Lactose Intolerant Children Still Have to Consume Dairy

According to a report issued a few days ago by the American Academy of Pediatrics, infants who are lactose intolerant should not completely remove dairy products from their diets. Humans need calcium in milk, yogurts and other dairies for preserving their health and preventing possible impairments of bodily functions.

That is why medical experts recommend that even children who experience intestinal symptoms and pains when eating dairy should not overlook yogurts, milk or cheese. It is better to have intestinal problems from time to time than depriving your body of calcium.

The calcium quantity to be found in an adult's body is approx 1, 5 kilos. Calcium achieves different tasks, the most important being the mineralization of the bone tissue (bones and teeth), maintaining the cardiac rhythm, coagulating the blood, regulating the acid-basic equilibrium.

Besides dairy products, calcium is also present in beans, nuts, peanuts, olives, egg yolk. In smaller quantities is found in meat, vegetables (parsley, peas, carrots, kohlrabi, celery, lettuce, radish, scallion, but not in spinach), soy beans and all soy products. Calcium is also present in fruits, bread and fish.

"Treatment of lactose intolerance by elimination of milk and other dairy products is not usually necessary given newer approaches to lactose intolerance, including the use of partially digested products such as yogurts, cheeses, products containing Lactobacillus acidophilus, and pretreated milks," advised lead researcher Melvin B. Heyman, M.D., M.P.H, of the University of California, San Francisco.

The University of California team which conducted the study gave some very useful advises to lactose intolerant children and their parents on how to reduce intestinal pains when consuming dairy products. First of all, they should know that eating dairies in small amounts throughout a few days period causes fewer symptoms than eating a large amount at once.

Also, they should stick to yogurts (because the lactose in these dairies is mainly transformed into glucose) and aged cheese such as cheddar and Swiss because these types of cheese contain smaller amounts of lactose. Another possibility is to consume lactose-free and lactose reduced milk which is more expensive than regular milk, but causes less pain. Also, try combining dairies with other products because this method usually works against intestinal symptoms.

"Evidence that avoidance of dairy products may lead to inadequate calcium intake and consequent suboptimal bone mineralization makes these important as alternatives to milk. Dairy products remain principal sources of protein and other nutrients that are essential for growth in children.

Lactose intolerant children (and their parents) should realize that ingestion of dairy products resulting in symptoms generally leads to transient symptoms without causing harm to the gastrointestinal tract," researchers concluded in their study published in the Pediatrics journal.