Synonyms
lactose intolerance, lactose intolerance, lactose malabsorption, alactasia, lactose deficiency syndrome : lactose intolerance
Symptoms of lactose intolerance
Lactose intolerance is often accompanied by abdominal pain and digestive problems. This is because the lactose can only then be broken down and digested in the large intestine. Two different processes take place there: An accumulation of lactose in the small intestine leads to a higher osmotic pressure so that less water is removed from the stool.
This can result in diarrhoea. On the other hand, the large intestine flora causes fermentation, which produces fatty acids, carbon dioxide, hydrogen, bacterial toxins (toxins) and methane. On the one hand, this gas formation leads to characteristic flatulence (meteorism) and abdominal pain.
On the other hand, these gases and toxins can enter the bloodstream via the intestine and cause further unspecific symptoms. Further symptoms can be vomiting, headaches, fatigue, concentration difficulties or allergies. Very rarely, cardiac arrhythmia can also occur.
When do the symptoms appear?
The symptoms of lactose intolerance occur when products containing milk sugar (lactose) are consumed. Lactose is mainly found in milk and dairy products. The symptoms in patients who cannot metabolize lactose therefore occur, for example, after the consumption of the following foods butter, milk, buttermilk, kefir, cream, milk chocolate, cheese, quark, yoghurt, mascarpone and ice cream.
With cheese, the longer it is matured, the less lactose is contained in the cheese. Hard cheese therefore usually contains relatively little lactose and is well-tolerated, whereas soft cheese contains relatively much lactose. Whether, in which intensity and after which quantity symptoms occur varies from person to person and depends on how much residual activity of the enzyme that metabolizes lactose is still present. Lactose intolerance does not mean that the lactase, the enzyme that breaks down lactose, is no longer present. Especially in Central Europe, however, their activity decreases significantly in the course of life so that larger quantities of the above-mentioned products can no longer be sufficiently metabolized.
