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Many people have trouble digesting dairy foods, a condition is known as lactose intolerance.
The symptoms include abdominal cramps, gas, bloating, diarrhoea and a feeling of fullness. Lactose intolerant bodies don't produce the proper amounts of the enzyme lactase. Lactase breaks down lactose – the sugar in milk – into an easily digestible form.
Sometimes people with lactose intolerance can handle small amounts of dairy foods, but often they have to avoid them completely. That means people with lactose intolerance have to be particularly careful about getting the right amount of calcium.
There are several ways to diagnose lactose intolerance.
Blood, breath and stool tests can all uncover a lactose intolerance, but the easiest way to figure it out is to swear off dairy products for a few days, then gradually reintroduce them to see if your symptoms return.
