way. There are two schools of thought about the correct way to avoid this type of allergy. One particular thought is to avoid breastfeeding; however, it’s proven that breastfeeding is the healthiest most natural way for a baby to gain essential nutrition. Scientists and doctors agree that waiting to introduce high risk foods into a babies diet may help to delay or lessen the risk of developing an allergy to…

    • 2112 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Lactose free milk is milk that has been treated with an enzyme (lactase) to destroy the lactose so those who are intolerant can get all the benefits of real milk. Usually those people cannot breakdown lactose in their stomach and intestines because they lack the enzyme. The milk itself will be slightly sweet because lactose is not very sweet but the hydrolysis product are sweet.…

    • 1891 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Why Do People Drink Milk?

    • 660 Words
    • 3 Pages

    A shocked fact about milk for most people, as it turns out that consuming much milk is not good for people's health as they think. Milk has many beneficial components that make people drink it every day in order to be healthy. Vitamin D and calcium are the most known components on milk. Even if asking a kid why he is drinking milk every day, his response directly would be because it has calcium which helps strengthen bones. Moreover, milk provides really useful nutritious other than vitamin D and calcium. It also provides fat, carbohydrates, and protein. These are really important components for the body’s health. However, even though milk has these useful components for human needs, it actually has an opposite effect on human’s bodies. The following…

    • 660 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Cow’s milk allergy (CMA) is one of the major causes of food hypersensitivity in children. The clinical features of CMA express as immediate symptoms, ranging from mild local reactions to life-threatening anaphylaxis., which may involve the skin (eg, urticaria and eczema), respiratory tract (eg, asthma and rhinoconjuctivitis), gastrointestinal tract (eg, vomiting, diarrhea, and colic), or systemic anaphylactic shock. Cow's milk contains more than 25 different proteins that are among the best characterized food allergens. Among these proteins only whey proteins alpha-lactalbumin, beta-lactoglobulin, bovine serum albumin (BSA), and lactoferrin, as well as the four caseins, have been identified as allergens. A study evaluated cow's milk allergens…

    • 286 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Those who are lactose intolerant are simply individuals whose body does not produce enough lactase. Lactase is an enzyme found in the digestive system and is used to breakdown and digest lactose (dairy sugar) . Lactase breaks down the sugar found in lactose into monosaccharides – glucose…

    • 537 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Gluten Intolerance

    • 647 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Lactose Intolerance is something frequently discussed throughout the medical world. However, Gluten Intolerance, also known as Celiac Disease is not so much discussed. One can say it is much underrated. Celiac Disease, as defined on www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov is a condition that damages the lining of the small intestine and prevents it from absorbing parts of food that are important for staying healthy. Celiac Disease is considered to be an inherited lifelong disorder that affects .5-1% of people worldwide. As of right now the only treatment for Celiac Disease is strict adherence to a Gluten-Free diet. Gluten is characterized as wheat, rye, cereal, and oat. In this paper, 2 articles will be discussed, both of the articles main subject being Celiac Disease.…

    • 647 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Lactose-Free Lunch

    • 217 Words
    • 1 Page

    Students should be able to go out for lunch. Students should be able to go out for lunch because they want to eat with friends they do not see often. Also, students cannot see friends from other schools, so they get lonely. Plus, if people could go out with friends it could help build their relationship. In addition, a lot of students do not bring lunch so they might want to go home for lunch. In a similar way people continue to go home for lunch, so they can eat home cooked meals with relatives. Plus, this helps families reconnect as some families do not see each other a lot. Next students are allergic or told not to eat some foods from the cafeteria as some cafeterias do not provide vegan, halal, gluten-free, or lactose-free foods, and…

    • 217 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Brianna, your post this week really caught my attention because I had no idea that cow milk can actually cause a loss of calcium in the human body. When reading this chapter, it’s crazy to think of all the poisons and illnesses that can come from food. The thing I found the most interesting was the chart on page 321. Seeing the different physical signs of health and malnutrition in children. It’s sad to think there are children that aren’t getting enough nutrients.…

    • 83 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    • Yogurt, as such has a very low lactose content and so is said to be fit for those with lactose intolerance. Lactose level in Greek Yogurt is much lower than the other yogurt types.…

    • 507 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    the variety of lactose, we used six different lactose grades to compare different particle size…

    • 1480 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays

Related Topics