Lactase Deficiency

Lactase deficiency - apart from an exceedingly rare congenital form - is common after the age of two, particularly in non-caucasians. It causes lactose intolerance. Lactose is a sugar found in milk, made up of one molecule of glucose joined to one of another chemical called galactose. Lactase is an enzyme that splits lactose apart, and when we fail to make it the sugar is not absorbed, causing osmotic diarrhoea. A diet with reduced lactose will reduce the symptoms.
 
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