Lactose and milk protein intolerance are pathologies that complicate the daily lives of many families. This common digestive disorder affects millions of people worldwide and can cause a host of symptoms, including bloating, abdominal cramps, diarrhea and nausea which may be accompanied by vomiting.
The ability to digest lactose decreases with age
Its prevalence also seems to increase over time, particularly because its diagnosis has greatly improved today. If it is rare and transient in infants, babies and children, it is more common in adults. In Belgium, it is estimated that it reaches nearly 20%. As a reminder, lactose intolerance is a problem of digestion of the sugar contained in milk and its by-products.
“People too often confuse intolerance and allergy”
“In the field, there seems to be a real increase in milk protein and lactose intolerance, both among parents and doctors, observes Yvan Vandenplas, president of the Belgian Academy of Pediatrics. Specialists are more sensitive to this subject, which may explain why more cases are detected. We notice lactose intolerance from the age of 4, it is also genetically determined, and in our population, the proportion is a little over 10%, with 70% in the North African community. The fact that there are mixed marriages tends to increase this proportion, it has always been like that. In Asia, we are at more than 90%, it depends on the genetic background of the populations. On the other hand, in terms of confirmed cow’s milk allergies in infants, we are at just under 1% of the population.”.
More and more lactose-free products in supermarkets
“A risk of immune dysregulation”
These intolerances are very different from cow’s milk allergy, which causes a lot of confusion in the population.
“People really have to distinguish between milk protein intolerance and allergy, emphasizes Étienne Sokal, pediatric hepatologist at Cliniques Universitaires Saint-Luc. Many people say they are allergic to lactose when in fact they are intolerant. Milk allergies are caused by an immune reaction to proteins found in milk, while intolerance to lactose, which is a sugar made up of two parts (glucose and galactose) is caused by an inability to digest lactose, first step of digestion being to cut these molecules in two. The body is then not able to produce enough enzymes to break down the lactose”.
Margot testifies following having experienced “the hell of food intolerance”
Despite its nutritional qualities, especially for its calcium intake, cow’s milk is not recommended in all cases. According to American researchersapproximately 75% of the world’s population is lactose intolerant.
If the symptoms can be uncomfortable, it is however possible to live with these different intolerances by making simple changes to your diet and lifestyle. “Regarding the rise in milk protein allergies, there is often a mistake made by parents that causes this phenomenon, says Etienne Sokal. If you have a breastfed child and once you decide to give him milk protein milk and then stop giving it, this can cause a sensitization of the immune system which can develop a allergic reaction (which affects 10% of children in society). When you start to diversify the milk, you have to continue and not make a one shot by giving cow’s milk when the mother is absent one evening for example, there is a risk of immune disturbance”.
