Lactose-intolerance

What is lactose intolerance?

Lactose intolerance is the inability to digest lactose, the naturally occurring sugar found in dairy products. In the gut, lactose, a disaccharide requires the enzyme lactase to be broken down to the monosaccharides galactose and glucose. If levels of the lactase enzyme are low or absent, unabsorbed lactose is fermented by the colonic bacteria producing hydrogen and methane gases and small organic molecules. These can cause a number of problems, such as abdominal pain, flatulence, bloating and diarrhoea.

Lactose intolerance does not involve the immune system and so is completely different to cow’s milk protein allergy.

The prevalence of lactose intolerance

The prevalence of lactose intolerance varies widely among ethnic backgrounds and is more associated with adults. Approximately 65% of the human population has a reduced ability to digest lactose after infancy. Lactose intolerance in adulthood is most prevalent in people of East Asian descent, affecting more than 90% of adults in some of these communities. Lactose intolerance is also very common in people of West African, Arab, Jewish, Greek, and Italian descent.

The prevalence of lactose intolerance is lowest in populations with a long history of dependence on unfermented milk products as an important food source. For example, only about 5% of people of Northern European descent (including the UK) are lactose intolerant. Within Europe, this condition is most common in Finland, where it affects an estimated 1 in 60,000 new-borns.

How to avoid Lactose in the diet?

People can react to lactose in different ways and have different tolerance levels; whilst some people can tolerate a small quantity of lactose others need to remove it from the diet altogether. For anyone sensitive to lactose, it's generally recommended that they start by cutting out all sources of lactose from their diet and then to gradually reintroduce small amounts to determine tolerance levels.

All Alpro plant-based products (drinks, desserts, plant-based alternatives to yogurt, plant-based alternatives to cream) are naturally free from lactose. Additionally, most Alpro non-organic unflavoured variants are fortified with calcium and vitamin D.

What’s the difference between lactose intolerance & milk allergy?

An allergy involves a reaction by the immune system, while a food intolerance does not - although sometimes the symptoms can seem similar.

In the case of cow milk protein allergy (CMPA), the cow's milk protein is the allergen provoking the immune system to react, which in some people can be extremely severe and can be life threatening.