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Article: Lactose intolerance is more common than people think, local doctor says
- Article from:
- The Topeka Capital-Journal
- Article date:
- March 6, 2000
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2000 The Topeka Capital-Journal. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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Digestive distress
By LISA M. SODDERS
The Capital-Journal
Milk may do a body good in terms of providing vitamins, minerals
and calcium, but if you're lactose intolerant, it can cause some
annoying digestive problems.
Lactose intolerance is the inability to digest a significant
amount of lactose, the main sugar found in milk, said Diane Wagner, a
registered and licensed dietician at Stormont-Vail HealthCare. In
people who are lactose intolerant, the small intestine doesn't
produce enough of the enzyme lactase, which breaks the lactose down
in to digestible particles.
If lactose isn't broken down by lactase, that sugar ends up in the
colon, said Dr. Curtis A. Baum, a Topeka gastroenterologist ...