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The majority (about 70%) of the world's population suffers from lactose intolerance. Lactose intolerance leads to long-term discomfort when consuming milk and dairy products, and hence, to their avoidance. Consequently, the intake of important nutrients is reduced, which potentially has a negative impact on the overall health. Knowing the condition – lactose intolerance – will prevent people from unnecessarily restricting dairy products in their diets. In this study, lactose synthesis and catabolism in the human body are presented, also the types of lactose intolerance, as well as the methods of diagnosing this condition, are discussed. Special attention is paid to the genetic causes of this discomfort and to the tests that can be performed. Solutions for the treatment of lactose intolerance have also been proposed, both up-to-date and easily applicable, as well as future developments. This review highlights the lactose pathway – from the mammary gland production to recipient gut hydrolysis. Lactose intolerance associated SNPs known so far are presented and discussed. Advice for people with lactose intolerance is presented in the form of possible treatments and healthy feeding behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lactose is an important component of mammalian milk. It is a disaccharide also called "milk sugar". In healthy individuals, lactose enters the intestinal lumen and is being hydrolyzed to glucose and galactose by the enzyme lactase. There are people with reduced lactase activity and the disaccharide is hydrolyzed by the microorganisms in their gut. This leads to lactose malabsorption which leads to symptoms such as diarrhea, nausea, gas, and abdominal pain. The condition is called lactose intolerance. Those people with less or no amount of the enzyme lactase are forced to avoid lactose-containing foods or pre-process them in order to hydrolyze the milk sugar before consuming the product. This paper presents a method by which anyone could get lactose-free milk at home. The so-called "enzyme bag" resembles a tea bag that is dunked into a glass of milk. It uses the biodegradable, biocompatible, and non-toxic polysaccharide - chitosan as an inert and harmless carrier, and the immobilized enzyme beta-galactosidase. The process does not require special equipment - is performed at room temperature and is fast, easy, and convenient. The future application of this method allows a few tools and a few easy steps to solve the problem of a large number of people with lactose intolerance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]