Majority of Indians are lactose intolerant
Sixty to seventy per cent of people in India are lactose- intolerant and there are only 18 per cent of people who can digest milk without complaints.
Milk intolerance is the inability of the person to digest milk sugars called lactose. Lactose in the body is broken down into simple sugars with the help of enzyme called lactase. Dr S.S. Shanker, general physician explained, “Intolerance to increase in traces in the human body and prolonged consumption can lead to serious health complications.”
The best way to deal with these pesticides and pathogens is to boil the milk for at least 10 minutes more after it reaches boiling point. is due to low levels of lactase in the body due to congenital reasons, natural decline in the body and enzymes due to aging or secondary reasons like faulty eating habits, stress and anxiety.”
Milk intolerance can be mild or severe and the symptoms usually begin 30 minutes to two hours after eating or drinking milk or milk products. The symptoms are bloating, pain or cramps in the lower belly, gurgling or rumbling sounds in the lower belly, gas,
While pasteurisation removes the harmful bacteria by 45 per cent, others can be removed if at home a proper boiling process is carried out.
Pasteurisation does not reduce the nutritional value of the milk, but it de- activates certain vomiting or loose or foamy stools.
Dr P. Shiv Kumar, general physician, explained, “If the symptoms are found to recur with plain milk, then the patient is recommended to opt for milk products like curd, yogurt or buttermilk but only twice or thrice in a week. There are some people who can’t have milk but their body is comfortable with curd and hence they are asked to have more of the dairy product which their body digests than those which it can’t.” enzymes and also reduces vitamin C in the milk.
But it is considered the safest method of drinking milk. Even in rural India, the villagers boil the milk and only then consume it as there are bacteria which get killed after boiling.