American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol 41, 199-208, Copyright © 1985 by The American Society for Clinical Nutrition, Inc

ORIGINAL RESEARCH COMMUNICATIONS

Dietary manipulation of postprandial colonic lactose fermentation: I. Effect of solid foods in a meal

NW Solomons, AM Guerrero and B Torun

The effect of adding solid foods--cornflakes, banana and hard-boiled egg--to a meal with 360 ml of intact milk containing 18 g of lactose was investigated in 13 lactose-malabsorbers and 10 lactose-absorbers chosen from 36 Guatemalan adults screened for their capacity to digest and absorb completely the lactose in this volume of milk. A six-hour hydrogen breath test was used as the index of carbohydrate absorption. Minimal breath H2 was excreted by lactose-absorbers with either the intact milk alone, the intact milk with solid foods, or lactose- prehydrolyzed milk with solids. In lactose-malabsorbers, however, the 6- h excretion of H2 with intact milk plus solid food was intermediary between milk alone and prehydrolyzed milk with solids. A relative net reduction of 47% in lactose malabsorption was produced by adding food, and the peak-rise in breath H2 was delayed by 2 hours. A physiological consequence of taking solid foods along with milk is a slower rate of colonic fermentation, and this may be the basis for reducing gastro- intestinal symptoms in lactose-intolerant malabsorbers.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				T. H. Vesa, P. Marteau, and R. Korpela Lactose Intolerance J. Am. Coll. Nutr., April 1, 2000; 19(90002): 165S - 175. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]