The picture below encouraged me to write this post. Also, the fact that I have first-hand experience of being bloated by cow’s milk because of lactose intolerance. I sense that most people don’t know if they are lactose intolerant. They might not have heard of it. They accept that they become bloated after eating and think nothing of it really. It is just one of those things. But it doesn’t have to be that way.
Note: I am not a doctor and there are a variety of reasons for bloating. However, I am pointing to a very common reason. The kind of reason that can be dealt with initially to see if things improve. It is a box that can be ticked in self-diagnosis.
Change to one of the many non-dairy alternatives and you’ll find that your routine bloating will disappear. Most domestic cats are lactose intolerant which is why we provide water of specially prepared cat milk
RELATED: Feline and Human Lactose Intolerance: Cause and Effect.
While most infants can digest lactose, many people begin to develop lactose malabsorption — a reduced ability to digest lactose — after infancy. Experts estimate that about 68 percent of the world’s population has lactose malabsorption. – National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive Kidney Disease.
The cause is that the majority of humans and cats don’t have the enzymes called lactase in their stomach to digest lactose. This leads to bloat and sometimes diarrhea. Cats can certainly get diarrhea when given cow’s milk.
Now that I have been a convert to oat milk for some time it seems strange that humans think they can drink cow’s milk as it’s designed to be drunk by cow’s. It is not a food source which is transferable from cows to humans.
I asked Chat GPT this question: “What medical process causes lactose intolerance?”
Lactose intolerance is not caused by a medical process but rather by the body’s inability to fully digest lactose, a sugar found in milk and dairy products. The primary cause of lactose intolerance is a deficiency or absence of an enzyme called lactase in the small intestine.
Lactase is responsible for breaking down lactose into two simpler sugars, glucose and galactose, which can be easily absorbed by the body. When there is a shortage of lactase, undigested lactose passes into the colon where it interacts with bacteria, leading to symptoms such as abdominal pain, bloating, diarrhea, and gas.
There are three types of lactose intolerance: What medical process causes lactose intolerance?
Here is the response. I have checked it and it is good.
- Primary lactose intolerance: This is the most common type and typically develops over time. It occurs when the body gradually produces less lactase after weaning from breast milk. It is more prevalent in certain ethnic groups, such as people of East Asian, African, Hispanic, and Native American descent.
- Secondary lactose intolerance: This type occurs as a result of an underlying medical condition or injury that damages the small intestine. Conditions like celiac disease, Crohn’s disease, and gastroenteritis can cause temporary lactose intolerance until the underlying condition is resolved.
- Congenital lactose intolerance: This is a rare genetic disorder in which infants are born with a complete absence of lactase. It is typically diagnosed shortly after birth, and infants must avoid lactose-containing foods and receive lactose-free formula.
It’s worth noting that lactose intolerance is different from a milk allergy, which is an immune response triggered by proteins in milk rather than the inability to digest lactose.
Link: https://chat.openai.com/share/36700d78-76d8-4a0b-bb8b-944cda98aa59
