As milk and milk products are such rich sources of protein, calcium, carbohydrates, and other nutrients, the nutritional consequences of lactose intolerance in infants and children can be devastating, even lethal, unless other dietary sources are used. Formulas based on soybeans help many youngsters. Adults can get protein from other animal and vegetable sources or from fermented milk products. Yoghurt with live bacterial cultures may be tolerated well. Calcium can be obtained from dark green vegetables or from the bones of small sardines or anchovies consumed whole (Kretchmer 1993). It has been suggested that low milk consumption in elderly lactose intolerance adults might contribute to osteoporosis (Wheadon et al. 1991), but this has not been demonstrated. Lactose-free dairy products and oral lactase preparations are commercially available and help many people enjoy and gain the nutritional benefits of ice cream and other milk-based foods (Ramirez, Lee, and Graham 1994).
Lactase persistence is uncommon in Africans, Asians, southern Europeans, and the indigenous populations of the Americas and the Pacific. Questions have arisen concerning the use of milk as food for children. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), noting the high nutritional value of milk for growing children, has determined that almost all U. S. children under 10, regardless of family background, can digest reasonable quantities of milk. The AAP recommends that the school-lunch half pint (about 240 milliliters [ml]) of milk be supplied to children up to this age, and notes that intolerance to 240 ml is rare even among older teens (American Academy of Pediatrics 1978). Similar results have been reported for African children in South African orphanages (Wittenberg and Moosa 1991). Malnourished African children, such as famine victims, also tolerate up to 350 ml of milk well, which allows the use of this valuable source of nutrients in emergency situations (O’Keefe, Young, and Rund 1990).
World History
