E73.8: Other lactose intolerance

You are lactose intolerant.

In the body, certain proteins ensure that processes run better or more quickly. These proteins are also known as enzymes. Lactose (milk sugar) must be broken down by a specific enzyme in the intestines. Only then can lactose be absorbed. Your intestines cannot absorb and process lactose. Lactose then gets into intestinal segments where no sugar should be. The sugar is broken down there by normal gut bacteria. If you consume lactose anyway, you may therefore experience abdominal pain or diarrhea, for example.

Many people in the world have too little of this enzyme or the enzyme does not work properly. When a small child no longer receives milk from their mother, the enzyme does not work as effectively. Many dairy products are used in Germany. This is why the body is trained to process lactose, meaning the enzyme continues to work normally after a person is no longer receiving their mother’s milk. In other countries, fewer or no dairy products are used. For this reason, people from such regions are likely not to tolerate lactose.

Various diseases can damage the intestines. So your intestines can no longer process lactose. The intolerance can also be congenital, which means you were born with it.