Lactose Intolerance Research Paper
Introduction:
Lactose intolerance is defined as the incapacity of the human body to digest the disaccharide sugar molecule, lactose.
Lactose is a common carbohydrate found primarily in milk and associated dairy products. This widely known gastrointestinal disorder is typified by symptoms like nausea & vomiting, bloating, flatulence, abdominal pain and even diarrhoea. Lactose intolerance is a non-fatal disorder of the gastrointestinal tract. It is simply a nuisance and relatively harmless in and of itself. However, it might be indicative of much worse gastrointestinal disorders.
Causes:
Lactose Intolerance is mainly caused by hypolactasia (decreased amount of lactase) and sometimes through alactasia (total lack of lactase), a congenital …show more content…
This is due to the fact that there is no lactase to digest the lactose ingested.
Furthermore, the lactase levels in an infant gradually decrease after weaning( shift of diet from milk). So, adults usually do not have sufficient lactase in their systems.
Symptoms:
The most salient symptoms of this disorder are bloating, flatulence, nausea and vomiting, diarrhoea, abdominal pain etc.
After the lactose passes through the small intestine in an undigested state, it reaches the large intestine. The colon is home to hundreds of thousands of bacteria. These bacterial cells then ferment the lactose. The by-products of this fermentation include hydrogen, methane, carbon dioxide gases, lactic acid and other such compounds.
The H2, CH4 & CO2 gases build up in the colon and cause bloating which is the swelling up of the large intestine. This also causes flatulence as the gases are passed out of the body.
The undigested lactose and the by-products after bacterial fermentation altogether increase the osmotic load of the colon. Thus, water passes into the cavity through resulting in diarrhoea shown by watery
Lactose intolerance is defined as the incapacity of the human body to digest the disaccharide sugar molecule, lactose.
Lactose is a common carbohydrate found primarily in milk and associated dairy products. This widely known gastrointestinal disorder is typified by symptoms like nausea & vomiting, bloating, flatulence, abdominal pain and even diarrhoea. Lactose intolerance is a non-fatal disorder of the gastrointestinal tract. It is simply a nuisance and relatively harmless in and of itself. However, it might be indicative of much worse gastrointestinal disorders.
Causes:
Lactose Intolerance is mainly caused by hypolactasia (decreased amount of lactase) and sometimes through alactasia (total lack of lactase), a congenital …show more content…
This is due to the fact that there is no lactase to digest the lactose ingested.
Furthermore, the lactase levels in an infant gradually decrease after weaning( shift of diet from milk). So, adults usually do not have sufficient lactase in their systems.
Symptoms:
The most salient symptoms of this disorder are bloating, flatulence, nausea and vomiting, diarrhoea, abdominal pain etc.
After the lactose passes through the small intestine in an undigested state, it reaches the large intestine. The colon is home to hundreds of thousands of bacteria. These bacterial cells then ferment the lactose. The by-products of this fermentation include hydrogen, methane, carbon dioxide gases, lactic acid and other such compounds.
The H2, CH4 & CO2 gases build up in the colon and cause bloating which is the swelling up of the large intestine. This also causes flatulence as the gases are passed out of the body.
The undigested lactose and the by-products after bacterial fermentation altogether increase the osmotic load of the colon. Thus, water passes into the cavity through resulting in diarrhoea shown by watery