"It is startling and disappointing to learn how little we know about the consequences of avoiding lactose-containing products," Dr. Suchy added. "Health care providers are concerned, but we don't have good data on bone health outcomes in people who have lactose intolerance or who avoid dairy products for other reasons."

For diagnosed lactose intolerant individuals, multiple management strategies have been proposed. These include distributing lactose intake throughout the day and/or combining it with other foods, choosing non-dairy foods rich in the nutrients found in dairy products, taking nutritional supplements, ingesting incremental amounts of dairy products over time to increase tolerance, consuming reduced-lactose dairy products, and using probiotics (in supplements and foods). The panel emphasized the need for additional research to better understand the effectiveness of these approaches for decreasing symptoms, optimizing nutritional intakes, and improving health outcomes, with special emphasis on diverse populations.

The panel encouraged health care providers to offer personalized, culturally-sensitive management strategies based on individual preferences. Depending on a variety of factors, some affected individuals could be counseled on ways to increase dairy intake while others could be urged to meet nutrient requirements from other sources. For example, studies show that when consumed with other foods, even individuals diagnosed with lactose malabsorption can consume at least one cup of milk with few or no symptoms.

Source: NIH/National Institutes of Health, Office of Disease Prevention