Milk allergy is a psychological problem--study

According to the latest Italian research, intolerance towards lactose products is all in the mind and there is no scientific reason to it.

Guido Basilico and his contemporaries from the University of Milan initiated the study that aimed to find whether people really experienced problems while drinking milk.

“Many people who claim to be intolerant to the milk sugar lactose are simply stressed, anxious or depressed. The discovery by Italian researchers has important implications for health, because many people who believe they are lactose intolerant cut out dairy products from their diet,” the Daily Mail reported.

While milk allergy is found common in children and adults, it results in severe deficiency of calcium, loss of strength in bones and higher rates of falls and fractures later in life.

Study details
For the study, the investigators examined over 100 people complaining of stomach pain, diarrhea, and bloating after drinking milk.

To assess whether these study participants’ bodies really had problems while breaking down the sugar and absorbing it in the blood, the researchers evaluated their mental and physical health and found that the body had little or no role to play in it and the mind was to blame.

Basilico said, “There was no doubt that some people’s genes make it difficult for them to digest lactose and this causes stomach problems when they drink large amounts of milk. But many of the people who claimed to suffer problems from a cup of coffee or a hot chocolate were perfectly capable of digesting lactose.”

The lead author said that the cause of the stomachache and other symptoms could also be caused by stress.

Excluding dairy products should be discouraged
Cautioning people against cutting out the dairy products from their diets, the study authors said that doctors need to think more before suggesting hoards of tests for people suffering from lactose intolerance.

“Excluding dairy products should be discouraged and doctors should pay more attention to the psychological problems of their patients. The problem of imaginary food allergies and intolerance is not confined to adults, with researchers previously warning that new mothers are too quick to decide their children have food allergies or intolerances.” Basilico said.

The findings of the study were presented during the U.S. Digestive Disease Week conference.