Controlling the symptoms
| Lactose intolerance is the inability to digest significant amounts of lactose, the natural sugar found in milk and other dairy products. Close to 50 million American adults are lactose intolerant, with certain ethnic and racial populations more widely affected than others.
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| There is no cure for lactose intolerance but there are ways to control the symptoms of lactose intolerance by modifying your diet and using special products like lactose free milk. Most people with lactose intolerance can enjoy some milk products without symptoms. You may even be able to increase your tolerance to dairy products by gradually introducing them into your diet. If you want to drink milk, drink it in small servings, two to four ounces at a time, and always with a meal. The smaller the serving, the less likely it is to cause gastrointestinal problems, and enjoying it with a meal slows the digestive process, so you reduce your chance of experiencing lactose intolerance. You may well be able to tolerate cultured milk products, such as yogurt, because the bacteria used in the culturing process naturally produce the enzyme that breaks down lactose. However, some yogurts have milk added back after fermentation and may cause problems.
These programs were first broadcast the week of June 11, 2012.
T. Glenn Pait, M.D., of UAMS is the host of the program.