Lactose Intolerance, Why Do I Have It?

The common word here is DAIRY and Lactose is the ‘Milk Sugar‘. I am referring to milk from cows, sheep, goats, buffalo, camels, mares, and other mammals. It also includes butter, cream, buttermilk, yogurt, quark and other products made from their milk. Lactose is present in all of these foods.

Man has been consuming dairy for hundreds of years and in the last century alone, industrialization from the start of the early 1900’s has changed a lot of things for all of us, most importantly the nature of the foods we consume. This period roughly is the beginning of Lactose Intolerance. 

In the last 20 years, the Internet has quadrupled our knowledge and awareness of many subjects including that on Lactose Intolerance. In the medical world, however, it is a less known subject.

I will show you how this much needed infantile food has become a cause of concern to many, causing havoc and traumatizing children and adults alike in these modern times.

Firstly, let me break down ‘ Milk’ into its basic components:

• Lactose
• Lactic Acid
• Whey Proteins
• Casein

Stay with me until the end to see how we have been stripped off from the goodness of milk and are drinking ‘dead‘ milk due to the mass production of Dairy.

How do you find out if you are lactose intolerant?

It is very difficult to identify Lactose Intolerance ourself, one could spend years trying to figure out if we are sensitive to Lactose. The symptoms related to this vary from person to person, that it becomes virtually impossible to put your finger on it. However, your symptoms can be persistent and could get worse as time progresses.

A much easier way to find out if you are Lactose Intolerant is the  ‘IgG Food Intolerance Test‘. It’s a blood test that can reveal not only dairy but also other food intolerance that you may have.

Symptoms of Lactose Intolerance

• Gastric Distress
• Respiratory Distress
• Excessive Mucous Production
• Brain Fog
• Fatigue
• Muscle and Joint Pain

Let me explain Gastric & Respiratory Distress as it is most commonly seen.

A child may experience bloating, excessive wind, stomach pain or cramps, that’s when they cry a lot. Most babies have trouble sleeping through the night, this is particularly noticed between the first and the second year.

Loose stools or constipation is another sign to look out for, constipated children can go without pooping for days together and you will notice their stomach would be as hard as a rock. This is how an Intolerance or Allergy can affect the Gut.

When the skin is attacked, you will notice severe itching. This can soon develop into hives and can easily damage the skin. This is the start of Eczema. You can read all about Eczema in my other blog.

A lot of them can develop Asthma, combined with environmental sensitivities like dust, cold energy, pollen and Mold which can be lurking in our bathrooms or more commonly in our AC ducts.

The latter symptoms develop as we become an adult and it takes many years to manifest as an Allergy. You know where I’m getting at – That’s right Arthritis. It’s another subject altogether.  If you would like more information on this subject please let me know in the comment section below.

Can you become lactose intolerant all of a sudden?

Yes, and how?

Allergies also have an emotional component. Let’s say, you have an unpleasant experience after consuming dairy and you threw up, your body remembers this incident and sees it as an allergen, that you had a negative reaction to. This is called ‘Cellular Memory Imbalance’ this information is stored in the cell itself, inside the mitochondria and you (can) become intolerant to that particular food from then on.

Can you develop Lactose Intolerance? yes.

Another biological factor is the lack of Lactase, an enzyme that helps digest lactose (milk sugar) which is the principal carbohydrate in milk. In the absence or depletion of Lactase, one could easily become Lactose Intolerant or we can be born with this condition hence can be Genetic. In the last hundred years, we have lost all the Lactase (which is abundant in raw milk) which has been destroyed due to processing in order to preserve shelf life.

How can a doctor tell if you are lactose intolerant?

Your doctor will ask you to do an IgG Food Intolerance Test. Immunoglobulin G (IgG) is a type of antibody. Representing approximately 75% of serum antibodies in humans, IgG is the most common type of antibody found in blood circulation.

When the levels are elevated, it is best to avoid not only milk but also cheese, butter, cream…

Does a Mother’s Milk have Lactose?

Yes. All mammalian milk contains Lactose.

Lactose Intolerance Test

Many labs do Food Intolerance Tests in Dubai, lactose is included in this test, however, the Food Intolerance Test will indicate elevated levels of cow’s milk, goat’s milk, camel’s milk. You must also look out for Casein, Lactic Acid, Whey Proteins that are related to milk.

TIP 1: If you are considering plant-based milk like almond milk, soy milk, rice milk, and coconut milk, also watch for elevated levels for these foods, if it’s high, these may not be tolerated by your body too.

TIP 2: If you are a nursing mother with a Lactose Intolerant baby, you must not consume foods that have milk. Avoid cheese, butter, all forms of cream, Ghee and Yoghurt too. What you eat makes a big difference!

What is the difference between Allergy and Intolerance?

You don’t need any test to find out if you are allergic to something. Suppose you eat nuts and you happen to be allergic to nuts, your reaction will be immediate. Within minutes you start itching and will develop hives. In the case of Environmental Allergy, your reaction can be watery eyes, runny nose, coughing and sneezing, shortness of breath and so on. This is an immediate response to an Allergen.

On the contrary, when you have an Intolerance, the reaction time is much slower compared to an Allergy taking up to days sometimes. That is one of the reasons, that makes it difficult to know if we are intolerant to a particular food.

Allergic reactions are IgE (Immunoglobulin E) reactions, whereas Intolerance is IgG reactions. I have never come across any person who does not seem to have an Intolerance, almost all of us do have some kind of Food, Environmental, Chemical Intolerance or Sensitivity.

Allergies and Intolerances apart from being Genetic can be acquired as well. This is the price we pay living in big cities away from nature and untampered food because of consumerization.

Consider the kids growing up on the streets of Mumbai and kids in the villages, somehow they seem to be resilient to most foods; that’s because their Immune system is exposed to various foods and environmental elements. Their tolerance levels seem to be much better than that of ours.

Some doctors advocate LDA ( Low Dose Allergy Immunotherapy) to combat allergies, however, this could take many years. I guess the underprivileged children are blessed with this naturally.

Symptoms of Lactose Intolerance

What are the 10 signs and symptoms of Lactose Intolerance?

1. In Babies Your child can be reacting to your own milk or the formula. When this happens, the child will be colicky therefore crying for hours together and may not sleep during the night.
2. Itching The baby will itch continuously and soon the skin will break out and become rough and leathery.
3. Loose Stools Soon after every feed, the baby will pass loose stool and it can be green and smelly at times. Always examine the stools for signs of infection.
4. Vomiting Your child can bring up the milk as soon they are breastfed, this can happen with every feed sometimes.
5. Rashes After constantly itching, your baby can develop red angry rashes. It always starts in the folds of the skin, like elbow folds, inside leg folds, soon this will spread to the face and thereafter all over the body.
6. Respiratory distress  When Lactose Intolerances prolong, it can lead to respiratory stresses like shortness of breath, wheezing and breathing difficulties.
7. Mucus Production It can affect our sinus’ when coupled with environmental sensitivities.
8. Brain Fog It takes years to understand the connection between Brain Fog and Lactose Intolerance, particularly in adults.
9. Fatigue One can be constantly tired due to low energy, lack of motivation and many find it difficult to socialise being in that state.
10. Muscle and Joint Pain Prolonged living with Lactose Intolerance and other undiagnosed intolerances can also lead to unexplained pains. This, however, is more noticeable as we get older.

Lactose Intolerance Diet

To begin with, you must avoid all foods that have milk or milk products.  This may not seem so easy, as a lot of manufactured foods have Dairy, besides, most restaurants use various milk products in their preparations.

It is often best to have home-cooked meals to a large extent, as you have complete knowledge of your ingredients that go into making it. An alternative to mammal milk is plant-based milk like Almond milk, Soy milk, Rice milk, Oat milk, and coconut milk. Now here is a caveat: You could possibly react to any of the above foods as well. A food Intolerance test is best to identify your sensitivities.

The problem with Pasteurised Milk

Pasteurized milk is ‘dead milk’ that’s because a lot of beneficial bacteria are destroyed by this process.

What is Pasteurisation?

It involves heating the milk at a temperature of 62.8 – 65.6° Celsius, and then cooling the milk to 12.8°C. With the Ultra High-Temperature pasteurization, temperatures are raised to 280°C for 2 seconds. This extends the shelf life of refrigerated milk. Pasteurization does kill harmful bacteria, it also destroys beneficial bacterias.

In conclusion

Milk has been a staple in the diet of millions of people all over the world for centuries. Since the 1900s Consumerization has changed the way we eat. If you consider nature, all mammals breastfeed only their babies and not the adults.

But as humans, we are somehow programmed to believe that we need to drink milk for the rest of our lives, as it is believed to be one of the best sources of Calcium. However, Calcium can be consumed from other ‘non-dairy‘ food sources as well as Seeds, Sardines, Beans and Lentils and Almonds to name a few.

A cow’s milk is for its calf and its content is specifically designed to nourish its young and not us humans. We, however, have destroyed all its goodness that is found in its raw form by industrialization. In nature, babies latch on to the mothers’ udder and drink directly from the source without it being altered or processed in any way.

At the end of it all it’s a personal choice, a lifestyle change or an allergy elimination, whatever suits us as individuals, that matters. For people who choose to remain Lactose-free for the rest of their lives, it is still okay and for others who would at some point want to consume it, there are various Holistic Treatment modalities available for your perusal out there. Wishing you much health and happiness.

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