LACTOSE INTOLERANCE: A COMMON MALADY IN THE POPULATION

Course overview

Lactose intolerance is not a rare disorder. In the last few decades, more people seem to have been diagnosed with this disorder than ever before. It is not known if this is due to improvement in diagnosis or a true increase in prevalence. Although this disorder is usually not dangerous, it can lead to annoying and distressing symptoms that often result in multiple visits to healthcare professionals. Lactose is normally broken down into galactose and glucose by the enzyme lactase; patients with lactose intolerance typically have low or absent lactase levels. When a patient is diagnosed with lactose intolerance, the first step in treatment is to eliminate milk and other dairy products from the diet. In most cases, this simple measure will relieve the symptoms.