According to a 21-day intervention study conducted in 2000, most people who do this will experience minimal or no discomfort.Ī 2017 study by scientists at the North Carolina School of Medicine and North Carolina State University found that probiotics may also be a useful treatment. (250 milliliters) of milk - about a glass - if they drink the milk in gradually increasing amounts. Adults who are lactose intolerant can ultimately recondition their digestive system to tolerate up to 8.5 fluid oz. However, according to the Mayo Clinic, these products do not help all patients. Some people find that taking probiotics can help them digest lactase better, but Lactaid is really the standard, Balzora said. For example, Lactaid pills or Lactaid milk allow many people to process dairy products without any difficulty, Balzora said. Over-the-counter pills or drops that contain lactase can be taken before meals to help alleviate or eliminate symptoms. This study of 1,495 Canadian men and women also found that those who cut out milk were also shorter. Treatment & medicationĬutting lactose out of the diet is an option, but patients should make sure they aren't depriving themselves of calcium and vitamin D, Balzora said.Ī study published in the June 2017 issue of the Journal of Nutrition found that those with lactose intolerance that cut milk out of their diet have lower levels of vitamin D in their blood. A properly administered breath test can help patients determine whether they need to cut back on milk and dairy products, according to research published in the World Journal of Gastroenterology. A hydrogen breath test is an objective, non-invasive, inexpensive and easy-to-perform test that can be used to confirm an initial diagnosis of lactose intolerance. However, the symptoms of lactose intolerance can overlap with other gastrointestinal problems, such as irritable bowel syndrome and Crohn’s disease. Most patients do not need a referral to a specialist, or diagnostic laboratory tests. Then, these foods can be gradually reintroduced into the diet again, and if the symptoms return, the person is likely somewhat lactose intolerant, she said. "The quick and dirty way is to have a patient avoid lactose products for a certain amount of time," usually about two weeks, Balzora said. The initial diagnosis of lactose intolerance can be very simple. The symptoms usually appear 30 minutes to two hours after ingesting a milk product. Lactose intolerance should be suspected in people with abdominal symptoms - such as cramps and bloating - after consuming milk and other dairy products. The intolerance can develop earlier in African American children than in Caucasian ones. Premature babies can also be intolerant to breast milk, but full-term babies don't show signs of the problem before the age of 2, according to the NIH. According to the Mayo Clinic, most people with lactase deficiencies do not display any signs or symptoms. The severity of symptoms largely depends on how quickly the lactase available in the digestive system is used up.Īlthough reduced levels of lactase could result in improper absorption of lactose, only people with low lactase levels who exhibit the common symptoms would be properly considered lactose intolerant. This results in abdominal cramps, bloating, diarrhea, flatulence and nausea, Balzora said. In lactose-intolerant adults, the lactose is fermented and metabolized by bacteria in the colon to produce gas and short chain fatty acids. (Image credit: Zsuzsanna Kilian Stock Xchng)