Posted on 02/25/2010 8:11:01 AM PST by decimon
May pose diet and health risks, concludes National Institutes of Health consensus development conference panel
WASHINGTON (February 25, 2010) – People may avoid milk and other dairy products due to concerns about lactose intolerance, but eliminating these nutrient-rich foods may not only be unnecessary to manage the condition – it could impact diet and health, concludes a panel of experts assembled by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
The NIH Consensus Development Conference on Lactose Intolerance and Health was convened to examine the latest research on lactose intolerance, strategies to manage the condition and the health outcomes of diets that exclude dairy foods. Lactose is the natural sugar in milk and some people lack sufficient amounts of an enzyme that is needed to comfortably digest lactose.
After a thorough review of the scientific evidence, the Consensus Development Conference panel completed a draft consensus statement that is intended to correct some of the common misperceptions about lactose intolerance, including the belief that dairy foods need to be excluded from the diet.
Without lowfat and fat free milk and milk products in the diet, it's hard to meet nutrient needs, and available research suggests people with lactose intolerance can tolerate at least 12 grams of lactose (the amount in about one cup of milk) with no or minor symptoms. Plus, gradually re-introducing dairy into the diet can help manage symptoms and help those diagnosed benefit from dairy's unique nutrient package, including calcium, vitamin D, protein, potassium and other nutrients that are critical for bone health and beyond.
Experts also suggest drinking lowfat or fat free milk (regular or flavored) with meals or a snack instead of an empty stomach, trying small, frequent portions or buying lactose-free or lactose-reduced milk – which contain all the same nutrients as regular milk. Yogurt and hard cheeses (the panel suggests cheddar, provolone and mozzarella) may also be more easily digested.
Conducted by the National Institutes of Health since 1977, the Consensus Development Program is an unbiased, independent, evidence-based assessment of complex medical issues. The purpose is to evaluate the available scientific evidence on a medical topic and develop a statement that will advance the understanding of the issue and help guide the advice given by health professionals and directed to the public.
Lactose intolerance is a topic that is frequently misunderstood, according to Dr. Robert P. Heaney, a prominent researcher at Creighton University who presented findings to the panel on the health outcomes of dairy exclusion diets.
"With modern diets, eliminating dairy from the diet – for any reason whatsoever – will result in poor nutrition with long-term consequences for health," said Heaney.
Heaney said people need a steady supply of calcium, vitamin D and other bone-building nutrients in milk early in life to lay a sturdy foundation. Depriving the body of these nutrients has the potential to impact bone health throughout the lifecycle. Additionally, lowfat and fat free milk is the top food source of vitamin D, which has been linked to a growing range of health benefits.
African Americans have been found to have lower intakes of vitamin D, which is likely linked, in part, to their concerns about lactose intolerance. Yet, even if you have lactose intolerance – and fewer people likely have symptoms of this condition than previously believed – it's still important to find ways to incorporate milk and milk products into the diet.
This is the same conclusion made by the National Medical Association (NMA), the nation's largest group of African American physicians. Dr. Wilma Wooten, president of the San Diego chapter of the National Medical Association, presented research on the ethnic prevalence of lactose intolerance to the panel. She said the NMA released its own policy statement that alerted African-Americans that they may be at risk for nutrient deficits as a result of under-consumption of dairy foods.
"Individuals with lactose intolerance should not avoid dairy products," Wooten said. "This message should be reinforced to prevent the missed opportunity provided by the nutrient-rich package of low- and non-fat milk, hard cheese and yogurt with live active cultures."
Prevalence Estimates for Lactose Intolerance
While the panel concluded that there's insufficient evidence to determine a true prevalence of the condition, one new study presented at the conference suggested the age-adjusted, self-reported prevalence may be as little as 12 percent of the U.S. population, on average. This recent data from a national sample of three ethnic groups indicated that 7.7 percent of European Americans, 10.1 percent of Hispanic Americans and 19.5 percent of African Americans currently consider themselves lactose intolerant.
These self-reported prevalence rates are in contrast with previous higher estimates based on lactose maldigestion studies that over-estimated by wide margins the proportion of people who experience symptoms after consuming usual amounts of dairy foods.
Avoiding Health Risks
Beyond the recommendations of the NIH panel, several major health authorities agree that it is critical for people with lactose intolerance to consume dairy products every day to benefit from the unique nutrient profile of these foods.
The Dietary Guidelines for Americans encourage people with lactose intolerance to try lower-lactose dairy options (such as lactose-free milk, yogurt and hard cheeses) to ensure they get the important nutrients found in dairy.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends children with lactose intolerance still consume dairy foods to help meet calcium, vitamin D, protein and other nutrient needs that are essential for bone health and overall growth. The group cautions that lactose intolerance usually does not require avoidance of dairy foods.
Additionally, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) supports lactose-reduced or lactose-free milk as a first choice before non-dairy options for those with lactose intolerance.
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Find more resources at www.NationalDairyCouncil.org.
About the National Milk Mustache "got milk?®" Campaign
The Milk Processor Education Program (MilkPEP), Washington, D.C., is funded by the nation's milk processors, who are committed to increasing fluid milk consumption. The National Fluid Milk Processor Promotion Board, through MilkPEP, runs the National Milk Mustache "got milk?®" Campaign, a multi-faceted campaign designed to educate consumers about the health benefits of milk. For more information, go to www.whymilk.com. Deutsch, A Lowe and Partners Company, is the creative agency for the National Milk Mustache "got milk?®" Campaign.
About National Dairy Council
National Dairy Council® (NDC) is the nutrition research, education and communications arm of Dairy Management Inc™. On behalf of U.S. dairy farmers, NDC provides science-based nutrition information to, and in collaboration with, a variety of stakeholders committed to fostering a healthier society, including health professionals, educators, school nutrition directors, academia, industry, consumers and media. Established in 1915, NDC is dedicated to educating the public on the health benefits of consuming milk and milk products throughout a person's lifespan. For more information, visit NationalDairyCouncil.org.
Blood types have only a general relationship with any of this.
A+, in fact, is found with a high frequency in Europeans and Sa'ami (these two groups have a 15,000 minimum genetic separation). Chippewa Indians also have a high A+ occurrence.
Otherwise A+ ain't no thang!
I’m guessing with women lactose tolerance may vary with hormonal cycles and pregnancy.
Men have hormone shifts too. It’s just not so easy to figure it out.
I praise the day I discovered Lactose free milk!
I checked it out. Almond Breeze is available at the local supermarket and it does have a good amount of calcium and Vitamin D (the two nutrients I am most interested in). Going to have to add that to my shopping list for next week.
Thank you for the information.
It is very uncomfortable bloating and cramping, and with all of that propellant, it's difficult to control the diarrhea.
You’re welcome! I love it because now I can eat cereal again.
ANY inflammation is an immune system response. Even the swelling around a cut or bruise. If an inflammatory response involves the digestive system, then it’s also a digestive system response (and the full response often involves more than the immune system).
As for my kitty, he couldn’t care less about the shape of food — anything that’s dry cat food, he’ll eagerly dive into, from cheapo X-shaped Friskies to small pellet-shaped Hill’s Science Diet. Flavor makes no difference to him either. He didn’t hesitate for a second when I poured this new food into his bowl, even though he’s never in his life encountered a grain-free, potato-containing cat food. Small dry brown things rattling into bowl is his trigger to eat. If I poured brown aquarium gravel into his bowl, he’d probably eat that too. But offer him a bowl of human tunafish from a just-opened can, and he just gives you a perplexed look, like you’d set a brick down in front in front of him.
I’ve started to seriously suspect that he may have no sense of smell. A couple of weeks ago, in desperation, I started an intensive effort to get him to eat Gerber’s chicken baby food. Though he’d walk away from it if I stuck it under his nose, I found that if I forcibly pried his mouth open and placed a dab on his tongue, THEN he’d get interested in eating what was in the bowl (sometimes not until the 2nd or 3rd forced dab, though, and oddly never seeming to associate the food with the negative experience of the forced tasting). This went on for about 10 days, and now FINALLY, he actually eats the stuff when it’s just presented to him in a bowl. In fact yesterday he started begging for it. Bummer, because it was just a few days ago that I started the grain free food, and just a couple of days ago that I was able to confirm that it 100% solves his loose stools problem (and will almost certainly solve his weight loss problem too).
I still can’t interest him in Fancy Feast, which all my other cats love. But I haven’t tried the forced tasting method yet. I may need to do that. He was perfectly healthy for many years on dry food alone, but as cats get into senior years, it becomes more important to be able to get supplements and medications into them by mixing it into wet food. He’s 12 now, so it’s soon likely to be an issue. Gerber’s is a great base, but requires a lot of laborious supplementation to be nutritionally complete for a cat. I’ve used it as the main food for a super-senior cat (20+) and it worked wonders, but I don’t want to deal with the big row of supplements every day for many many years (which I certainly hope my 12 year old has ahead of him).
Whatever. I don’t really understand your complete refusal to ever be wrong about anything. Food allergy and food intolerance are not the same thing, regardless. Take it up with the people who define these things.
Sheesh.
thanks decimon
Agreed. And there is a BIG difference between lactose intolerant and a true allergy to cow’s milk. Having the latter, I can tell everyone that it is quite possible and not difficult to get all the nutrients without the milk.
Thanks Judith. I have a niece and a nephew who had true cow’s milk allergies. They grew up drinking soy (I thought it smelled to gross to even try!) and seem to be doing fine, as they are both adults now. I think a lot of people don’t really know what the difference between a food intolerance and an allergy are because I think the media often uses them interchangably.
Soy it was, for me. Since it was in the late 40s, I was given soybean meal, with cod liver oil and orange juice. At the time, the milk allergy was life-threatening (I was 3 mos old) and the soy I was given still smells good to me today, even though other people detest it.
They do not!
Their children suffer cognitive impairment too.
Elderly veges skin is covered with 'liver' spots from lack of carnitine, and they all have weak joints.
You are not describing the vegetarians I know.
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