Lactose intolerance causes the inability to digest this molecule, the sugar found in greater quantities in milk. Man has become genetically capable of metabolizing lactose 10.000 about years ago, a very recent era from an evolutionary point of view.

It was then that a genetic mutation made some individuals capable of producing lactase and this mutation was preserved in populations that in the meantime began to use cow's milk as nourishment.

Lactose intolerance is due to a deficiency of the enzyme lactase, enzyme produced by cells exposed on the surface of the small intestine. If lactase is not functional, lactose cannot be broken down, afterwards, absorbed in the intestine and is then metabolised by the bacteria that colonize this area. Fermentation produces large quantities of gas which cause unpleasant symptoms such as flatulence, swelling, discharges etc.

Lactose intolerance can affect the correct absorption of calcium, with deleterious consequences on bone density. The genetic test represents a fundamental tool for an accurate analysis since traditional laboratory tests have a high frequency of false positives or are particularly invasive. The test therefore allows us to distinguish between lactose intolerance of genetic origin, typical of adulthood, and the form induced secondarily as a consequence of other pathologies or intestinal infections, for example a deterioration of the intestinal mucosa secondary to an inflammatory or infectious process. Since the decline in lactase activity develops, in European populations, from i 5 and i 12 years, genetic testing performed in children must be interpreted carefully. In this case the analysis of the 13910C variant>T should be considered as a first exclusion test, that is, useful for excluding the involvement of the genetic component.

Lactose intolerance is due to the deficiency of the enzyme lactase, a condition that affects more than one person 50% about Italians.