What is lactose intolerance?

Also known as: lactose malabsorption.

Lactose is a sugar found in milk and milk products. In order to digest and absorb lactose one needs an enzyme called lactase (found in the cells of the small intestine) to break the sugar down into a form (glucose and galactose) that can be absorbed.

Without this enzyme, lactose cannot be absorbed and the condition is known as lactose intolerance because it causes children to have uncomfortable gut symptoms. Some populations are more affected than others (African-American, Mexican/Hispanic -American and others).

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Reviewed by: Jack Wolfsdorf, MD, FAAP

This page was last updated on: 1/29/2019 3:21:13 PM