Nutritional Therapist Food Intolerances Carbohydrate Intolerance

Carbohydrate intolerance is simply known to be the inability to digest various carbohydrates, which is due to a lack of one or several intestinal enzymes. Symptoms of carbohydrate intolerance include abdominal distention, diarrhoea and flatulence. Disaccharides are split by your body into monosaccharide, which contain lactase, maltase, sucrose. These enzymes are situated in the small bowel. When disaccharide is undigested it results in an osmotic overload, which attracts electrolytes and water into your bowel, when then causes watery diarrhoea. Bacterial carbohydrates and fermentation in your colon can result in gases, which can lead to bloating, distention, abdominal pain and excessive flatulence.

Enzyme deficiency can take two forms. The first is known as primary intolerance (congenital) and the second deficiency is known as secondary. In many cases, it is rare to have congenital deficiencies. Acquired lactase deficiency is a common form of primary intolerance. Lactase levels remain high in digestion of milk in a variety of ethnic groups (Hispanics 80%, Asians 100%). Research also states that Northwest European descent between 80-85% of whites produce high levels of lactase, and has the ability to digest milk products throughout their life. These levels decrease rapidly in post weaning which render adults and older children inadequate to digest lactose thereafter.

Secondary deficiency occurs when the small bowel is damaged by intestinal infections. In infants especially, disaccharide deficiency can lead to abdominal surgery and enteric infections. Symptoms in children are similar to disaccharide deficiencies. A child may be underweight, develop diarrhoea, bloating, nausea, excessive flatulence, abdominal cramps and borborygmi. You may very well recognise these symptoms early in your life, and refrain from eating various dairy products. You will see symptoms appear after consuming up to 12oz milk. Sometimes symptoms may be confused to irritable bowel syndrome, as the signs are very similar to each other.

Carbohydrate intolerance can be diagnosed by looking carefully at the history of the person. Patients seem to show intolerance to dairy and milk foods. The treatment best suggested for carbohydrate intolerance is dietary restriction. Carbohydrate intolerance can be controlled by refraining from eating dietary sugars, which cannot be easily absorbed. However, because the levels of lactose intolerance vary, many people are able to ingest 12oz of milk, without any symptoms appearing. Patients can generally tolerate yoghurt because it is predigested.

For patients wishing to consume milk and other dairy products, you can find pretreated milk and commercially made lactase. Enzyme supplements must not substitute, but instead can be added to dietary restriction.