This note is in response to Rhoda Taylor's note of 6/12 where she requests
elaboration from a nutrition expert.

I just erased her note trying to get a small excerpt to show up.  She was
talking about some research that showed you could change someone from being
lactose intolerant to being lactose tolerant by gradually increasing the
amount of milk.  This was related to a thread where the difference between
lactose intolerance and milk protein allergy was being discussed.  This
thread developed in response to several situations where breastfed babies
were having gastrointestinal distress related to something mom was
consuming.  That transferred into a discussion of allergies and
sensitivities in general.

I haven't posted in a while (was no mail or lurking) so will briefly
reintroduce myself.  I am a nurse who is a 2004 IBCLC hopeful.  I work for
the White Mountain Apache Tribe (in the White Mountains of Arizona) as a
Breastfeeding Specialist for the Diabetes Program.  I do home and office
visits with clients and have an office in our building as well as with WIC.
I work closely wtih the WIC Director who is an MD and RD and has
specialized in doing research on lactose intolerance in Native Americans
and its health effects.  He has written a book on the topic which sites
lots of studies.  I have no financial interest in hawking his book but can
give you information about it if you respond to me personally.  I am not a
nutrition expert, but I am including a paragraph from a person who is.

"There are at least 20 studies of lactose intolerance (LI) in Native
Americans.  These are reviewed in The American Journal of Clinical
Nutrition  for October 1988; 48 (4-supplement):1079-1159.  Rates of genetic
LI as determined by lactose tolerance tests or breath hydrogen tests are
usually 20-30% by age 5, 40-70% by age 7, and 60-90% by adolescence.  Its
true that symptoms of LI can be lessened by gradually increasing the dose
of milk at each meal over several weeks in a research setting (see Dennis
Savaiano's notes on the Purdue University website).  Unfortunately
children's milk intake is not so regulated, with consistend gradual
increases over several weeks.  In the real world, we know from multiple
research studies that non-white children, who are mostly LI, drink
significantly less milk than whites, who are mostly genetically lactose
tolerant.  They learn to avoid milk to avoid the bloating, cramping, and
diarrhea milk causes them.  The best documentation of this is the Navajo
HANES study of a representative sample of the largest reservation tribe.
In this study, Navajos were using less than one serving of dairy products
per day at all ages over 12 years.  Routine use of lactose-free milk in WIC
and school food programs would make these programs more effective in
improving the nutrition and health of Native Americans."  Tim Strand, MD,
RD

No flames please!  I realize that many come from parts of the world where
milk is not consumed by adults or even by children post-weaning.  However,
many in this part of the world feel that milk is an inexpensive way to
greatly increase protein intake in persons who would otherwise be protein
deficient.  This is why WIC includes milk or lactose-free milk in its
programs for low-income pregnant women and preschool children.

To relate this back to breastfeeding.  It is my understanding that problems
in breastfed infants would be from what is called secondary lactose
intolerance or lactose overload, not primary lactose intolerance.
"Resolution of Lactose Intolerance and "Colic" in Breastfed Babies" by
Robyn Noble and Anne Bovey is an article I copied off the internet after a
link to it in a lactnet post.   I don't have the website any more, but you
could get it out of the archives.  I think the post was about a year ago.

I learn so much from all of you.  Thank you.

Sharon Jimenez, MS, RN
Breastfeeding Specialist
Apache Diabetes Wellness Center
Whiteriver, Arizona

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