Lactose intolerance is the most widespread food intolerance among the caucasian population - approximately 1 in every 4 to 6 caucasians is affected by it. After consumption, lactose must be broken down in the intestine by a certain enzyme before it can be absorbed into the blood. This enzyme is produced in the intestine from childhood onwards because newborns rely on being able to utilise and digest their mother's milk. With increasing age, the child's body prepares to digest other foodstuffs and the genes responsible for the production of the enzyme are gradually shut down.
Thus an infant who can utilise lactose becomes increasingly intolerant to lactose over the years, until the body can no longer utilise lactose and a multitude of symptoms arise when it is consumed. Non-utilised lactose forms an excellent source of nutrients for intestinal bacteria which quickly multiply and ferment the sugar into fatty, lactic and acetic acids and various gases. This process leads to a range of diverse symptoms which can vary in severity from one person to the next. These include digestive problems such as flatulence, cramping and diarrhoea and a range of non-specific symptoms such as fatigue or skin problems.
Lactose intolerance was originally the normal state and originates from a time when people had no access to milk as a foodstuff via agriculture and cattle breeding. With increasing cattle breeding, genetic defects which prevented the shutdown of genes responsible for enzyme production became increasingly widespread . This finally led to adults being able to digest lactose too: nowadays approximately 5 out of 6 caucasians can consume milk without a problem. As so many people tolerate lactose, we are now deviating from the normal state, while those who cannot tolerate lactose are considered to be affected by foodstuff intolerance. This is why we also refer to the existence of lactose intolerance as a genetic defect.
The treatment of lactose intolerance is in principle a lactose-free diet through which complete freedom from symptoms can be reached. It is therefore recommended that lactose intolerance sufferers familiarise themselves with the foodstuffs which contain lactose. Unfortunately, lactose intolerance is often not correctly diagnosed for many years because the severity of symptoms is dependent on the quantity of lactose consumed and symptoms are often misinterpreted as general digestive problems. A genetic test for lactose intolerance is therefore useful to clarify your personal intolerance and prevent further complications.
Precautionary genetic tests for lactose intolerance are still relatively uncommon, and since symptoms can be very unspecific and vary from person to person, this intolerance is frequently misdiagnosed or not diagnosed at all. Most people therefore do not know that they are genetically predisposed or suffer from this intolerance.
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