If milk messes with your stomach, you might just assume you’relactose intolerantand call it a day.
Lactose intolerance is the inability to digest lactose, which is the sugar in milk.
With lactose intolerance, your body essentially has an enzyme deficiency.
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As a result, undigested lactose reaches your colon, where it reacts with gut bacteria.
This digestive misstep can then lead to stomach discomfort.
A milk allergy, on the other hand, means your immune system has gone awry.
It attacks milk proteinsnamely, casein and wheywhen they input your body.
It sees these proteins as potential threats.
Your body may respond by producing chemicals called histamines, prompting an allergic reaction.
People with a milk allergy often have an immediate reaction, within minutes.
Symptoms include mild ones such as skin rashes, hives, itchiness, and stomach pain.
In fact, a food allergy can be life-threatening.
It can result in anaphylaxis, a severe allergic reaction.
And depending on your immune system, it might take only a dab of dairy for it to happen.
Symptoms of lactose intolerance often take longer to manifestfrom many minutes to hours.
Thats because it takes time for lactose to go through your gastrointestinal tract and reach your colon.
Once it does, you may experience gas, bloating, an upset stomach, and diarrhea.
These symptoms may be uncomfortable, but they arent life-threatening.
And the severity usually depends on how much lactose you consume.
Another possible clue to your dairy problem is when you first started having symptoms.
Most people with a milk allergy develop it as a child and outgrow it.
Developing a food allergy as an adult is pretty uncommon.
So it’s more likely that a recently noted dairy reaction was lactose intolerance.
Some peopleabout 10 to 15 percent in the U.S.develop this problem.
Allergies and lactose intolerance can bepassed down through families.
You may be more prone to developing a food allergy if family members have allergies, too.
That includes any jot down of allergy, such as hay fever or eczema.
The only way to be certain about what’s causing your reaction to dairy is to see your doctor.
He or she will be able to make a diagnosis after asking about your symptoms and doing certain tests.
You may also be asked to eat a bit of dairy in your doctors office.
A breath test or stool sample may be used to diagnose lactose intolerance.
Check the ingredient lists when shopping and ask questions when dining out.
Your doctor may also give you an epinephrine auto-injector in case of a serious reaction.
With lactose intolerance, eating smaller amounts of dairy may help alleviate the symptoms.
An over-the-counter lactase pillmay also help you digest dairy, though these products are not effective in all people.
If you have severe lactose intolerance, you may need to do away with dairy entirely.
Also take note that lactose can hide in some medicines, such as birth control pills and antacids.
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