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Article: Got distress? Maybe you're lactose intolerant.(The Seattle Times)
- Article from:
- Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service
- Article date:
- May 21, 2001
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2001 Knight-Ridder/Tribune News Service. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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"I love milk," confesses Paige Castle, a production cook at Virginia Mason hospital. "I would love to sit down and drink a big glass of milk."
So why doesn't she?
Because Castle _ along with 30 million to 50 million other Americans _ is lactose intolerant.
Lactose intolerance isn't an illness, and it isn't an allergy. Simply put, it's the inability to digest lactose, or milk sugar. People who suffer from it, such as Castle, know the symptoms well: "If I drink a glass of milk I get a really bad stomachache, gas, diarrhea, even nausea," she says.
Lactose intolerance is caused by an undersupply of lactase _ an enzyme in the small ...