Treatment of lactose intolerance

Hi, I'm 20 years old and I have a problem with my digestion and I think it could be related to the milk. When I take more than two glasses of milk at once, I get strange cramps in my belly and later diarrhea. at first I thought that the milk went bad and that it contained some kind of a substance that I'm allergic to but I tried it millions of times with different brands of milk and milk products and it’s always the same. Is there a name for this problem of mine and what can do to treat it – I really love milk and I can't stand it!

You probably have a condition called lactose intolerance. Lactose is a sugar found in all products containing milk and usually it is digested and metabolized in the intestines by the enzyme called lactase. Some people don’t produce enough lactase so the lactose can't get digested and it causes problems like the one you have. There is no cure for it and in many people it doesn’t cause any serious symptoms so it is often unnoticed. There are also different thresholds for triggering these symptoms, some people can't take milk at all and others get the symptoms only if they take large portions of milk. You should try reducing the amount of milk you take at one time if you want to avoid the symptoms of lactose intolerance. There are also some products that can help you digest lactose easily like lactase pills and other supplements, they are supposed to at least help with these symptoms. You should also consult your doctor about this and have him or her do a lactose test and to establish the exact diagnosis and to make sure it is not something else.