ELi5: What determines the reaction the body has to dairy?

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I am slightly lactose intolerant. I only say “slightly” because *think* I have a higher tolerance to dairy than other people but ofc still have limits.

A little TMI below so please be warned ^^;

Like for today for instance. I ate a Philly cheesesteak (it was so good), it didn’t give me diarrhea, but it did soften my stool and made me go about 15~25 minutes after eating it. But there are other times where I have dairy and it will just give me mild constipation.

In: Biology

6 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

A lot of people use “lactose intolerant” to mean “milk intolerant” – technically they are two different things.

I was born allergic to cows milk, and almost died as a baby because of it. As I aged my tolerance grew till now I can consume most milk products in a produced form (ie cheese not pure milk) in small form.

Though it is worth pointing out the huge connection between milk intolerance and Type 1 Diabetes onset. There is something going on with the auto-immune system in both cases.. and it is somehow related in an as yet not well understood way.

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