Milk fat does not affect the symptoms of lactose intolerance

Abstract

Objective: This study investigated the role of the fat content of milk on symptoms of lactose intolerance. Design: Subjects recorded intolerance symptoms using a visual analogue scale (VAS) following ingestion of three test milks of varying fat content for a two-day period. Subjects/Setting: The subjects were thirty adult volunteers, patients of two Estonian out-patient clinics with diagnosed lactose intolerance. The study milks were drunk at home or at work. All thirty subjects completed the study protocol. Intervention: Each subject drank, in random order, fat-free milk (4.9% lactose), high-fat milk (8% fat, 4.9% lactose), and a lactose-free and fat-free control milk. They drank 200 ml of the milk twice a day for two days, one milk type per session, with ®ve days between sessions. The subjects noted their gastrointestinal symptoms during the test periods and during a 5 d milk-free period at the beginning of the study. The occurrence and severity of symptoms were compared. A global measure of the severity of symptoms was de®ned by computing the sum of the symptom scores. Results: The sum of symptoms was higher during all milk periods than during the milk-free period (P`0.01). There were no statistically signi®cant differences in the occurrence or severity of symptoms during the fat-free milk period compared with the high-fat milk period. Conclusions: Even a marked difference in the fat content of milk did not affect the symptoms of lactose intolerance. Consequently, there seems to be no case for recommending full-fat milk products in the treatment of lactose intolerance. Sponsorship: The study was supported by the Foundation of the Finnish Association of Agronomists: Valio Ltd, Finland, provided the test milks.

Removing lactose from milk does not delay bowel function or harden stool consistency in lactose-tolerant women

“…Similarly, Vesa et al (1997) noted that ingestion of milk without consideration of its lactose content increased the number of stools compared to the milk-free period. The authors suggested that this could be due to the increased ingestion of fluid from the test milks.…”

Milk hypersensitivity in young adults

“…Taking these aspects into account, we can estimate the prevalence of milk hypersensitivity in young Finnish adults. According to epidemiological studies, about 12% of Finns have lactase de®ciency with symptoms (Sahi, 1974;Sahi et al, 1983;Savaiano & Milk hypersenstivity in young adults L Pelto et al Levitt, 1987;Vesa et al, 1997). Out of our 406 study subjects this would be 49 subjects (vs the actual number of 25 subjects who had been diagnosed by a physician, Figure 1).…”

“…According to the interview, 6.4% of the subjects had had lactose intolerance diagnosed by a physician. This is less than expected since about 12% of Finns are reported to have lactose intolerance with symptoms (Sahi, 1974;Sahi et al, 1983;Savaiano & Levitt, 1987;Vesa et al, 1997). Lactose intolerance is well known and often self-diagnosed and therefore subjects do not necessarily consult a physician for it.…”

“…About 17% of Finns have lactase de®ciency (Sahi, 1974). About 70% of these respond to two glasses of milk (Sahi et al, 1983;Savaiano & Levitt, 1987;Vesa et al, 1997) corresponding roughly to the average daily milk consumption in Finland (Anonymous, 1998). Therefore, about 12% of Finns can be considered lactose-intolerant.…”

Recent advances on lactose intolerance: Tolerance thresholds and currently available answers

“…The will to highlight the lactose tolerance threshold for intolerance population is not emerging: numerous scientific studies have been carried out for over 40 years (Stephenson and Latham, 1974;Paige et al, 1975;Jones et al, 1976;Lisker and Aguilar, 1978;Newcomer et al, 1978;Cheng et al, 1979;Rorick and Scrimshaw, 1979;Haverberg et al, 1980;Kwon et al, 1980;Rask Pedersen et al, 1982;Lybeck Sørensen et al, 1983;Cavalli-Sforza and Strata, 1987;Johnson et al, 1993b;Suarez et al, 1995aSuarez et al, , 1997Vesa et al, 1996aVesa et al, , 1997Xenos et al, 1998;Montalto et al, 2005). Yet, the first metaanalyses showing this threshold value are recent.…”