For allergies in certain foods, there may be better solutions.
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Editor’s note: Many people experience symptoms of diarrhea after drinking milk, which is likely to be a manifestation of lactose intolerance. So, is lactose intolerance natural? Can it be cured again? In this tech article, the original title is Can You Make a Lactose Intolerance Disappear? Author Markham Heid shared the views of several scientists and introduced solutions to this symptom.
Image source: Kieran Blakey
Lactose is a sugar in milk and other dairy products. Globally, approximately 75% of adults have lactose digestive problems. For most of them, drinking a glass of milk or eating a piece of pizza can cause flatulence, abdominal cramps, stomach pains, and even diarrhea.
Generally, doctors refer to people with similar symptoms as “lactose intolerance” and advise them to avoid ingesting dairy products. “But this is not a good suggestion,” said Dennis Savaiano, a professor of nutrition at Purdue University.
Since the 1980s, Savaiano has been studying lactose intolerance. He believes that almost all babies have a digestive enzyme called lactase in their bodies at birth, and lactase in the intestines can easily break down lactose in dairy products.
In addition, about 25% of adults (especially Nordic) have high levels of digestive enzymes. Therefore, they have no major problems in the intake of dairy products.
But by the age of 5 to 6, most people may experience a regular decline in intestinal lactase activity. Sawaiiano said that if these people still ingest dairy products as before, they may have symptoms of lactose intolerance.
For lactose intolerance, although the traditional recommendation is to avoid the intake of milk and other dairy products, this avoidance seems to only further exacerbate the symptoms of this problem.
Savayano said that the bacteria that depend on lactose in the intestines will continue to increase in number after regular exposure to lactose, and will further help the body’s digestive system better cope with lactose problems. Therefore, “because the gut microbiome gradually adapts to the intake of dairy products, people who drink milk often are less prone to lactose intolerance,” Savayano said.
On the other hand, avoiding the intake of milk and dairy products, the number of these useful bacteria in the intestines will be further reduced, “and this reduction will only exacerbate the symptoms of lactose intolerance.” Savayano Added.
A person with lactose intolerance may never drink a large cup of milk at a time, especially on an empty stomach. Sawaiiano said that most people can tolerate lactose in milk, cheese and other dairy products if they are not ingested at one time and are taken along with other foods.
Andrew Szilagyi is a gastroenterologist at McGill University, and lactose intolerance is one of his research topics. Syrac also agrees with Savayano that he said, “If lactose intolerant people insist on regular intake of lactose, most people can eventually turn into lactose tolerance.”
Sirac also added that the series of adverse reactions that occur after people consume dairy products are not all due to lactose. Symptoms of lactose intolerance in a small group of people may also be caused by the intake of fat or certain milk proteins in ice cream. In addition, Syrac stressed that the general lactose intolerance population can normally consume about 12 grams of lactose, which is almost equal to a cup of milk.
In contrast to milk, other dairy products such as cheese and yogurt have lower lactose content. Therefore, people with lactose intolerance can consume dairy products equivalent to one meal, and there is no adverse reaction (of course, everyone’s response to lactose intolerance is also different).
Re-recognizing “intolerance”
The views of these experts are not too radical. In 2010, a workshop organized by the National Institutes of Health concluded that most people who experience symptoms of lactose intolerance do not actually have to avoid the idea of eating dairy products. In addition, if you avoid eating dairy products, it may further increase the occurrence of osteoporosis and other bone tissue problems.
“A lot of data shows that dairy products are actually very healthy,” said Syrac.
Savayano suggests that for people who are lactose intolerant and have avoided the intake of milk and other dairy products, they can gradually and regularly add lactose to their daily diet to make the intestines The road slowly adapts.
“I recommend that each meal start with a quarter cup of milk, two to three times a day, and stick to it for a week.” Savayano said, “After a week and a week after the trial, if lactose intolerance If the symptoms slow down or disappear, start adding half a cup of milk.”
The purpose of this practice is to try and understand the level of dairy intake that does not cause any adverse reactions in the case of other food intake.
It is worth noting that lactose intolerance is not exactly equal to milk allergy. The so-called intolerance means that the intestines cannot properly digest certain foods or nutrients; and allergies mean the reaction to the immune system after ingesting certain foods or nutrients. In addition, people who are allergic to foods (such as milk, nuts, eggs, and crustaceans) are also very dangerous to consume.
However, there is also evidence that, in some cases, careful and progressive intake of food allergens can also alleviate the allergic symptoms of allergies. For example, the researchers found that for children who are allergic to peanuts or milk, adding a small amount of these foods to their daily diet and gradually increasing the proportion of these foods can alleviate or eliminate the immune system activities that cause the symptoms.
Of course, this “immunotherapy” does not apply to all children who are allergic to these foods. For some people, this is still very dangerous and even fatal. However, as with lactose intolerance, food allergies may still be curable by careful manipulation under the supervision of a doctor.
Research in this area suggests that people may indeed “cure” food allergies or intolerance, at least for a certain period of time.
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Uncover the truth behind “avoiding intake theory”
From another perspective, a lot of science has proven that avoiding the intake of certain types of food or nutrients may increase the risk of allergies. “If you avoid eating dairy products, even if you have not been lactose intolerant before, you may become lactose intolerant,” Savayano said.
For some people, they may experience this experience after experiencing the flu or some infection. Their intestinal bacteria have decreased, but there have been some adverse symptoms after the intake of dairy products. Sawaiiano said that if these people continue to avoid the intake of dairy products, they willIt is very likely to produce lactose intolerance.
This view also applies to other foods or nutrients. Sawaiiano said, for example, if a person no longer consumes gluten, he may have side effects after taking gluten food again. He explained that our intestines will slowly adapt to the food we consume, so avoiding certain types of food will only make it harder for the intestines to digest these foods.
In short, some people can actually slow down or even overcome the symptoms of food intolerance, and even food-related allergies. At the same time, however, once a certain food is no longer ingested, in some cases new unanticipated side effects may occur.
Translator: Junyi