Symptoms of lactose intolerance and related pathologies

Although lactose intolerance is not considered a real disease, it strongly affects the lifestyle of those who suffer from it. But how to find out if you are truly intolerant?

In general, for a correct diagnosis of food intolerance, a distinction must be made between:

1. Intolerance of functional origin : it is caused by an isolated functional disorder (eg lactase deficiency) and is initially not accompanied by other anatomical or morphological changes in the gastrointestinal tract.

2. Intolerance of structural origin: it is of anatomical origin and is morphologically demonstrable as it involves alterations in the tissue / organ, some examples:

• Achalasia where there is a disturbance of esophageal motility due to lack or reduced peristalsis.
• Jaundice: Excessive levels of bilirubin in the blood.
• Pancreatitis: acute or chronic inflammation of the pancreas
• Abdominal angina: Clinical syndrome characterized by severe post-pandrial abdominal pain.

Only once you are sure that you do not have intolerances of structural origins, thanks to careful examinations, can you take into consideration the intolerances of functional origins such as that to lactose.

In fact, if after a period of one to three hours from having eaten something containing lactose, discomfort such as abdominal cramps and urgency to go to the bathroom begin to occur, it is the case that you have some suspicion.

Here is a list of common symptoms of lactose intolerance:

• Abdominal cramps
• Colic
• Diarrhea
• Flatulence and meteorism
• Sense of heaviness
• Insomnia
• Swollen belly
• Nausea and vomit
• Dizziness and headache
• Itching and skin irritation

These are the most common symptoms that lactose intolerant people have. You can be intolerant without showing them all, however this does not mean that those who feel someone have a lack of lactase and therefore intolerant to lactose. Many pathologies of the digestive system have similar symptoms, for example:

Crohn's disease : it is a chronic inflammation that can theoretically affect the entire alimentary canal, from the mouth to the anus, but which is mainly localized in the last part of the small intestine called ileus (ileitis) or in the colon (colitis) or in both (ileocolitis). In the intestinal tracts affected there is inflammation, swelling and ulcerations that affect the intestinal wall to the full thickness.

Irritable bowel syndrome : a gastrointestinal functional disorder that involves an alteration of the frequency of the hollow and of the consistency of the stool, in the absence of other identified pathologies.

Celiac disease : intestinal immuno-disorder caused by ingestion of gluten, which is digested in the intestinal lumen into amino acids and peptides, including 33-amino acid alpha-gliadin, which is resistant to proteolytic degradation. Gliadin induces the release of Il-15, an inflammatory cytokine that activates and induces the production of CD8 + lymphocytes, which express NKG2D. These lymphocytes become cytotoxic to Mic-A expressing enterocytes

Neoplasms : tumors of the large intestine.

Microscopic colitis : a chronic intestinal inflammation characterized by chronic watery diarrhea.

Other intestinal inflammations .

Manifestation of symptoms following infection , for example by rotavirus.

What to do in case of warning of the listed symptoms?

Without a doubt, contact your doctor and follow his advice and therapies. If you think you are intolerant you can try to change your diet .. reading the food labels, it will be easy to stop taking lactose-containing products and check if the symptoms fade and disappear within a few days.

To confirm, an intolerance test must then be carried out, whether it is the DNA test or the Breath Test, the latter described in another article of ours .

If you are lactose intolerant, do not despair. today there is an innovative product, a lactase enzyme supplement, which will allow you to return to your normal life! Find out here .