Today I read an article in the Globe & Mail about lactose intolerance. The author sounded very knowledgeable, from a scientific perspective, about the workings of the human body and how lactose is digested. In order to digest lactose, found in dairy products such as milk, cheese, yogurt, cream, etc., our bodies use an enzyme called lactase. As mentioned by the author who wrote this article, our bodies produce less lactase as we get older - it is thought that we stop producing lactase at about the age of 4. This would be why symptoms of "lactose intolerance", as we've come to know it, show up, such as cramps, bloating, gas and diarrhea. The body is trying desperately to digest something that it is unable to digest due to lack of enzymes, and, as a result, lactose is being fermented in the large intestine by bacteria, who's activity is causing the above mentioned symptoms. Anyway, the final point that the author was making in this article that I read, was that we don't have to make the sacrifice of avoiding dairy products: there are alternatives, such as consuming products where the lactose content has been reduced, such as lactose-free milk and where lactase, the enzyme, has been added to assist our bodies in digesting lactose. Further, she discussed the possibility of supplementing the enzyme lactase before consuming dairy with such well-known products as "Lactaid". Finally, a person could introduce small amounts of dairy frequently, in the hope that the body would adjust and allow for periodic consumption of dairy products without adverse symptoms.
I guess I was a bit amazed by this article. The amazement is because I'm misunderstanding how we, as a North American society (and perhaps other societies too, but I'm most familiar with North American society), seem to think it's totally cool and okay to ignore glaring messages from our physical bodies. Is the thought really lost on us that there's a very specific reason as to why our bodies stop producing as much lactase in an early stage of life? Is there really such a small population of people who are understanding of the methods of the human body? Children, in their development, tend to need more fat, vitamins, nutrients, minerals and protein than adults do, as adult's bodies are more sophisticated. This would be why children's bodies have the capacity to digest foods that contain lactose. Having said that, I would like to mention the fact that infants and children are more susceptible to developing allergies and cow's dairy is highly allergenic. I feed my infant goat's milk and cheese, which still contains lactose, but is more easily assimilated by the human body and far less allergenic.
The body is a finely tuned and miraculous machine that typically doesn't do anything by accident, so how is it okay to just soldier through symptoms that arise as a result of consuming dairy products? Yeah I get it, cheese tastes good: doesn't mean our body is designed to have cheese on a daily basis. Here we go again with our strong desire for instant gratification: it feels or tastes good, so who cares about the fact that it doesn't exactly produce positive health results. MY point, and perhaps a redundant one, is moderation. If you choose to consume milk, cheese, cream, yogurt, ice cream, etc., for God's sake, do it in moderation because your body is not designed to have it! And in the event that you do make these choices and experience uncomfortable symptoms of intolerance as a result, listen to your body! It's only trying to tell you: "hey, I don't like this and am not sure what to do with it because I don't have the resources to break it down". The appropriate response is: "okay body, thank you. I really value the amazing job you do each day: I'll take it easy on dairy because you deserve the very best and I only have one of you".
Make sense? It makes A LOT of sense to me. Let me know what YOU think.
Roberta Shepherd for Prana Holistic
