How is lactose intolerance manifested ? This question is most often asked by parents of infants. But, despite this, it is relevant for adults. How is lactose intolerance manifested in them? How can everything be recognized? You can find answers to all these questions in this article.
Statistics of the development of the disease
Before answering the main question of the article, how lactose intolerance is manifested, consider what it is. So, this pathology can be acquired or hereditary. It develops due to insufficient or lack of an enzyme such as lactase.
As a result, the human body cannot assimilate foods, mainly milk food, since it is lactose that is contained in them.
Some researchers say that this pathology is detected mainly in children. But actually it is not. Lactose intolerance may occur in adults as a result of digestive upsets. The latter arise due to age-related changes in the intestines.
Experts have identified a peculiar pattern that determines the presence of pathology associated with the climatic zone. So, the closer the population is to the equator, the greater the number of people who have difficulty eating milk.
Thus, we can say that the largest number of patients with this pathology are in Southeast Asia, Australia and Alaska. And the smallest number of people with a similar violation lives in the UK, Denmark and Sweden.
Interesting facts about lactose intolerance
A team of scientists conducted a study that determined that before the ice age, everyone suffered from this pathology. After, as a result of evolution, a person has a gene that allows him to eat milk. And for a thousand years, people in the European part have acquired this kind of mutation. This was explained by the fact that the consumption of dairy products in particular had a positive effect on survival.
Currently, human lactose intolerance determines that Asians were part of his people. Russian people with this pathology appeared due to the low consumption of dairy food. So, in comparison with Europe, in Russia they used to drink almost three times less milk.
The English journal Nature has determined that people with lactose intolerance have the lowest risk of developing malignant neoplasms.
About lactase and lactose - what is it?
The second term in the title of the section of the article is a two-component carbohydrate. Almost 98% of all carbohydrates in dairy products are made up of lactose. Its molecule consists of galactose and glucose. In another way, it is also referred to as milk sugar. After entering the intestines, this carbohydrate is fermented by lactase. The latter is an enzyme that is produced by intestinal cells. It is located in the brush border of the villi. Lactase levels can be reduced for bowel problems. Another cause of this enzyme deficiency is a congenital anomaly.
So how is lactose intolerance manifested? So, when this carbohydrate is not absorbed, it accumulates. After he enters the large intestine. Due to the fact that lactose is a high molecular weight compound, it begins to attract water, which leads to loose stools. The result is a process of fermentation in the intestine, which is referred to as flatulence.
About the causes of primary pathology
There are two types of lactose intolerance:
- primary or congenital,
- secondary or acquired.
The first type of pathology is present in 4% of people. At the same time, the intestinal mucosa is not damaged, but there is a congenital insufficiency of an enzyme such as lactase. The cause of this pathology is gene mutation.
About the causes of secondary pathology
This type of ailment is found in all ages. So how is lactose intolerance manifested? This will be discussed later.
The cause of the pathology is intestinal pathology.
An intestinal infection, which is exacerbated, especially in spring and autumn, is one of the factors for the development of secondary lactose intolerance.
Another cause is celiac disease. This is a disease in which damage to the intestinal villi occurs with food containing gluten. With this disease, there is a decrease in the number of all enzymes, and, of course, lactase.
The next cause of pathology is enteritis. This disease affects the ileum. With the progression of the disease, tissue scarring occurs, which results in a loss of lactase synthesis.
In addition, with chronic pancreatitis, the development of secondary pathology is also observed. This disease is characterized by the fact that the pancreas secretes a small amount of enzymes.
Also, with food allergies, enterocytes are damaged by immunoallergic complexes.
Other causes of secondary pathology include resection (removal of a part) of the small intestine and overload with lactose. The latter occurs in infants.
How is lactose intolerance manifested in a newborn?
In this section of the article, we will talk about the signs of this ailment in infants.
One manifestation is loose stools. It can be rare or frequent. As a rule, we are talking about loose stools up to 9 times a day. By the end of the day, it also becomes foamy. This usually occurs after each feeding. Do not confuse with mushy stools up to 6 times a day. The latter case for babies is considered the norm.
Still how is lactose intolerance manifested in infants? There are a sufficient number of symptoms. One of them is also a painful bloating. Here we are talking about increased gas formation in the intestine. It is because of the gases in the intestines that the loops are stretched, and the baby experiences unpleasant sensations. On examination, you will notice that the abdomen in a child is dense. As a rule, children with this symptom are most often anxious when feeding. And one of the characteristic signs is rumbling in the tummy.
Still how is lactose intolerance manifested in children? Other symptoms of lactase deficiency in newborns include baby anxiety, as well as a small weight gain. As a rule, specialists always pay attention to the last indicator. It is believed that a child on average should add about 550 grams per month. Therefore, in case of weight loss or poor weight gain, the doctor prescribes an additional examination, which will establish the cause.
Signs of Adult Lactose Intolerance
For each person, this ailment can manifest itself in different ways. It all depends on the severity of the disease in an adult. In addition, another factor is the amount of dairy products consumed. Each person has an individual sensitivity to this carbohydrate.
In most people, the symptoms of this ailment appear when drinking less than one glass of milk. Only a small portion of patients can drink, for example, about one cup of kefir and not feel any discomfort.
So how does lactose intolerance manifest in adults? Symptoms of this ailment will be described below.
One of the signs in adults, as in children, is increased gas formation. This is due to the fact that lactose breaks down in the intestine, as a result a large amount of hydrogen and carbon dioxide is formed here. During this period, the patient complains of rumbling in the abdomen, as well as his bloating.
Other symptoms of lactase deficiency include intestinal colic and osmotic diarrhea. The latter is due to the fact that not only hydrogen, carbon dioxide, but also fatty acids are accumulated in the intestine as a result of the reaction. After that, water is attracted. In this case, the patient complains of frequent foamy stools up to 9 times a day.
Another sign of illness is a feeling of nausea. This is due to the fact that in the intestine lactose is not completely broken down. Therefore, a person experiences not only a feeling of heaviness, but also nausea.
As a result of lactase deficiency, a person experiences a general malaise. As a rule, in addition to the above symptoms, a person complains of dizziness, excessive sweating, headaches, weakness in joints and muscles, as well as pain in the heart.
How is the diagnosis made?
This process is a wide range of analyzes. There are several methods for diagnosing this ailment. For example, in a coprological analysis for lactose intolerance, a study is performed under the microscope of feces.
Another diagnostic method is the analysis of feces for carbohydrates. Although it is considered not entirely reliable. Here it is determined whether the amount of carbohydrates is normal.
Other diagnostic methods are determining the hydrogen content in exhaled air after the patient has taken lactose, as well as a small intestine biopsy. The latter is carried out using a probe.
Also, sometimes experts prescribe genetic tests or an elimination diet.
How to pass a test for lactose intolerance? It is advisable to do everything in the morning, or in the evening. Feces should be placed in a clean jar. If the stool was taken in the evening, for example, from a child, they should be placed in the refrigerator.
About a diet in the presence of pathology
In order to reduce the symptoms of this disease, you should drastically reduce the number of products that contain lactose. In severe cases, the specialist recommends eating no more than a gram of milk sugar. With an average course of the disease, about 9 grams are allowed.
The least milk sugar is found in foods such as margarine, butter, cottage cheese, and cheese.
Infants with severe illness should completely replace breast milk with lactose-free mixtures. If the disease is moderate or mild, breastfeeding should continue. But it is necessary to observe the weight gain of the baby.
About general recommendations in the presence of pathology
Specialists advise people with moderate or mild illness to consume a small amount of dairy food with other products. Also, the food should be of medium temperature, otherwise signs of the disease may appear.
The daily rate of foods that contain lactose must be divided into several meals.
Also, experts recommend eating foods with live lactic acid bacteria, since pasteurized type yogurts are absorbed by the body much worse.
You should also know that the greater the percentage of fat in cottage cheese or another dairy product, the less lactose is contained.
What does medication suggest?
Having understood how lactose intolerance is manifested, one can consider another method of therapy. It should be noted that it is not the main one and is necessary at the recommendation of a specialist.
So, to fill the lactase deficiency, drugs containing it are prescribed, with severe diarrhea - antidiarrheal medicines. With painful bloating, the doctor prescribes carminative drugs, and in order to eliminate the pain, patients take antispasmodics.
In addition, the specialist prescribes vitamins and probiotics. They are necessary to restore immunity and intestinal microflora, respectively.