Lactose intolerance symptoms in adults

Introduction to lactose intolerance in adults

When a person is lactose intolerant they can get themselves into fairly uncomfortable circumstances. It is important to be able to notice and identify the symptoms of lactose intolerance in order to avoid any potential complication that could occur as a result of the body not being able to digest the lactose.

This is also a very individual process, because every person secrete enzymes and digests lactose at a different rate.

When the body does not have the enzyme lactase, this results in lactose intolerance.

Lactase is produced in the small intestine and it breaks down the lactose that is consumed though dairy products.

If there is no lactase, then there will be a case of lactose intolerance. There are three causes for the enzyme not existing in the body, and they are congenital, secondary and development.

Congenital causes include a gene mutation from birth, while secondary causes are often diseases that will kill off the enzyme and developmental ones will occur over time because of lifestyle, geographical location, or other reasons and determinants.

Causes

We already talked about the three types of causes for lactose intolerance, congenital, secondary and developmental. It is important to determine what the culprit is in order to treat the condition.

However, the major problem with diagnosis and treatment is that lactose intolerance is often misinterpreted as an allergy to milk. An allergic reaction can occur when the bodies releases antibodies that believe that the milk’s contents are a threat to the body, However, this is a completely different problem, even though the symptoms can be very similar.

This is generally a problem, because lactose intolerance has symptoms that are very similar to ones that serve as symptoms for many other conditions as well.

Some of the most common symptoms of lactose intolerance include abdominal pain, diarrhea, flatulence, abdominal bloating, abdominal distention, nausea and other symptoms that appear as if they are related to gastrointestinal problems more.

It is therefore hard to diagnose, because the symptoms are so common. It is also hard o determine because not only people consume the same amount of dairy products, so they will also have slightly different symptoms and the severity will always depend on how much lactose is consumed.

The lactase is stored in the colon and the lactose from the food is first broken down in the small intestine and then shipped over to the colon.

The lactase breaks down the lactose in the colon, but the glucose and galactose are then absorbed by the bacteria that are present in the colon as well.

The breakdown of lactose also releases a lot of hydrogen in the colon, which can also lead to other bodily complications that can be at the root of these lactose intolerance symptoms in adults.