People affected by lactose intolerance usually avoid products that contain milk or substitute their missing lactase with lactase pills.
But what happens when the lactase pills don't work? Then many sufferers start to wonder, because the tablets are actually very reliable, as numerous clinical studies have shown.
The effect of lactase is simple. The lactase enzyme enters the stomach inside the tablet and is released there, mixing with the food pulp and stomach acid.
The lactase breaks down the milk sugar and thus prevents the typical symptoms that sufferers of lactose intolerance experience after consuming conventional milk and dairy products. Normally, not much can go wrong, but if lactase does not work as it should, this can be extremely frustrating.
Let's find out why the lactase pills didn't work:
1. How Many Lactase Pills Should I Take?
One reason why the lactase tablets sometimes do not work is wrong dosage.It does not help to simply take more lactase. In this article, you can find out how many lactase pills you should take.
The dosage of lactase must also be adjusted individually from person to person. For this purpose, it is important that the lactase tablets can also be dosed accordingly.
Our lactase pills from LactoJoy have an integrated predetermined breaking edge for precisely this reason, so that the dosage of the tablets can be individually adjusted.
The high dosage of our lactase tablets also helps to ensure that the tablets work effectively, no matter how pronounced the lactose intolerance.
However, taking the tablets wrong can also ensure that the lactase does not work.
2. Are You Supposed to Chew Lactase Pills?
Try to chew the tablet directly in the mouth until it is finely crushed. This increases the effect of the lactase.
3. Do Lactase Pills Work After Eating Dairy?
Lactase tablets are only effective if the preparation is taken before a meal, as it must first dissolve. However, not only the correct time of intake is relevant for the effect of lactase, but also how the tablet is taken is crucial.
It takes between 5–20 minutes for the tablet to work properly. This is often too long a time if only a yogurt is eaten briefly.
Sufficient water must be taken with the tablet, because if the tablet is swallowed without sufficient liquid, part of the lactase is destroyed in the undiluted stomach acid.
4. Does Your Body Resist Lactose Itself?
Another reason why lactase does not work is that the body actively resists lactose itself.
It is not yet known exactly why the body sometimes reacts to lactase in this way. The enzyme does manage to work in this conditioning, but it does not help the sufferer.
This is because the body reacts even before the tablet can take effect.
Many sufferers then experience the symptoms of lactose intolerance even though they have ingested lactase. The only way to avoid this effect is to radically reduce milk consumption.
After that, the body should be slowly re-accustomed to lactose. Yogurt is best suited for this purpose, as it is usually best tolerated. The amount of lactose should be increased slowly. A lot of patience should be shown.
5. Are You Really Lactose Intolerant?
The confusion is often great when even different preparations do not help, the dosage is the right one and also enough water is taken with the tablet.
Lactase tablets actually always help, at least a little, as long as lactose intolerance is present.
Therefore, it is important that the lactose intolerance has also been diagnosed. Lactase tablets may not work if there is no lactose intolerance at all.
For example, many people, when they experience discomfort after eating dairy products, think that they are suffering from lactose intolerance. However, in some cases, a milk protein allergy is also the case.
This is why diagnosing the problem is indispensable: Am I Lactose Intolerant?
But even if lactose intolerance is present, there is still a case where lactase tablets do not work: This is when the individual suffers from small intestinal malabsorption.
In the case of small intestinal malabsorption, even glucose causes issues, and this is precisely what occurs when lactase breaks down lactose in the stomach.
Therefore, lactase tablets may not help even though they work. The symptoms of lactose intolerance occur even if no dairy products are consumed. If you continue to have symptoms even though you avoid milk and dairy products as much as possible, the next step would be to visit a doctor. A breath test can help to determine whether the intestinal bacteria are where they belong.
References
- Di Costanzo M, Berni Canani R - Lactose Intolerance: Common Misunderstandings, Ann Nutr Metab. (2018)
- Ojetti V, Gigante G, Gabrielli M, Ainora ME, Mannocci A, Lauritano EC, Gasbarrini G, Gasbarrini A - The effect of oral supplementation with Lactobacillus reuteri or tilactase in lactose intolerant patients: randomized trial, Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci. (2010)
- Corazza GR, Benati G, Sorge M, Strocchi A, Calza G, Gasbarrini G - beta-Galactosidase from Aspergillus niger in adult lactose malabsorption: a double-blind crossover study, Aliment Pharmacol Ther. (1992)
- Solomons NW, Guerrero AM, Torun B - Dietary manipulation of postprandial colonic lactose fermentation: II. Addition of exogenous, microbial beta-galactosidases at mealtime, Am J Clin Nutr. (1985)
- Montalto M, Nucera G, Santoro L, Curigliano V, Vastola M, Covino M, Cuoco L, Manna R, Gasbarrini A, Gasbarrini G - Effect of exogenous beta-galactosidase in patients with lactose malabsorption and intolerance: a crossover double-blind placebo-controlled study, Eur J Clin Nutr. (2005)