Lactose Intolerance

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Lactose intolerance is defined as a deficiency in lactase which leads to an individual’s inability to breakdown lactose into its monosaccharide units. Lactose intolerance distresses a large amount of the adult population. (Nix, 2013. pp 26) With this condition affecting such a large portion of the population, it is important for healthcare providers to be aware of the problems it can cause and the nutritional deficits that may accompany such an ailment. Nutrition is such a vital part of health that providers should be knowledgeable in how to treat and avoid symptoms and complications of lactose intolerance.
Symptoms of lactose intolerance vary from person to person and some can be affected more significantly by different types of dairy products. Symptoms include abdominal pain and bloating, gas, nausea and/or diarrhea. (NIDDK, 2014) There are different levels of intolerance and this should not be confused with a milk allergy.
Prior to taking this nutrition class I was aware of lactose intolerance but did not realize that it affected so many people. My personal experience in caring for lactose intolerance comes mostly from caring for my family as my husband and daughter deal with it on a daily basis, …show more content…
We have altered her diet to avoid many lactose containing foods and have started using lactaid pills prior to any dairy consumption. These adaptations to her lifestyle have helped some, but it is very hard to eliminate lactose from the diet completely especially since she is in school and likes to eat school lunches. She is very aware of her symptoms and foods that trigger her symptoms so she is very careful and watches what she eats. There are times when she just can’t stand it and has to have some ice cream, which is the worst thing for her, and she suffers the consequences of quick and uncomfortable trips to the
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