Lactose Intolerance In Children Research Paper

Breastfeeding is the single most effective nutritional strategy for protecting infants against infections and diseases. Three mechanisms have been proposed by which human milk constituents protect the infant from infection. Two are based on the immunologic constituents of human milk and the third is its high nutrient value. (National Academy Press, 1992) In LDCs the health of many children are significantly impaired, sometimes permanently, by the lack of nutrition they received during the breastfeeding phase. Breastfeeding requires a mother to have a specific diet. In the industrialized countries of the

     Most of us do not realize the number of people that are lactose intolerant. Worldwide estimates suggest that two-thirds of the population have trouble digesting milk because of lactose intolerance. According to Teacher Magazine, minorities may have difficulty digesting a sugar in milk known as lactose. An estimated ninety percent of Asian Americans, seventy percent of African Americans and Native Americans, fifty percent of Hispanics, and fifteen percent of Caucasians are lactose intolerant. Hand in hand with lactose

People who are lactose intolerant do not have the ability to digest the sugars found in dairy products. The small intestine does not produce enough of the chemical needed to diagnose milk. A lack of lactase in the small intestine causes sugars from dairy to seep into the colon. Gastrointestinal problems occur when the sugars produce excess gas in the colon. Scientists estimate sixty five percent of the general population cannot properly digest lactose.

Soy milk is actually great for little ones with allergic reactions to the protein in cow’s milk. Most babies who are allergic to protein in cow’s milk might have mild rectal bleeding at bowel movement times. The formula is made with plant protein and quite easy to digest. Parents who are vegans also might prefer for their little one to drink soy-based formula as

Persons who suffer from lactase deficiency and do not avoid lactose may suffer from weight loss and malnutrition. The severity of symptoms varies depending on the amount of lactose each individual can tolerate. Some of the symptoms may be similar to those of milk allergy but milk allergies can cause the body to react quicker, more often within a few minutes. Common symptoms include nausea, cramps, bloating, gas, and diarrhoea, which begin about 30 minutes to 2 hours after eating or drinking foods containing lactose.

If someone is lactose intolerant, that means that they are lacking the enzyme lactase, so the lactose does not get broken down into galactose and glucose. If lactose goes undigested it creates many problems. It causes dehydrations because water and electrolytes get pulled into the intestines by the lactose, which acts like an osmotic agent. The result of the increased amount of lactose would be diarrhea, bloating, and gassiness. Although being lactose intolerant seems to be abnormal, it is actually natural. The production of the enzyme, lactase, is a mutation of the LTC gene, it allows us to produce lactase as adults. In all other mammals lactase is produced during infancy but not during adulthood.

Lactose intolerance is fairly common. It seems to affect guys and girls equally. Some ethnic groups are more likely to be affected than others because their diets traditionally include fewer dairy products: Almost all Asians and Native Americans are lactose intolerant, and up to 80% of African Americans and Hispanic Americans also have symptoms of lactose intolerance. Their ancestors did not eat dairy foods, so their bodies were not prepared to digest dairy, and they passed these genes on from generation to

The other thing that we should consider before using dairy products is from the ethical point of view. Drinking cow’s milk or consuming any dairy product is equal to torturing thousands of cows, due to changing their nature and way of living in order to make them useable for ourselves. It has become evident that milk is not the only source and product that we can reach vitamins, proteins and calcium from, in fact there are many natural and healthy products that we can reach out those factors that we are looking for it in milk, for instance fruits. Contrary to common belief, people should stop consuming milk because it is unhealthy, unnatural and unethical.

The last type of lactose intolerance is called congenital or developmental lactose intolerance. Rarely, babies can be born with lactose intolerance which is caused when lactase activity is completely absent. This disorder of being born lactose intolerant is passed from generation to generation meaning is it also determined by genetics. The pattern

Lactase is an enzyme that breaks down lactose. Lactose is the sugar found in milk. It is made up of two monosaccharides: glucose and galactose. Therefore it is a disaccharide that needs to break down in order to be digested. However some people are “Lactose Intolerant” or lack lactase in their bodies. This means that they cannot consume lactose-contained food or drinks or they need help digesting it. People who are lactose intolerant must be very selective to make sure that they do not eat food or drinks with lactose. There are pills though, which are purchased by lactose intolerant people. This pill helps the people break down the sugar lactose into its smaller components.

Tolerance or Intolerance to lactose varies in throughout the world. In Northwestern Europe, the Swedes and Danes have a high persistence to lactose. As you move to the west and south the persistence to lactose declines. This also occurs in India where the north and south are more tolerant (Swallow). About seventy five percent of African American and Native American are lactose intolerant and about ninety percent of Asians are too (Horner).

A lot of these problems seen in formula feed babies are due to the fact that the particular composition of the formula doesn’t suit their digestive system. Breast milk consists of the optimum proportions of fats, carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins, minerals and water. It is extremely digestible for a new-born baby because the milk is naturally refined to perfectly suit the baby’s digestive system. The milk also contains growth factors such as, epidermal growth factor (EGR) and insulin-like growth factor. The epidermal growth factor works by helping to prepare the lining of the gut to absorb the nutrients from the milk consumed. Insulin-like growth factor is believed to be one of the primary factors regulating early growth and development. Breast milk also contains essential fatty acids that are not present in most formula milk products. The two essential fatty acids present in breast milk are docosahexaenoic acid and arachidonis acid. Both of these play a vital role in optimal development of the central nervous system, intellectual and visual development in babies. Furthermore, one of the most prominent advantages associated with breast feeding over formula feeding babies is that, breast milk naturally changes composition to correspond to the stage of development of the infant. For example, colostrum is the name given to the first milk produced post-delivery. It has an abundance of white cells and antibodies, it also contains a

The importance of nutrition of a newborn or a growing infant draw many strong opinions from friends and family, overall the decision should be left up the mother. Breast milk is the ideal method to feed a growing child, which provides the necessary nutrients as vitamins, proteins, fats, as well as antibodies that helps the baby fight off bacteria and viruses. There are benefits that come from breastfeeding that would a child won’t receive from formula mixtures besides been more soluble for the baby to easily take in. The purpose of this proposal is to examine how beneficial is breastfeeding in a growing child when mothers make the decision to stray from the norm of short period breastfeeding of 3 months to a year.

Lactose intolerance occurs when the body has a hard time digesting dairy products. Lactose is a milk sugar and is broken down by enzymes in the intestinal track, allowing the enzymes to be used as an energy source. Lactase is an enzyme which breaks down lactose. Lactose intolerance occurs when the intestine does not contain lactase (Jackson). Low lactose activity in the small intestine, allows undigested lactose to pass into the colon, where the bacteria are able to convert the sugar into hydrogen gas and organic acids. This causes symptoms such as bloating and cramping (“Lactose Intolerance”). The two causes of lactose intolerance are primary lactase deficiency and secondary lactase deficiency. In primary lactase deficiency the level of lactase enzyme falls as a person gets older. This does not allow the person to tolerate the amount of lactose that they were used to. This affects around 70 percent of the population. Secondary lactase deficiency is a temporary condition in which the level of lactase drops due to a problem in a person’s digestive

When buying lactose-free products, you should ask yourself, “Does butter have lactose?” "Lactose-free" products should not contain lactose, but they might contain other components of dairy products, which might be safe for lactose intolerant individuals but not for people who have milk/dairy allergy. Unlike lactose intolerance, which is triggered by the sugar lactose, symptoms of milk allergy are stimulated by casein, a milk protein. Casein is present in milk/dairy products even after lactose has already been removed.