Lactose Intolerance (cont.) Bhupinder Anand, MD In this Article
A milk challenge is a simpler way of diagnosing lactose
intolerance than an elimination diet. A person fasts overnight
and then drinks a glass of milk in the morning. Nothing further
is eaten or drunk for 3-5 hours. If a person is lactose
intolerant, the milk should produce symptoms within several
hours of ingestion. If there are no symptoms or symptoms are
substantially milder than the usual symptoms, it is unlikely
that lactose intolerance is the cause of the symptoms. It is
important that the milk that is used is fat-free in order to
eliminate the possibility that fat in the milk is the cause of
symptoms. It is not possible to eliminate the possibility that
symptoms are due to milk allergy, a very different condition
than lactose intolerance; however, this usually is not confusing
since allergy to milk is rare and primarily occurs in infants
and young children. (If milk allergy is a consideration, pure
lactose can be used instead of milk.) An