For many of us, milk and dairy products are difficult to digest. They give us, to be frank about it, gas. Not only that, we can experience pain, bloating, diarrhea, indigestion and cramping. It's not pleasant and can be downright painful.
We are so accustomed to thinking of milk and milk based products as being healthy for us that many of us are in a state of denial about not being able to digest these things until our symptoms get the better of us and we must admit it to ourselves.
Lactose is a sugar that is found in milk and milk-based products, and the intolerance of lactose is literally an inability to properly digest this particular sugar. The enzyme known as lactase is responsible for breaking down lactose and is produced by the cells lining the small intestine. Breaking down lactose into simpler forms of sugar called glucose and galactose is the job of lactase and without it, suffering is bound to occur. For more on this please see the following link:
http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/lactoseintolerance/
There is no one way to deal with lactose intolerance. However, there are many lactose free products on the market which can contain the same benefits of milk based products without the lactose. Lactose-free milk, ice cream and cheese are all available, tasty and healthy for you. Perusing the shelves of any supermarket or health food store will allow you to make healthy lactose free choices about what to eat.
Aimee Boyle drinks lactose free milk and contributes regularly to EmpowHer. you can read her blog at http://straightandnarrow.yolasite.com