People with lactose intolerance are unable to fully digest the sugar (lactose) in milk. As a result, they have diarrhea, gas and bloating after eating or drinking dairy products. The condition, which is also called lactose malabsorption, is usually harmless, but its symptoms can be uncomfortable

Ashley Charlebois, RD, discusses What is Lactose Intolerance.

Ashley Charlebois, RD, discusses The Proper Management of Lactose Intolerance

If you’re experiencing digestive symptoms such as bloating, abdominal pain, diarrhea, you may be lactose intolerant, so what happens is that your body may not have enough of the enzymes responsible for breaking down lactose, which is called lactase.

In this case, you want to try to eliminate or avoid foods that have high contents of lactose in them, but there are alternatives that do have moderate to low amounts that you might be able to tolerate.

Lactose intolerance can actually develop later on in life, so if you never before had problems digesting lactose, but then all of a sudden you are starting to get some of the symptoms, you might want to consider that you do now have lactose intolerance.

There are solutions out there, there are things like over-the-counter medications such as Lactaid that might help to – that you would take before a meal to help you digest the lactose that you are eating in high lactose containing foods. There are also other medications that a doctor might prescribe to you.

So if you think you suffer from lactose intolerance, and you want to get diagnosed, visit your doctor, and for more dietary management solutions, go to your local dietitian.

Presenter: Ms. Ashley Charlebois, Registered Dietitian, Vancouver, BC

Local Practitioners: Registered Dietitian