/oss/taxonomy/term/710/all en /oss/article/nutrition-you-asked/how-do-we-modify-dairy-be-lactose-free <p>So you’re walking down the refrigerated section of the grocery store and you see all the milks lined up. You got the 3.5s, the 2s, and those watery skims. But then you see some different coloured caps, which indicate “lactose-free”. And the only thing you know about this type of milk is that your sister can drink it. But what exactly does it mean when a dairy product claims that its lactose content has been modified – or “freed” – to ease digestion?</p> <p>Well to understand “lactose-free” we need to understand how lactose gets digested.</p> Tue, 24 Jul 2018 17:08:22 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 7182 at /oss /oss/article/food-health-you-asked/what-lactose-intolerance <p>Gas, bloating, stomach pains...that’s what some people experience after drinking milk. And we’re not talking about an occasional problem; some seventy percent of the world’s population can’t handle lactose, the naturally occurring sugar responsible for the sweet taste of cow’s milk. The reason is a deficiency in the enzyme, beta-galactosidase (better known as lactase), which is essential for breaking lactose down into its components of glucose and galactose. If this isn’t done, the undigested lactose moves into the large intestine where bacteria use it as food.</p> Wed, 07 Nov 2012 19:01:23 +0000 OSS 1775 at /oss