Above all how would one expect us to blame milk, isn’t it the same liquid that our mother has produced to nourish us with? Isn’t milk the most special drink, full of proteins and nutrients much required by our body? Sad to say that this does not make sense for every one because statistics show the other face of milk.
Permanent lactase deficiency (the inability to produce the enzyme needed to break down lactose) develops in about 80-95% of blacks and Orientals. About 50% of Mediterranean are affected while only up to 15% of Northern Europeans develop lactase deficiency.
Many people suffer from lactose intolerance but probably few of them realise this and remain in distress unnecessarily.
Is lactose intolerance contagious?
The answer is simply NO. These disorders are not transmitted from a person to another, nor are they transmitted through any other media (e.g., bacteria, viruses, animals).While lactose intolerance is the inability of the person in question to produce enough lactase to break down the sugar lactose, milk allergy is caused by the inability of the immune system to learn that milk proteins are harmless for the body. None of these two irregularities are caused by an external agent, however, they can be hereditary. See below.
LI appeared from the blues .I never suffered before, then it disappeared!
There are two types of deficiencies of lactase enzyme :- the primary deficiency which is a permanent state. The congenital form is very rare, while the delayed lactase disappearance, also called primary hypolactasy of the adult, is much more common. The lactasic activity generally starts to decline as from the ageof 2 ; however this phenomenon can also appear only towards the age of 20
- secondary deficiency is generally a temporary state due to a deterioration of the mucous membrane of the small intestine. It lasts approximately one week after recovery. Young babies (infants) and children suffering from gastro-intestinal infection or malnutrition are particularly vulnerable to this type of secondary deficiency of lactase enzyme. It can also be caused by a coeliac disease, by an allergy to cow's milk, by certain drugs and by gastro-intestinal surgery.
(published with permission in writing from:http://www.lactose.co.uk)
