Lactose Intolerance: Symptoms, Treatment & Coping Strategies
Lactose intolerance is the inability to digest the main sugar found in milk and other dairy products. This is caused by a deficiency of lactase, the enzyme responsible for metabolizing lactose in the small intestines, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
The prevalence of lactose intolerance in adults varies from less than 5 percent to almost 100 percent among different populations, according to research published in the Scandinavian Journal of Gastroenterology. The lowest prevalence is in northwestern Europe, around the North Sea, and the highest prevalence is in Asians and American Indians. About 30 million American adults are somewhat lactose intolerant by the age of 20, according to the NIH.
People can acquire lactose intolerance at any point in their life, and some people develop it over time, said Dr. Sophie Balzora, a gastroenterologist at NYU Langone Medical Center in New York City.
June 27, 2017 @ 12:37 pm
Age and digestive problems can cause a vitamin B12 deficiency, even if a person gets plenty of vitamin B12 from food. Nearly one-third of people over age 50 suffer from atrophic gastritis, a thinning of the stomach lining that interferes with vitamin B12 absorption.
June 27, 2017 @ 12:38 pm
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 3.2 percent of adults over age 50 are deficient in vitamin B12. Another 20 percent of adults may have borderline deficient levels of vitamin B12.