Quote:
Originally Posted by koland
Again - this can develop later in life and few are born with the enzyme deficiency. The ability to make lactase (which digests lactose) resides in the very tips of the villi in the small intestine. This is the first part damaged and lost in celiac disease (the part that digests fructose goes next), which is one reason for the "ibs" symptoms present in many with CD (eating anything with lactose and often fructose causes bloating and gas, as not-so-good bacteria digest the sugars farther along in the digestive tract). I've seen ads (touting some cure or lactase supplement) that says that "all" or "most" adults lose these tips as they age (and talks about a minority of the world population that doesn't have the issue). Not so oddly enough, that population is from an area which traditionally, not just recently, consumed wheat as the major grain ... and the early morbidity and low fertility of an undiagnosed person with CD means that the same areas have a lower rate of CD (those with the genes didn't pass them on as well). You have to wonder if all those people popping lactase supplements aren't just undiagnosed CD cases (and depending on the lab used, there can be high rates of false negatives, while false positives are pretty much non-existent).
I feel for you ... mine all went away (banished with the wheat).
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Actually, it's not a matter of "making" lactase, it is the absence of the enzyme betagalactosidase, which is often genetic. Especially in small children. I know, I was one of them. Betaglactosidase deficiency in children often causes "failure to thrive" problems in newborns.
Although people who do have damaged villi due to other causes can develop the inability to break down lactose later in life, it does not make it an "allergy." That's a whole different systemic problem.