Il lactose it's a sugar disaccharide present in milk in an average concentration of 5%. Also milk derivatives they contain lactose, however in different proportions.
Cream, ricotta and some cheeses are rich in it, while it is present in small or negligible quantities in butter, mozzarella and parmesan.
Lactose is about 4-5 times less sweet than sucrose and is defined as complex because it consists of two molecules:
D-galactose and D-glucose.
Our body, in order to digest these sugars, needs a specific one enzyme that is called lactase.
When this enzyme fails, partially or totally, the lactose passes into the large intestine without being modified and begins to ferment, producing a whole series of unpleasant symptoms including: cramps, bloating, diarrhea or constipation, nausea and bloating.
For this the Notoriously, lactose is not known, and is often demonized and excluded from many diets.
In reality, this sugar also brings some benefits. In addition to being a quick source of energy during an intended activity, it improves our body's ability to absorb zinc and calcium.
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Nature has not created us all the same
It is estimated that, in the world, almost the 70% of the population is lactose intolerant (with notable differences between ethnicity and ethnicity). The origin of these intolerances, however, can be of a different nature:
- genetics, then passed on from parents to children. It normally occurs in the child after weaning, or in the adult due to the progressive decline in the production of the enzyme lactase.
- acquired, due to antibiotic and chemotherapy treatments or to acute (intestinal infections and inflammations) and chronic (Chron's disease, celiac disease, irritable bowel syndrome, etc.)
- congenital, present from birth and characterized by a permanent inability to produce the enzyme lactase. This is - fortunately - a rare condition.
Lactose, the omnipresent sugar
For all sportsmen who - by necessity or by choice - decide to eliminate lactose from their diet, the advice is to pay particular attention to those products that may contain this sugar among the ingredients or excipients.
Lactose can in fact be indicated, under different names, on labels.
Some examples? High protein flour, lactalbumin, lactoferrin, lactoglobulin, lactitol, milk derivatives, whey etc.
As if that were not enough, many drugs and supplements also use this substance as an excipient.
Recently, however, various businesses and businesses have been sold lactose-free products. At the same time, an increasing number of food businesses are offering specific product lines to meet consumer needs and the use of vegetable milk.