Extremely Interesting Article - Lactose Intolerance

[Lan]

I found this in a local paper and it seems research into Lactose Intolerance has finally had a breakthrough. It is very interesting/exciting and definitely worth a read. Let me know what you think.

I am going to try and contact the University to see if the report is available for members of the public. If so, I will add the link at a later date. I may also contact Martin Shipton and see what other information he has.

Western Mail – Monday 1st August 2005

Martin Shipton – Chief Reporter

Many people cannot tolerate lactose, claims Cardiff research



Researchers are claiming that a wide range of previously unexplained health conditions derive from an intolerance to lactose, the sugar contained in milk.

Professor Tony Campbell and Doctor Stephanie Matthews, a husband and wife team working in Cardiff, have established that many more people suffer ill-effects after consuming lactose than had previously been thought.

Among the symptoms that can be triggered are migraine, irritable bowel, chronic fatigue, a loss of concentration, severe tiredness, eczema, hay fever, muscle, joint and gut pains. In some cases where lactose intolerance has ultimately been diagnose, patients have previously been labelled as persistent moaners or hypochondriacs, and even told to see a psychiatrist.

Professor Campbell of Cardiff University and Doctor Matthews of Cardiff and Vale NHS Trust have an international reputation in medical biochemistry. Now, in an article for the Institute of Welsh Affairs’ journal Agenda, they have outlines their findings, which could have major implications for the NHS. The findings also call into question the Assembly Government’s Policy of giving milk to primary school pupils.

In their article, the academics say, “Milk is good for you. Or is it? Certainly milk contains good things for healthy living- protein, vitamins, calcium and so on. But milk also contains lactose a unique ingredient that can be harmful.

“A lactose industry has grown up over the last few decades, resulting in lactose being added to many foods and drinks with out being properly labelled. In our now multi-ethnic globalised society, should be eating so much lactose, or giving free milk to school kids without taking account of their ethnic origins?

“Lactose provides some 40% of the energy for a suckling baby. But after weaning, all races, except white northern Europeans and a few rare groups, lose much of the ability to digest lactose properly.

“This means that some 4,000 million people around the globe cannot digest milk properly. Everyone can take some milk. But most of the world’s adult population have a low threshold to lactose. If they eat or drink too much, they get ill.

“Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is the most common ailment presenting to specialists in gastroenterology. Yet we have shown that as many as 80% of people with IBS can be intolerant to lactose, and that this has been missed, sometimes for years.

According to Professor Campbell and Doctor Matthews, more than 90% of Chinese and Japanese are likely to have a low tolerance of lactose, with more than 80% of those from the Indian subcontinent and over 75% of Black Africans in the same position. Up to 40% of children aged between 2 and 10 are lactose intolerant, are as up to 20% of those under 2.

The article tells of a 35 year old Indian woman who for years had suffered severe fatigue, gut problems and mysterious heart episodes, with irregular heart beats and daily headaches.

“She came to us with a diagnosis of ME and IBS, and said she had a poor memory and lacked concentration. She also had sinus problems, and had had eczema since she was a child. We tested her for lactose intolerance. She was positive.

“We advised her to stop taking lactose. This involved not only no milk or dairy products, but also avoiding food and drink which contain lactose but is not clearly stated on the label.

“Within a week her bowels were normal, her headaches had gone, and her heart palpitations had all but disappeared.”

Professor Campbell and Doctor Matthews conclude that politicians need to address four issues urgently:



The ethnic issue of free milk in schools;
The poor labelling of foods and drinks that contain lactose;
How to develop an all-Wales team to investigate the role of gut bacteria in disease;
How much money would the NHS save if lactose induced illness, was eradicated?

Which foods contain Lactose?

Reading food labels – what contains lactose and how much:
Lactose (Yes) 100%

Milk (Cow’s, Goats’s or Ewe’s) (Yes) High

Milk Powder (Yes) High

Skimmed Milk or Skimmed Milk Powder (Yes) High

Milk Solids (Yes)

Whey or Whey Powder (Yes) High

Cheese (Yes) Variable

Cream (Yes)

Buttermilk (Yes)

Chocolate (Yes)

Yoghurt (Some)

Margarine (Maybe)

Curd (Maybe)

Added Sugar (Maybe)

Milk Protein or Caseinate (No) May have a little

Glucose (No)

Sucrose (No)

Dextrose (Should be Glucose) (No)

Lactate (No)

Eggs or Pure Egg Powder (No)

Coconut Milk (No)

Coconut Cream (No)

Peanut Butter (No)

[cnc]

Very interesting article, thanks.
If you can find out what journal its been published in, I can get hold of a lot of them online through uni and if I can get hold of the journal could probably get it copied across to the site.

[Copper]

At last somebody has identified our problem as real. I hope that the Assembly take note. It would be nice if the Government in London and medics nationwide read this, take note and do something. Getting foods etc labelled correctly would be a good start.

Thanks Lan for bringing this to our attention.

[paranoidangel]

Thanks for that, Lan. I just hope that something gets done about it one day.

[rebecca c]

Thanks for that Lan. I was thinking about the race issue when reading another thread because a friend who is afro carribean says her partner is lactose intolerant and that it is not at all unusual for afro carribeans. She gave her child goats milk as a matter of course, as did I. As usual many members of the public are way ahead of the medicl profession.

[Pam]

I wonder how much she was paid for writing that? We could write it ourselves but of course, nobody would believe us as we don't have letters after our names.

[matt]

yeah but accedemics trade letter and degrees with common sense a lot of the time! i've known some highly intelligent people with loads of letters etc who were hopeless when it came to everyday stuff. but atleast they've highlighted the problem well

[Lan]

Hi all.

I will keep you updated on what I find out, but was very excited by that. Am going to contact them on Monday. Will also look on Cardiff University's website. I just thought it was exciting that we are finally getting attention. This is a real problem and should be addressed as such. I am sick of being seen as a faddy eater.

Glad you all enjoyed it and will keep checking the Western Mail for any updates. We get it free in work for the Planning Section, so not too bad really.

Take care.


Lan. :D:D:D

[cnc]

Probably Cardiff University are the best people to contact really.
I must say I haven't received that much of a negative attitude towards being dairy free, my friends generally seem to accept it. Maybe its the environment I live in, and I may experience more attitude problems when I get a job.

[Copper]

Click here for more info about professor Campbell

http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/medicine/medical_biochem/staff/campbell/about_akc.htm


and here for contact details

http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/medicine/medical_biochem/staff/campbell

[alexx]

I'm shocked to see up to 80% of IBS cases are due to lactose intolerance, and yet I have never in the 8 years I've beena sufferer been offered a lactose intolerance test! Really interesting - I'd love to get my hands on the paper.

[Lan]

Hi all,

Am going to e-mail them tonight and see whether a copy of the report is available. I will let you all know.

Take care,


Lan. :D

[Copper]

I have seen somewhere that the lactose intolerance test involves you drinking an amount of lactose. Your breath is then checked for something or other (can't remember what now). I would not survive this test I would be ill in the toilet for hours. A small amount of lactose in a tablet is enough to make me feel very very sick :(

[matt]

i belive it's something like hyfrogen suphide they test for. on your breath that is. as you say though yu have to put up with the discomfort of the reaction. if all you get is ibs then unpleasant if reaction stronger then not good.

[cnc]

That bit of the test is fairly reduant for many people surely? If you feel sick after eating dairy, then surely thats enough to say you don't eat it anymore!! The doctor made me eat dairy, then checked on how I was feeling. I felt sick and had an upset stomach, so the decision was taken that it was the dairy causing the problem and that it should be avoided (if a doctor is happy enough with that, then its enough for me!!)

[Copper]

Hmm I still have to convince my GP that I have lactose intolerance and that it is here to stay. I don't go to the doctors often - once every few years if desperate and certainly not just to discuss my lactose problem. One day I will get him to read all of my notes from birth then maybe he will agree with me.

[cnc]

I actually managed to get mine diagonsed reasonably easily, but it wasn't through my normal doctors. I was very lucky with how mine was sorted. When I went to visit my usual doctor for a chest infection, I had to do some explaining!!
I probably wouldn't have gone to see a doctor about it, as I knew how to sort out the problem etc, but it kind of just happened!

[matt]

prob is that if they take your word for it then 1 you could be lying and 2 it could be psychosomatic reaction.

the test means that you def have the prob as it detects the reaction by the gas produced. definate yes or no.

[cnc]

Yeah I suppose so. I was monitered throughout the day by my doctor, so would have been quite hard to keep up the pretence throughout the day!!In case you're worried, I didn't spend the day at the doctors surgery honestly!!
How accurate is the test?

[linny]

I thought the article was really interesting. My family seem to think I'm a fussy eater and don't quite believe me when I say I'm intolerant to dairy. I think all children who develop allergies should be allergy tested to see if they can eliminate the food from their diet and make their symptoms better before using any treatment.

My husband has a variety of rashes still and is still waiting for an appointment with a skin specialist (since April). I phoned the hospital today and I'm waiting for them to call me back!!! The appointment dept couldn't help as he was referred from another specialist and they make appointments on a different system!!!????? No comment!

[Copper]

I am not having the lactose tolerance test ever!!! If the GP looks through my notes he should see a pattern developing which points to lactose intolerance. I would be so ill if I had the test that they would never get me out of the toliet to check my breath :(

[cnc]

Yeah Copper, that was my problem with the dairy experiment I took! I have the greatest sympathy for you. :(

[Copper]

Now I have got past the cheese and chocolate problems I am happy with my dairy free diet. I only have a problem if I go out - simple amswer is to not go out but why should I be a hermit. Restaurants should be able to cope with people like me. I organise a dinner in December and always warn the establishment at least twice that I am allergic to dairy - not strictly true but I can't be bothered to go into the finer detail of lactose intolerance.

Having read this article it would appear that more people are likely to have a lactose intolerance than a dairy allergy. We need major publicity about this so that food providers are aware of our needs. (I managed to get this back on topic - phew :) )

[cnc]

On a slightly random idea of an attempt to raise awareness- maybe some of us from the site should apply to be on something like 'Ready steady cook' and make them cook dairy free meals, would show them the difficulties faced etc...whilst raising awareness especially if they put two dairy free people on the same show to produce a whole range of meals.

[Broxine]

I'll let you and someone else apply for that! (I'm a bit camera shy!!) Good idea though.

[cnc]

Nope, not me thanks!! I've already met Brian Turner thanks! He served me a school lunch one day and then stole some of my can of Fanta :D

[Broxine]

How rude! :D

[Lan]

Hi all,

I'd give it a go if anyone is interested. I mean, how bad can it be? We could also raise awareness of other allergies such as wheat, gluten, caffeine, citrus etc. Are you up for it anyone?

Doubt they'd let us go on mind after we'd rolled off all of our allergies, but worth a go!!!:bleh::bleh::bleh::bleh:

Kind Regards,


Lan.

:bleh::bleh::bleh::bleh::bleh:

[matt]

been done i think. seem to remember several show where either the person was dairy free, they used cocnut milk etc and/or wheat free.


treated fairly sympathetically but with the comic antics and so on of having the trouble of cooking without butter or cream...

[cnc]

If they've done it once, then they can do it again, and if we put two people from here on together there would be more of an even competition and a chance to really illustrate the problem....
Anyway it was just a suggestion :)

[matt]

they do seem up for friends competeing so if two people from the site agree and then one write in you might well get lucky. sorry but count me out. my crankyness precludes me from that sort of thing.

[Shell]

Well so far I have been met by brick walls (worked out my self in March I was lactose intolerant) and still waiting for dietician appointment. I can see in hindsight that I have probably been treated as a hypocondriac patient by my GPs and specialists. I've had all sorts of tests during my life so far but never lactose intolerance. I have been diagnosed with IBS and Firbra muralgia (sp?). Along with my parents we have worked out I have had this from birth, I am now 49 and started living. How do you know others don't have the semi perminent pain you have? I've only got the one body!
My skin, hair, nails are better than ever. I don't have a noisy stomach or aggressive wind, stools are formed and I go once a day. Energy levels up to the point that I take part in life and even go to the gym. I could go on. I don't need any tests I knew within 4 days of lactose free eating.
Get some hiccups mainly due to not expecting lactose in some foods (lactic acid) but I am getting there and can identify the naughty little blighters that cause problems.
Why respond to this article - well I'm a food technologist, I've had a fortunes worth of testing on NHS and privately, I am amazed at the lack of knowledge around on what appears to be a common problem and I have the same shopping problems as the rest of you. If I can help in some way just say.

[Copper]

Welcome Shell. Like you I had tests when I was about 8 years old to find out why I was a sickly very small child. I had been very sick from birth but got over that once I got to about 2 months old. The London hospital never found out why I was ill but did find that my growth was 3 years behind but at least I was growing. I have been sickly on and off for years but it was only when I took some over the counter tablets for congestion that I discovered what my problem was - the tablets contained lactose. When I was 8 I was given extra milk at school so that ties in with the lactose intolerance too. I was nearly 50 when I worked out what the problem was and I have yet to get my GP to read my notes and agree that I have always had this problem and it is now here to stay.

Lactose is in all sorts of food that you would not dream of so you just have to spend hours reading the labels. I find that eating out is a big problem - how do you cope?

[cnc]

Ok, I've just realised something, I've not being looking out for lactic acid in food products, thanks for that information Shell and welcome!

[matt]

welcome to the site hope we can all help each other.

[Pam]

Hi Shell, I'm glad you've got to the bottom of your problems. Feeling so much better makes it all worthwhile.

With regard to lactic acid, it isn't always milk derived. I can't remember the exact details but I think most lactic acid added to foods is actually safe for people on a dairy free diet. I think our own bodies produce lactic acid too during exercise. Maybe someone else knows more?

[Copper]

This gives some nice detail about lactic acid

http://www.tiscali.co.uk/reference/encyclopaedia/hutchinson/m0010048.html

I didn't want to bore you with technical biological details about cramp, oxygen debt etc :)

[cnc]

Yeah your body produces lactic acid, and as far as I can find out, its not in that many food products, but is found in soured foods, sweets, and some soft drinks.
I don't think its as common as other dairy forms, but is also known as E270 apparently.

[rebecca c]

I had some on some fries yesterday. Had no choice as there was absolutely nothing else I could eat. I was worried about what E270 might be and at least now I know. Hard to say if I've had a reaction (certainly dont feel 100%) as it normally takes up to 4 days and I have been doing and eating away from home anyway - which has made me very ill the last 4 times I've been away for a few days.

[cnc]

Hope you don't suffer too badly Rebecca.

[Shell]

The lactic acid your muscles produce goes into the blood stream, doesn't hit the digestive system, so that's okay. Lactic acid in food is quite common - I think it is an acidity regulator - what ever it is it gets me. A particular 'own brand' of low cal bitter lemon got me for nearly a week before the penny dropped.

[Pam]

Salad cream and mayonnaise usually contain lactic acid but most supermarket brands don't list milk in the allergens list so I assume that they use non dairy lactic acid.

Rebecca, watch out for the fries, some of them have a lactose coating to crisp them up. Is nothing sacred? A chip should be a piece of potato deep fried in oil, why does it need to be tampered with?

[Shell]

Cooper - eating out should not be a problem.
I ask, so far nobody has refused to let me read packets or tell me what is in it. Where it becomes to complicated, like on an all inclusive holiday I just pick carefully and take a lactase tablet, or two if I know there could be quite a bit in what is on my plate.
I've a little flask that fits in my handbag for milk and I use that for coffee at meetings, friends etc. Sunday roast is a good option (without all the sauces or mash) and pure meat or fish, the no battered variety with chips or jacket seems okay. Had a jacket and chilli at an event on Saturday, the jacket potato man kindly told me what was in the chilli and it was all fresh stuff.
Take the plunge - eat out. Life is for living, don't let anything or anyone stop you.

[Copper]

I do try honest. I also have other food allergies which makes things even more complicated :( The lactose intolerance is not so bad I guess as I too take small amounts of milk with me and the jar of lactase capsules.

[cnc]

Copper, you really should give it a go, don't let these obstacles, control your life. I know its easier said than done, but the more often you attempt it, the easier it'll be. Start off at one restaurant, where you know they will be able to understand what you need to avoid and work from there.

Salad cream and mayo aren't things I eat, so have never had a problem with that. Will just add it to the list of words that I need to check for on products :unsure:

[Copper]

I can't eat salad cream or mayo as they contain eggs - so I don't even have to think about them.

I am allergic to eggs, tea, banana, salmon, and the latest thing onion :( I also have a possible problem with sunflower oil - I need to test that theory out sometime. There are other foods I don't eat for religious reasons. I don't do spices or herbs as they don't agree with me either. All in all a bit restricting when it comes to eating out.

I am not really that bothered about eating out as eating is just something I do beacause you have to. I think that feeling ill for years as a child has just put me off food.

[matt]

amen to that.


trouble is i can still remember eating for pleasure. and it can be very very pleasurable!!:(

[Shell]

We all need to go out and play. Often this does involve eating out. I can't see why any of us should let the food we can't eat get in the way.
It is bad for business to make a customer ill, hence people are open and honest.

[rebecca c]

I agree with Copper really, perhaps because I have a range of intolerences too. I have started to ask about ingredients in things like chips and people have shown me ingredients or told me its Ok but they think I'm a loony and treat me badly and I find that tough.

When I look back I realise that many of my bigger surges have been after eating out or of course taking medicines. Its tough - the other trouble is it will of course impact on the kids. Even if we holiday in this country and self cater and eat out occasionally I will still get ill to some extent. Obviously this is worth it but it takes the gloss off a holiday.

Also I am reluctant now to travel anywhere I will need injections.

[cnc]

Going out for a meal and things like that was something I had just really gotten in to when I was diagnosed, and so it was something I've carried on with especially as I wouldn't see my friends as often otherwise, its kind of been ingrained into me!

I don't seem to have had problems when I check with people about ingredients, most have been really good about it, and have treated me well.
I can't work out why, maybe I've just been lucky-I've had problems occassionally, but most of the time people in restaurants have been very helpful.
Maybe I look like the type of person to go to the papers or something if I get bad service!!
I've got vague memories of someone suggesting we had a mass picnic, and then we could all go and eat our own special diet food together!!

[paranoidangel]

Perhaps it's Copper's influence, but I don't get that excited about eating either. I do it because I have to. Which is probably why I can quite happily eat the same thing every day for a week - I just don't notice beyond the fact that it's nice!

[Broxine]

I'm shocked to see up to 80% of IBS cases are due to lactose intolerance, and yet I have never in the 8 years I've beena sufferer been offered a lactose intolerance test! Really interesting - I'd love to get my hands on the paper.

On the opposite site of that - my doctor told me to go dairy free for my joints and said it would simultaniously help my IBS. But while my joints have got loads better, going dairy free actually seems to have made my IBS a lot worse!!!

[alexx]

Oh no, Broxine, that's a real shame - IBS is really debilitating, while it may not be an acute reaction the constant pain and worry is depressing.
Perhaps yours has been triggered by the change in what you eat, but it may settle down as your body adjusts? I really hope you find something that is helpful for you.

[Shell]

I've seen the dietican. I discover two things. One I know more than she did. Two hospital departments aren't and don't seem to want to link up. On the second one I think I might do something - I'll follow the thread of 'It's not what you know but who you know'. If I don't know the right person I am going to have to try harder.

[matt]

don't want to rain on your parade but get used to it.

i think we've all had the same problem in the various hospitals. right down to the really helpfull advice i got from dietician "eat more" now why didn't i think of that?

worth pursuing but don't loose any sleep over it.:(

[Pam]

I gave up on the dietician that my daughter used to see. Her advice to build up weight was more fat and more sugar (well yes, it will put weight on but it isn't exactly healthy is it?). I also picked up far more useful information by looking on the internet than she could ever tell me. We don't go anymore.

[cnc]

I never had the fun of visiting the dietican- Got a message from one via the GP recommending Swedish Glace ice cream, but that was it!! If you know what you shouldn't be eating and understand the basics of eating a balanced diet, then you should be able to sort out your own diet. I know for some people its more complicated than that, but as Pam said as long as you're careful you can get a lot of very useful information on the internet.

[Lan]

Hi all,

My dieticians were no good either. I learnt most of my information the first time round from magazines, reading labels and common sense and that was it. Then after three years I met Steve and found my stuff on the internet.

The dietcians had very little advice and just couldn't be bothered. They literally got paid for doing nothing. :rant::rant::rant:

Lan.

[Pam]

I think the only benefit of the dietician was that she could actually measure my daughter's calorie and calcium intake, which I could probably do too if I set my mind to it, but she was able to give me more idea of what she should be having. I think the biggest benefit was her recommendation to the doctor that my daughter be prescribed soya formula until she was 5 years old to ensure that she got the calcium/nutrients that she needed in the most important years.

She did no testing, I'd already done the diagnosis, her dairy free knowledge wasn't particularly good and her nutritional advice was positively unhealthy so after a couple of visits I never went again. I would always recommend that people visit a dietician though, particularly if they have young children who are dairy free, their dietician might just be better than mine.

[matt]

you don't loose anything by talking to a dietician and there's always the chance you might get the one decent one in the country who knows what they are talking about.

at minimum atleast it'll be written down in your records that you have a problem. albeit they'll probably write nuts not intolerant!

[kazyn]

Hi, the article is really interesting. Its interesting to find out that Chronic fatigue syndrome (M.E.) can be triggered. I suffered terribly with this as a teenager. I was bedridden for 2 years and slept for pretty much all of that time. Everything is all of a sudden making sense. All the years of sickness are being explained. It is such a relief to know that I haven't been imagining it. My doctor seemed to be fed up when I went to see him as if i was just being a hypochondriac. I think I might show him the article.

[Lan]

Go for it Karyn and show him the article. I find that most doctors seem to react that way. My doctor told me to get out of his office as I was bugging him. Exact words.

Take the article and let us know what he says.

Lan.:D:D:D

[Pam]

That is terrible Lan, no doctor should ever talk to a patient like that. You should have reported him. People who don't have to live with the symptoms of intolerance and allergies have no idea what it is like to feel ill all the time just because you have eaten something wrong and maybe even don't know what it was that triggered the reaction. There are a lot of doctors who don't believe in food intolerances, they ought to try being in your shoes for a few days.

[cnc]

I agree, Lan thats terrible. I would move doctors personally.

[matt]

ditto the above:o

[Lan]

Hi all,

I did move Doctors and have never looked back. The doctor I have now is very unedrstanding and actually listens to me (apart from lactose-free tablets). He is the best doctor I have ever had.


Lan.
xxx

[cnc]

Thats good Lan- I was a bit worried that you were still with the same doctor.

[Lan]

Hi Claire.

Once I got my diagnosis I moved doctors straight away and never looked back.

Lan:D:D:D

[pinkfairy]

I was diagnosed by having a genetic DNA test. They just take a small swab from the inside of your mouth. My results were CC which means I have severe LI. No further tests were done, because in the passed they found that people with CC reacted really badly to the breath test and their was no need for them to be put through this. So I was sent to a dietician and put on a lactose free diet straight away. If the results show CT it means you only carry one of the LI genes which means your body can produce some lactase. So you are then tested with the breath test to see how much lactose you can tolerate. If you are found to be TT this means you don't carry any LI genes. But further breath tests are done because LI can also start for many other reasons eg antibotics, or stomach viruses. Hope this info was useful.

This clinic is wonderful and should really be funded so that more patients can be treated. How much money is being wasted with other costly tests, when if a matter of course, any stomach or bowel disorders were tested for LI and Gluten at the begining. I was even sent up to london for tests and numorus days in hospital. They could of saved a lot of money on myself alone if these small tests were done in the begining. If you go to your doctors show him the article and ask him/her to phone the clinic and speak to the consultant. My doctor was really interested with what the consultant had to say, because it was all new research she new nothing about. She has also since sent more of her patients for tests.

I have also written to numerous TV shows trying to get publicity for the clinic, but no luck yet. Does anybody have any contacts?

Jane

[whitewabbit2001]

Hi peeps i have just got out of hospital and after being a dairy and lactose free person for years, i may also now have ceoliacs disease. thanks for article its a good read