2024-01-24 13:10:05
You used to tolerate lactose – can you no longer tolerate it?
Imago
Published24. January 2024, 2:10 p.m
Digestive problems: Are you suddenly lactose intolerant? That’s because of age
A large glass of milk now gives you more negative feelings? As you age, you can become lactose intolerant. That’s what lies behind it.
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You used to be able to feast on cheese, drink gallons of milk and even cream mightn’t harm you? Today things might be completely different. Because the older you get, the more lactose intolerant you can become. Experts confirm this.
The principle is simple: As people get older, the production of the enzyme lactase in the body decreases. Lactase is necessary to break down lactose, the sugar in dairy products. When less lactase is produced, the body cannot digest lactose effectively – which can lead to increased sensitivity to lactose.
As an infant you have to process lactose, but as an adult you don’t
So if you suddenly have symptoms such as bloating, stomach pain and diarrhea following eating, you may be lactose intolerant – even though you weren’t previously. However, the reason for this is quite natural.
Linna Goelz, an expert in naturopathy at the Sonoran University of Health Science, explained to Huffpost: “As infants, people produce significant amounts of lactase in order to digest the lactose contained in breast milk.” And then? “As soon as breastfeeding is stopped and solid foods are started, people eat less food containing lactose.”
As an infant, you have to process a lot of lactose. As an adult, this no longer has to be the case.
Pexels/Wendy Wei
As an adult, you simply don’t eat as much food containing lactose anymore. Therefore, the body adapts and naturally begins to produce “less and less lactase enzymes over time, which means that we can no longer digest dairy products well,” says Goelz.
Declining lactose tolerance is natural
This “gradual reduction” in lactase production is called lactase nonpersistence or acquired lactase deficiency. But don’t worry, this is completely normal. The expert Dr. Janese Laster, a gastroenterologist, explains that it is a natural process that occurs in the majority of people following infancy.
The process takes different lengths of time for different people and also varies in intensity. In addition, it does not affect around 25 percent of people at all. They can consume lactose products without restriction throughout their lives – and, above all, without stomach pain.
Genes play a role
Whether you can still tolerate lactose as you get older is a matter of debate a study a question of your genes. The expert says: “The ability to digest lactose into adulthood depends on the specific gene variants that are inherited from parents and influence the level of lactase activity present.”
Are you lactose intolerant? Tell the community how – and when – you noticed this.
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