சுருக்கம்

The role of lactose in milk and an overview of intolerance to lactose.

Sridhar Kalyanasundaram, Vidya Kanamkote Narayanan, Kandamaran Krishnamurthy*

The main sugar in both human breast milk and other animal milks is lactose. The newborn babies have a surge in lactase enzyme levels to enable adequate digestion of the lactose in milk, but over time, the enzyme level drops and a degree of lactose intolerance is very common. If the lactose is not digested, it can reach the colon where it is involved in the production of short chain fatty acids and inducing more gas production in the process, leading to flatulence, bloating, watery stools and prominent nappy rash. We review the role of lactose in milk, as well as an overview of lactose intolerance.