Symptoms of Lactose Intolerance

Even though lactose intolerance is not a dangerous health condition, the symptoms can be very uncomfortable. Gas, bloating, stomach cramps, diarrhea, and nausea are the most common symptoms. These symptoms may begin within as little as 30 minutes or up to two hours after eating or drinking foods that contain lactose. The severity of symptoms is different for each person, and depends on how much lactose a person can tolerate. Recent studies have found that many people who have lactose intolerance can have one serving of milk with a meal or two servings of milk per day, at separate times, without experiencing symptoms. People also may be able to tolerate food like aged cheese, which has less lactose, or yogurt, which has bacteria that digests lactose. Some experts believe that people who are sensitive to milk products, but can digest them in small quantities without experiencing severe gastrointestinal symptoms, are not lactose intolerant, but have lactose maldigestion. These people may produce lactase in very small amounts, but enough to allow them to digest very small amounts of dairy products.