It is frequent in children, however, when it occurs it can affect the nutrition of your little one.
What is lactose?
It is a sugar that is present in dairy, mainly in milk. It is a disaccharide; that is, it is made up of two simpler sugar molecules: lactose and glucose. For its part, in the small intestine, different enzymes are produced that help transform what we eat into smaller and simpler units. In this case, there is an enzyme called lactase that is responsible for breaking down lactose; If this enzyme were not present, the lactose would not break down and enter the body as it is, causing digestive problems.
General recommendations
If your child has lactose intolerance, it is important to get into the habit of reading the labels of the products they are going to eat. There are other foods that may contain lactose, in addition to milk, cheese, and the like.
1. Keep a food log. It is convenient to use a diary to write in it the foods that your child has consumed and if any of them has caused any stomach upset. In this way you can have better management of the specific foods that cause particular symptoms.
2. Check if it is a temporary condition. Although most children who are diagnosed with lactose intolerance have this condition for life, others only suffer from it temporarily (secondary intolerance). Therefore, it is recommended that a doctor evaluate the child to determine if it is this condition.
3. Mix milk with other foods. Sometimes there are children who do not tolerate drinking milk alone, but who can consume it mixed with some cereal. This situation is because these foods do not allow lactose to reach the intestine quickly, which helps the body to strengthen the few lactase enzymes that you can have.
4. Select foods lactose-free or low-lactose. Consuming yogurt from live cultures may be a good option for children with intolerance because the microorganisms in yogurt have already pre-digested a lot of lactose.
5. Take calcium intake into account. Children are at a crucial stage of growth, as their bones need to keep getting bigger and strong. Therefore, they require the constant consumption of calcium. If they have lactose intolerance, it is necessary to provide this mineral from another source, such as green vegetables (broccoli), biscuits enriched with calcium, charales, legumes and sardines, among others.