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(also referred to as...)

Lactose Deficiency

 
Description

Varying degrees of lactose intolerance occur in approximately 75% of the adult population and it is common among the Mediterranean population. Northwestern Europeans experience lactose intolerance in 20% of the population while 90% of Asians are intolerant. Approximately 75% of North American persons of colour develop intolerance between ten and twenty years of age.

Lactose intolerance is caused by an enzyme deficiency in the small intestine. Lactose sugar, found in dairy products, cannot be digested by your body, passes quickly through the stomach, and remains in the small intestine. As sugars accumulate in this area, fluid is drawn into the small intestine, causing diarrhea. The undigested sugar passes into the large intestine where it is fermented by bacteria, producing acidic stool and flatulence.

 
Symptoms and Signs:

If you have lactose intolerance, you are not able to tolerate milk and other dairy products and may consciously or unconsciously avoid them. Symptoms include audible bowel sounds, abdominal bloating and cramps, diarrhea, flatulence, nausea, and an urgent need to defecate following a meal containing lactose.

 

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