How do I know if I am lactose intolerant?
Lactose intolerance occurs in 75% of the human population. Most people gradually lose their ability to digest milk as the body decreases its production of lactase, an enzyme used to digest lactose sugars in milk.
It is fairly easy to find out if you are lactose intolerant, but care must be taken to ensure that you are sensitive to lactose and not actually allergic to milk.
A quick and easy way to determine if you are lactose intolerant is by drinking a glass of cow milk in the morning on an empty stomach and waiting to see if you suffer from any gas, diarrhea or digestive upset. Initial symptoms usually occur within 20minutes to 2hrs+. If you do, chances are that you are lactose intolerant.
Symptoms associated with lactose intolerance are usually confined to gut issues and take anywhere from a few minutes to 2 hrs to manifest.
It is very important to ensure that your problems with dairy are not due to milk allergies, which are completely unrelated to lactose intolerance. Milk allergies occur when your immune system reacts badly to certain proteins like casein and whey found in milk. Possible symptoms include skin rashes, swelling, difficulty breathing, hives, pain, and vomiting.
If your negative reaction to dairy is not confined to just gut issues, please check with a doctor or allergist. Milk allergies are a serious issue that can be life threatening. Milk Medic enzymes break down lactose sugar and do not affect the proteins that lead to these allergic reactions. Do NOT use Milk Medic to address milk allergies.
Certain testing centers may be able to offer 2 types of tests to determine if you are lactose intolerant.
1. Hydrogen breath test – your breath is tested after ingesting lactose. The presence of hydrogen indicates that you are lactose intolerant.
2. Lactose tolerance test – you are made to ingest lactose and your blood glucose level is tested at intervals. If your blood sugar does not go up significantly, you are lactose intolerant.
These tests are more useful if you are already severely lactose intolerant and, unless medically specified, are not usually necessary.
Realizing that you are lactose intolerant can be an emotionally upsetting experience, but it is important to keep in mind that most people in the world have the same problem and, even though lactose intolerance might be inconvenient, it does not typically lead to any serious health problems.
Rather than crying over spilt milk, know that you are not alone in facing this condition, and that you can easily manage the problem by being cognizant of what foods contain dairy. Keeping a good quality supplement enzyme like Milk Medic on you can make your lactose intolerance a non-issue, and, if shared with someone who might have the same issue, could open the door to new friendships!
