Lactose Intolerance

"So give me coffee and TV" - Blur

You might remember the music video to "Coffee & TV" by Blur or you might not. If you do, you'll probably recall a milk carton walking around town trying to locate Graham Coxon (Blur's guitarist).

And speaking of milk, milk contains lactose, a disaccharide of glucose and galactose. People usually develop an intolerance to lactose because of the absence of the lactase persistence SNP (single nucleotide polymorphism). Lactose intolerance also becomes more common as we age, and can be secondary to a number of syndromes/diseases that disrupt the GI mucosa. Use the lactose-hydrogen breath test to diagnose!