Are You Sure That's Your Final Answer, Regis? Research Shows There Is No Need To Drop Dairy Due To Lactose Intolerance.

Business Editors/Health Writers/Entertainment Writers

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 11, 2000

The popular game show, Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?, recently asked the question: What beverage should generally be avoided by a lactose intolerant person? The given answer - milk - has health professionals wishing for a lifeline.

&uot;There is a lot of misinformation out there about lactose intolerance, but studies have shown that people who are lactose intolerant don't need to give up milk and milk products,&uot; said Gregory D. Miller, Ph.D., F.A.C.N., vice president of nutrition research at the National Dairy Council. &uot;In fact, most people with lactose intolerance can still drink up to two glasses of milk a day, particularly if they drink milk with meals - or they can simply drink lactose-free milk.

&uot;And avoiding milk and milk products may mean missing out on essential nutrients that have been shown to help lower the risk of several different health conditions, including osteoporosis, high blood pressure and colon cancer.&uot;

It's a Matter of Degree

Being lactose intolerant means your body lacks sufficient amounts of a digestive enzyme, lactase, to properly digest the natural sugar in milk called lactose. However, it's not an &uot;all-or-nothing&uot; condition, according to Dennis Savaiano, Ph.D., dean of Purdue University's School of Consumer and Family Sciences and one of the country's leading lactose intolerance researchers. Instead, it's a matter of degree. Lactase levels vary from person to person, but most degrees of lactose intolerance are quite manageable.

In fact, Savaiano asserts that the problem may actually be part of the solution. Contrary to the answer on Millionaire, he believes lactose intolerant people should be drinking more milk to help them manage the condition. The exposure to lactose helps &uot;train&uot; your digestive tract to handle the lactose.

&uot;Our studies have shown a really amazing adaptation of the bacteria in the digestive tract,&uot; he said. &uot;By exposing the body to small amounts of milk over time, intestinal bacteria will start producing lactase to effectively digest lactose, making milk better tolerated.&uot;

When you remove the &uot;fear factor&uot; of lactose intolerance, the symptoms also seem to lessen, he said. &uot;We've found in our controlled double-blind trials, where people don't know what they are consuming, you can give subjects a glass of milk with breakfast and another with dinner and they exhibit almost no symptoms.&uot;

In addition, drinking lactose-free milk - which is now widely available - or adding lactase enzyme drops to regular milk are two simple solutions for Americans with lactose intolerance.

Rethinking the Question

On Millionaire, the lactose intolerance question was worth only $1,000, but health professionals say the issue has a much higher health value and it's important to clear up any confusion.

Nine out of 10 women and seven out of 10 men already don't get enough calcium in their diets. Three-fourths of the calcium in the U.S. diet comes from milk and milk products. Without milk, it's difficult to get the calcium your body needs to build strong bones and reduce the risk of the bone-crippling disease osteoporosis. Research also suggests calcium can help reduce the risk of high blood pressure and colon cancer, as well as help ease premenstrual syndrome.

&uot;Diets low in calcium remain one of the country's most chronic nutrition problems,&uot; Miller said. &uot;As milk is one of the best sources of calcium, it's an area that deserves increased attention, not discouragement. If people cut milk and milk products from their diets due to lactose intolerance, it's unrealistic to think they'll get the calcium their bodies need from other foods.&uot;