To compound matters, a mother often experiences confusion when such discomfort occurs after drinking milk. After all, isn’t milk supposed to be good for the child, crucial for his or her physical as well as mental development?
Yet for the lactose-intolerant child, drinking milk can easily trigger stomach pain, diarrhea, bloating, and gas or kabag. The known benefits of milk are of little use if the child’s system cannot simply absorb it without the consequences.
It is a little known fact that lactose intolerance affects up to 50 percent of Filipino children. Lactose is the primary carbohydrate found in milk.
The lactose-intolerant individual is unable to digest significant amounts of lactose without experiencing abdominal discomforts.
Fortunately, lactose intolerance is relatively easy to remedy. No treatment exists to improve the body’s ability to produce more lactose (the enzyme that breaks down milk sugar into simpler forms) although symptoms can be readily controlled.
The simpler and effective way to prevent symptoms of lactose intolerance is to avoid milk and food, which contain lactose. Mead Johnson has a complete line of tummy-friendly milk products for every step of a child’s development from birth to age 6, like Enfagrow Lactofree (for toddlers above one year old) and Enfakid Tummy Friendly (for children 3-6 years old).