Lactose intolerance can occur in children or adults. Lactose intolerance is generally discovered after consuming lactose or foods and drinks made from cow’s milk, for example, milk, ice cream, and cheese. But for further diagnosis, we may need a lactose intolerance test. How is this lactose intolerance test? What are the lactose intolerance test procedures?

What is Lactose Intolerance?

Lactose intolerance is a digestive disorder characterized by a signal from the intestines to digest lactose. This can occur due to reduced lactase enzymes in the small intestine.

Under normal conditions, lactose will be broken down into simple sugars, namely glucose and galactose, by lactase in the small intestine, which the body uses to form energy.

However, the body does not produce the enzyme lactase sufficiently in people with lactose intolerance.

This makes the small intestine unable to break down lactose into simple sugar, so it will be carried into the large intestine.

As a result, the lactose will be fermented by bacteria in the large intestine and turn into gas, which triggers digestive disorders.

Lactose Intolerance vs Milk Allergy

Lactose intolerance is often characterized by diarrhea, flatulence, stomach sounds, nausea and vomiting, and frequent gas passing after consuming foods or drinks containing lactose, such as milk or processed products.

Each lactose intolerant sufferer can experience different symptoms. The severity of symptoms also depends on how much lactose is consumed.

Symptoms usually appear 30 minutes to 2 hours after consuming food or drinks containing lactose.

Lactose intolerance is often considered the same as milk allergy, even though these conditions are very different. Milk allergies occur due to the immune system’s reaction to the proteins found in milk.

In addition, milk allergies cause digestive tract disorders, shortness of breath, and a red, itchy rash.

This is because allergies involve immune system processes, while lactose intolerance does not.

What are Types of Lactose Intolerance Test?

The first step taken by a doctor to diagnose lactose intolerance is to conduct a medical interview and physical examination. The doctor will carry out a physical exam to check the patient’s condition and detect if there are other diseases.

To confirm the diagnosis, the doctor will carry out several further examinations, such as:

1. Lactose Tolerance Test

The lactose tolerance test is a procedure to measure the body’s ability to process lactose, a type of sugar found in dairy products.

The patient will be asked to consume foods or drinks high in lactose (sugar) through this test.

After that, 2 hours later, the doctor will do a blood test to measure the glucose level in the patient’s blood.

If blood glucose levels do not increase, the patient’s body is not absorbing lactose properly. This condition could be an indication of lactose intolerance.

2. The Hydrogen Level Test

Doctor will ask the patient to fast for several hours before the test; then, the patient will be asked to consume drinks with high lactose levels.

Then, the doctor directs the patient to consume foods or drinks that contain high levels of lactose to check hydrogen levels in the breath.

After that, the doctor will measure the hydrogen levels in the patient’s breath every 15 minutes for several hours. If the hydrogen level in the patient’s breath is high, there is a possibility that the patient is lactose intolerant.

This occurs because undigested lactose is fermented in the large intestine and produces hydrogen above average amounts.

3. Stool Acidity Test

The stool acidity test in diagnosing lactose intolerance is an examination carried out by taking a stool sample.

This test is usually used to diagnose lactose intolerance in babies or children, as other tests will be more challenging.

The stool acidity test checks the levels of lactic acid, glucose, and other short-chain fatty acids.

Lactic acid results from the fermentation process of undigested lactose. In other words, if there is lactic acid in the feces, the patient may have lactose intolerance.

What should You Do after Knowing the Results of The Lactose Intolerance Test?

There has been no treatment for lactose intolerance or ways to increase lactase production.

Generally, doctors will ask patients to limit consumption of lactose or lactose-free foods to avoid complaints.

Therefore, patients need to pay attention to the composition of food and drinks before consuming them. The following are foods that are sources of lactose that need to be limited or avoided:

• Milk, such as cow’s or goat’s milk
• Dairy products, such as cheese, ice cream, yogurt or butter
• Other foods where dairy products are added in the process, such as cakes, biscuits, chocolate, candy

You can choose plant-based milk from Arummi as one of your healthy options.

Apart from that, yogurt made from soy or coconut, some types of cheese, and other foods marked lactose-free are also safe to consume.

Choose Low-Lactose Products and High-Quality Milk

There is no need to worry if you experience symptoms of lactose intolerance and if your lactose intolerance test results are positive. Currently, many products with full of nutritional content and lactose-free are available, such as cashew milk from Arummi.

Make sure you always choose a high-quality, trusted product.

Dont’ forget to taste the creamy and fresh Arummi cashew milk in your nearest supermarket!

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