Jay W. Marks, MD, is a board-certified internist and gastroenterologist. He graduated from Yale University School of Medicine and trained in internal medicine and gastroenterology at UCLA/Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.
Dr. Shiel received a Bachelor of Science degree with honors from the University of Notre Dame. There he was involved in research in radiation biology and received the Huisking Scholarship. After graduating from St. Louis University School of Medicine, he completed his Internal Medicine residency and Rheumatology fellowship at the University of California, Irvine. He is board-certified in Internal Medicine and Rheumatology.
The lactose tolerance test is a test for diagnosing an
intolerance of ingested lactose. Lactose intolerance is a genetic condition in which
individuals are unable to digest and absorb the lactose sugar in cow's milk.
What is lactose intolerance?
Lactose intolerance is the inability to digest the sugar
in milk, lactose. Milk is an important source of nutrition for children and even some adults. With
normal lactose tolerance, all of the lactose is broken down (digested) in the
intestine by an enzyme into two smaller sugars (galactose and glucose) which
then are absorbed into the body. As a result, normally no lactose reaches the
colon.
On the other hand, in individuals with lactose intolerance who lack the
intestinal enzyme that breaks down the lactose, the ingested lactose is neither
digested nor absorbed in the small intestine and reaches the colon where it is
used by the bacteria in the colon.
The bacteria produce chemicals that cause diarrhea, and also produce
gas. Abdominal pain also may occur.
How is the lactose tolerance test done?
The lactose tolerance test requires an individual to
drink a liquid that contains lactose. In the small intestine among lactose
tolerant individuals, the ingested lactose is split into galactose and glucose
which then are absorbed from the intestine and go into the blood. Several blood
samples are taken over a two hour period following the ingestion of the lactose
to measure the blood glucose level. If lactose tolerance is normal, the glucose
level in the blood rises due to the absorption of glucose from the intestine. If there is lactose
intolerance, the glucose level does not rise.
Abdominal pain is pain in the belly and can be acute or chronic. Causes include inflammation, distention of an organ, and loss of the blood supply to an organ. Abdominal pain can reflect a major problem with one of the organs in the abdomen such as the appendix, gallbladder, large and small intestine, pancreas, liver, colon, duodenum, and spleen.
Diarrhea is a change is the frequency and looseness of bowel movements. Cramping, abdominal pain, and the sensation of rectal urgency are all symptoms of diarrhea. Absorbents and anti-motility medications are used to treat diarrhea.
Gas or "intestinal gas" means different things to different people. Everyone has gas and eliminates it by belching or farting (passing it through the rectum).
In lactose intolerance, the digestive system cannot digest lactose (the main sugar in milk). Symptoms of lactose intolerance include diarrhea, flatulence, abdominal pain, abdominal bloating, abdominal distention, and nausea. There are several tests to diagnose lactose intolerance. Treatment is generally made with dietary changes, supplements, and adaptation to small amounts of milk.
Dyspepsia (indigestion) is a functional disease in which the gastrointestinal organs, primarily the stomach and first part of the small intestine, function abnormally. It is a chronic disease in which the symptoms fluctuate infrequency and intensity. Symptoms of dyspepsia include upper abdominal pain, belching, nausea, vomiting, abdominal bloating, early satiety, and abdominal distention (swelling). These symptoms are most often provoked by eating.
Digestion is the complex process of turning food you eat into the energy you need to survive. The digestive process also involves creating waste to be eliminated, and is made of a series of muscles that coordinate the movement of food.
The hydrogen breath test is a test that uses the measurement of hydrogen in
the breath to diagnose several conditions that cause
gastrointestinal symptoms. In humans, only
bacteria - specifically,
anaerobic bacteria in the
colon - are capable of producing hydrogen. The bacteria produce hydrogen
when they are exposed to unabsorbed food, particularly sugars and
carbohydrates, not
proteins or
fats. Although limited hydrogen is produced from the small amounts of
unabsorbed food that normally reach the colon, large amounts of hydrogen may be
produced when there is a problem with the digestion or
absorption of food in the
small intestine, that allows more unabsorbed food to reach the colon.
Large amounts of hydrogen also may be produced when the colon bacteria move
back into the small intestine, a condition called
bacterial overgrowth of the
small bowel. In this latter instance, the bacteria are exposed...
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