Lactose Intolerance (유당불내증)

For nearly 50 million Americans, a glass of milk or slice of cheese can bring on a stomachache, bloating, and diarrhea. These people are lactose intolerant, or unable to digest lactose, a sugar found in dairy foods. Why? The cells that line their small intestines don't produce sufficient amounts of an enzyme called lactase, which breaks down milk sugar into simpler forms that can be absorbed by the body.

 

As a result, milk products can trigger uncomfortable symptoms, which also include gas, cramps, and nausea. These problems usually start a half hour to 2 hours after eating milk products and can range from mild to severe. Most people who have this condition were born with it; certain ethnic and racial populations are at greater risk.

 

As many as 75 percent of Jewish, Native American, and Mexican American adults, along with 90 percent of Asian American adults, are lactose intolerant to some degree.

 

Other people can develop the problem as they age, because the body gradually produces less lactase ase you consume fewer dairy products after childhood. An intestinal problem, such as Crohn's disease or gastroenteritis(위장염), may also cause a temporary bout of lactose intolerance, since inflammation may prompt the small intestine to cease lactase production.

 

Although there are supplements that contain the lactase enzyme, they offer only temporary relief.

 

 

 

Babies born prematurely are more likely to be lactose intolerant.

 

The diagnose lactose intolerance, a physician may perform a hydrogen breath test(수소호흡검사 ; 젖당이 소화되지 않을 경우에 아이들은 숨을 내쉴 때 수소를 더 많이 방출한다. 만일 수소호흡검사에서 일정량의 수소가 존재한다면 유당불내증으로 진단) a lactose tolerance test, and a stool acidity test(대변산도검사).