Are people who say they're allergic to dairy products really affected by it? May be not, as researchers have said that lactose intolerance may be all in the mind.
Many people who claim to be intolerant to the milk sugar lactose are simply stressed, anxious or depressed. While their symptoms are real, the cause is in their mind, rather than in their coffee cup.
The discovery by Italian researchers has important implications for health, because many people who believe they are lactose intolerant cut out dairy products from their diet, reports the Daily Mail.
This could leave them severely short of calcium, raising the odds of brittle bones and falls and fracture in old age.
It is thought many people decide they have an intolerance after hearing a celebrity’s experience of a certain food.
In the latest study, Guido Basilico, of the University of Milan, tested more than 100 people who had stomach pain, bloating and diarrhoea and believed they were lactose intolerant, to see if they really did have problems breaking down the sugar and absorbing it into their blood.
He also asked them about their mental and physical health, including whether they were depressed or anxious or suffered from general aches and pains.
This revealed their stomach troubles to have little to do digestion of lactose. But mental state did seem to be to blame.
Basilico said there was no doubt that some people’s genes make it difficult for them to digest lactose and this causes stomach problems when they drink large amounts of milk.
But many of the people who claimed to suffer problems from a cup of coffee or a hot chocolate were perfectly capable of digesting lactose.
He believed that rather than being intolerant, their symptoms have a psychological basis. Just as stress can cause headaches, it can also cause tummy trouble.
The Portsmouth University researchers said the issue was being ‘blown out of all proportion’ by anxious mothers.
The study was presented as the Digestive Disease Week conference in the U.S.
Many people who claim to be intolerant to the milk sugar lactose are simply stressed, anxious or depressed. While their symptoms are real, the cause is in their mind, rather than in their coffee cup.
The discovery by Italian researchers has important implications for health, because many people who believe they are lactose intolerant cut out dairy products from their diet, reports the Daily Mail.
This could leave them severely short of calcium, raising the odds of brittle bones and falls and fracture in old age.
It is thought many people decide they have an intolerance after hearing a celebrity’s experience of a certain food.
In the latest study, Guido Basilico, of the University of Milan, tested more than 100 people who had stomach pain, bloating and diarrhoea and believed they were lactose intolerant, to see if they really did have problems breaking down the sugar and absorbing it into their blood.
He also asked them about their mental and physical health, including whether they were depressed or anxious or suffered from general aches and pains.
This revealed their stomach troubles to have little to do digestion of lactose. But mental state did seem to be to blame.
Basilico said there was no doubt that some people’s genes make it difficult for them to digest lactose and this causes stomach problems when they drink large amounts of milk.
But many of the people who claimed to suffer problems from a cup of coffee or a hot chocolate were perfectly capable of digesting lactose.
He believed that rather than being intolerant, their symptoms have a psychological basis. Just as stress can cause headaches, it can also cause tummy trouble.
The Portsmouth University researchers said the issue was being ‘blown out of all proportion’ by anxious mothers.
The study was presented as the Digestive Disease Week conference in the U.S.
