Lactose intolerance occurs when the body is unable to digest and absorb lactose, the sugar found in dairy products, which results in symptoms such as diarrhoea, stomach cramps, pain, bloating and flatulence. The prevalence of lactose intolerance in South Africa is estimated to be around 11%.

We busted four lactose intolerance myths.

Myth 1: Milk allergy is the same thing as lactose intolerance.

The facts: Milk allergy and lactose intolerance are not the same. Dietitian Mariëtte Abrahams told the Huffington Post, “A milk allergy is an immune system reaction to the protein in milk or dairy products. This reaction can be severe and is usually diagnosed at an early age. Lactose intolerance is caused by a gene misspelling that can lead to the absence or reduced production of the enzyme lactase, which helps to digest dairy and other milk based products.” 

A milk allergy is quite rare and usually causes a fast reaction with symptoms like hives, swelling, vomiting, wheezing and anaphylactic shock. If you suspect a milk allergy, don’t delay getting to a doctor or a hospital. 

Myth 2: The symptoms for lactose intolerance are the same for everyone.

The facts: Everyone is different, which means that the symptoms one person will experience due to lactose intolerance will differ from those of another. You might experience an upset stomach and nausea a few hours after ingesting dairy, while someone else may have diarrhoea 30 minutes after drinking a cappuccino.  

Myth 3: I’m lactose intolerant so I should avoid milk and dairy products.

The facts: The good news if you’re lactose intolerant is that you don’t have to give up cow’s milk or dairy food entirely. According to the United Dairy Industry of Michigan, there are several dairy-based strategies to help you comfortably consume dairy products. They say, “consume smaller amounts of milk at a time, particularly with other foods or meals; yoghurt with live, active cultures; hard cheeses such as Cheddar or Swiss; and lactose-free dairy products such as lactose-free milk or lactose-free cottage cheese. Also, consuming a small amount of cow’s milk each day, and gradually increasing the amount over several days or weeks may help build tolerance to lactose.”

However, it’s important to note that if you have been diagnosed with lactose intolerance, speak to a registered dietitian about a dietary plan you can follow that will help manage your symptoms but ensure that you still meet your nutrient needs.  

Myth 4: My symptoms indicate I’m lactose intolerant; I don’t need any further tests.

The facts: If you suspect you are lactose intolerant, see your doctor who will test to check if your digestive symptoms are caused by lactose or an unrelated gastrointestinal problem. The breath hydrogen test is often used to diagnose lactose maldigestion. Other tests your doctor might run include a lactose tolerance test (blood glucose test), an elimination diet, genetic testing or small intestinal biopsy. 

By misdiagnosing your condition, you put yourself at risk of unnecessary dietary restrictions, nutritional deficiencies and the possibility of failing to diagnose a gastrointestinal disorder.

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Compiled by Mandy Freeman

Don’t blame a loss of taste on your mouth, new research suggests.

Instead, most people can thank their nose for the problem, the study authors said.

The research team at the Virginia Commonwealth University’s Smell and Taste Disorders Center examined the records of 358 patients who were evaluated for a taste disorder or combined taste/smell disorder between 1980 and 2017.

Instead of a measurable loss of taste, most of the patients checked for a taste disorder actually had problems with their sense of smell. Those checked for taste disorder only were more likely to have taste problems than those checked for both taste and smell loss.

Of the 295 patients who reported taste and smell loss, almost 87% had abnormal smell function and only 9.5% had abnormal taste function, the findings showed.

Of the 63 patients who reported taste loss only, 44.5% had abnormal smell function and only 25.4% had abnormal taste function, the researchers found.

The findings support the theory that patients who report taste loss are more likely to have an underlying problem with smell rather than an actual taste problem, said lead researcher Dr Evan Reiter. He is a professor in the department of otolaryngology at Virginia Commonwealth.

“Many people are not aware of how these two distinct sensory systems function together to create taste perceptions of the foods we eat,” Reiter said in a university news release.

“As such, our findings indicate that most patients presenting with a complaint of alteration of the sense of taste are not aware that this is usually due to a loss or change in sense of smell,” he added.

Reiter explained that smell is the “main contributor of how we perceive complex flavours of foods,” while taste is responsive primarily to salty, sweet, bitter and sour sensations. Receptors in the nose assist in taste by responding to the distinct odors of foods in the mouth.

The study was published recently in the International Forum of Allergy and Rhinology.

More than 10% of US adults reported loss of smell within the past year and 23% experience smell loss at some point in their lives, according to the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey,

While completing a full marathon is a goal for many amateur runners, new research shows a shorter endurance race might put less strain on the heart.

To gauge stress on the heart among 63 amateur runners after they had run either a full marathon, a half marathon or a 10km race, the researchers assessed levels of certain proteins that are tied to heart issues.

Risk of cardiac events

People who ran a full marathon had much higher levels of these proteins than those in the other two groups, according to the study published in the journal Circulation.

However, there was little difference between the three groups in 10-year risk for cardiovascular events – an average of about 3%.

“We typically assume that marathon runners are healthy individuals, without risk factors that might predispose them to a cardiac event during or after a race,” lead investigator Juan Del Coso said in a journal news release.

“But with the growing popularity of long-endurance races, the exponential increase in the number of participants, and the lack of appropriate training in some cohorts of amateur runners, our findings suggest that running shorter endurance races might reduce the strain” on the heart, said Del Coso. He is director of the exercise physiology laboratory at Camilo Jose Cela University, in Madrid, Spain.

The number of people in the study was not large enough to fully assess differences in 10-year cardiovascular risk, but the researchers said they plan to examine this in a larger group of runners.

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A test that measures wavelengths of light coming off skin cells might detect type 2 diabetes, heart disease and even your risk of dying, new research shows.

It’s possible that – someday – a quick “autofluorescence” light test to the skin might be used by consumers in “supermarkets, pharmacies or drugstores as a first estimate of [health] risk”, according to a Dutch research team.

Natural byproducts of illness

The new device is called an AGE Reader, with AGE standing for chemicals found on skin cells called “advanced glycation end-products”.

AGEs are natural byproducts of illness that can – using the AGE Reader – glow or “fluoresce” on the skin, explained the researchers led by Bruce Wolffenbuttel of the University of Groningen.

Their new study tested the device on the skin of nearly 73 000 people whose health was then tracked up to 10 years, with an average follow-up of four years.

During the follow-up period, more than 1 000 participants went on to develop type 2 diabetes, close to 1 300 developed heart disease and 928 died.

A 1-unit rise in skin autofluorescence using the AGE Reader “was associated with a threefold increase in risk of type 2 diabetes or cardiovascular disease, and a five-times increased risk of death”, the researchers reported in November in the journal Diabetologia.

Supported by new findings

What’s more, the device’s power at predicting death or disease remained steady even when telltale risk factors – such as obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol or poor blood sugar control – were absent, the study found.

Even after adjusting for those risk factors, a 1-unit rise in the AGE Reader autofluorescence score was tied to a 26% rise in risk for type 2 diabetes; a 33% rise in heart disease risk; and a near-doubling of the odds for death during the follow-up period.

The bottom line is that the new findings support skin autofluorescence “as a first screening method to predict type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and mortality”, the researchers said in a journal news release.

One US diabetes specialist was intrigued by the research.

Dr Gerald Bernstein directs the Friedman Diabetes Program at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. He wasn’t involved in the new study, but is familiar with “AGE” chemicals as natural indicators of health.

“What’s a good example of an AGE that everyone can recognise? On Thanksgiving we put a turkey in the oven with the goal of having a beautiful bird with beautiful browned skin. That browning occurs because of the AGEs in the turkey skin,” Dr Bernstein noted.

Not to be used in nonclinical settings

He explained that in live humans, these proteins “stick to each other and form a web, and this web is an AGE. The formation of AGEs contribute to the complications of diabetes.”

Because AGEs can gradually increase over time, doctors might someday “easily screen whole populations by the fluorescent technique to identify who has AGEs and is therefore at risk”, Dr Bernstein said.

A heart specialist agreed. Dr Guy Mintz called the study “impressive”, and said devices like the AGE Reader “could be a game-changer in cardiovascular and diabetic risk assessment”. He directs cardiovascular health at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, New York.

Dr Mintz said studies where the AGE Reader was used on a patient’s skin before and after medical treatments would be interesting “to see if the pattern of skin autofluorescence changes with medical and lifestyle interventions”.

However, Dr Mintz did have one reservation: “I do not agree with the author’s [notion] that this technology can be used in nonclinical settings, such as pharmacies, to assess patients’ risk.” He said non-physicians could easily misinterpret test results and that might harm, not help, patients.

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Those Sunday crossword puzzles may not prevent the ageing brain from slowing down – but they might protect it in a different way, a new study suggests.

Researchers looked at the “use it or lose it” theory on brain health. The concept holds that mentally engaging activities – from reading to crosswords to board games – may help the brain resist dementia later in life.

A lifetime of engagement

In this study, older adults who said they enjoyed those pastimes were no less likely to show signs of mental decline over time, versus other older folks.

But they did, on average, score higher on standard tests of mental sharpness. That means that while they did decline over time, they did so from a higher “starting point”, the researchers explained.

“The results indicate that a lifetime of engagement lifts you to a high point from which you decline, and that can be considered as passive cognitive reserve,” said lead researcher Roger Staff, of the University of Aberdeen in Scotland.

“Starting from a high point,” he said, “will mean that the threshold at which you are considered impaired will be farther into the future.”

“Cognitive reserve” can be seen as the brain’s ability to find alternative ways to get things done. In theory, a person with greater cognitive reserve may be able to withstand pathological changes in the brain for a longer time before showing signs of dementia.

“The idea is that yes, you’ll decline – but the higher the level you start from, the more years you’ll have with good functioning,” said Keith Fargo, director of scientific programmes and outreach for the Alzheimer’s Association.

Protecting mental function

Fargo, who was not involved in the study, saw the results in a positive light – agreeing that they support the cognitive reserve hypothesis.

However, he said, they do not actually prove that study participants’ penchant for puzzles directly boosted their brain power.

That takes “intervention trials”, Fargo said – where people would be randomly assigned to engage in certain mentally stimulating activities or not.

The Alzheimer’s Association is launching a trial, dubbed POINTER, that will test the effects of mental stimulation along with other lifestyle changes – including exercise, social engagement and better control of health conditions such as high blood pressure and diabetes.

It will look at whether those measures can protect mental function in older adults at increased risk of decline.

The latest study included nearly 500 older British adults who had all taken the same intelligence test when they were about 11 – back in the 1940s. Starting at the age of 64, they answered questions about whether they engaged in intellectually stimulating activities, such as solving puzzles, playing board games, reading or going to museums.

They also took standard tests of memory and thinking over the next 15 years – up to five times.

‘Have a hungry mind’

Overall, the study found, people who liked to challenge their minds were no less likely to show mental decline over time. But they did perform better on the memory and thinking tests – especially those who enjoyed problem-solving activities like puzzles.

That was true even when the researchers factored in childhood intelligence and education level.

The results were published in the BMJ journal.

Staff agreed that the findings do not prove a cause-and-effect link. But, he said, they do support the importance of feeding the mind – ideally starting early in life.

“Have a hungry mind,” Staff advised. “It’s like money in the cognitive bank.”

Use your mental skills in a fun way

But is it ever “too late” for older adults to take up chess or crosswords?

Fargo said there’s not enough evidence to answer that question. But, he stressed, research does suggest that adults can help protect their brain health through various lifestyle choices.

Those include exercising regularly, eating healthfully, not smoking, getting enough sleep – and, yes, staying mentally active.

And if you don’t like puzzles, find something else that uses your mental skills in a fun way.

“Most people do get some enjoyment from challenging themselves,” Fargo said.

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