While a food allergy (i.e., milk or casein allergy) will cause severe and even life threatening symptoms; a food intolerance can cause more subtle symptoms. Lactose intolerance is a sensitivity to milk, or specifically to lactose intolerance occurs when the body cannot digest lactose, or milk sugar, fully. If you have lactose intolerance, your intestines cannot produce enough lactase enzyme in order to properly break down the milk’s sugar.
The following are six symptoms that can indicate that you have lactose intolerance:

1. Increased gas or bloating
Do you experience increased gas or bloating in your stomach after consumption of dairy products? It can indicate that there is not enough lactose in your intestine for breaking down sugar and lactose in dairy products. It occurs like cramps, but in severe conditions, it can be a symptom on its own.

2. Constipation
Constipation is a sign that you may be suffering from lactose intolerance, even if it is not a common symptom. In most cases, people experience diarrhea, but there are a good number of people who just experience the complete opposite of their bowel movements. A study found that improper digestion of lactose can interfere with the colon’s average ability to remove waste food from the body system. When there is a too fast bowel movement, it leads to diarrhea, but slow bowel movement leads to constipations.

3. Headaches
Headaches that come on anytime you consume dairy products can be an indication that you are suffering from lactose intolerance. There is no known reason why eating food with lactose causes a headache, but it is a widely recognized symptom. Most experts suggest that when there is an overgrowth of bacteria that occurs when your intestine struggles to digest lactose leads to poor coordination with the brain making your headache. Therefore, if you experience this symptom every time you consume the dairy product is the best time you take milk without lactose, you see your doctor for dietary advice.

4. Stomach pain
Do you experience abdominal pains or cramping after taking dairy products? It can be a symptom that you have lactose intolerance. The abdominal pains may be followed by constipation after consuming milk. Your intestines might not produce enough lactase to break sugar in daily products, which leads to cramping and stomach pain. It would help if you see your doctor rule out any other infection.

5. Diarrhea or loose stools
If you always find yourself frequently visiting the bathroom after consuming dairy products or if you always carry anti-diarrheal tablets just in case your restaurant serves you a dairy product, you might be suffering from lactose intolerance. Diarrhea or loose stools are the first sign that your body does not tolerate dairy products’ consumption.

6. Mouth ulcers
This is not a common sign of lactose intolerance, even though the presence of mouth ulcers after consuming milk can indicate that you are suffering from lactose intolerance. There is no known reason why lactose intolerance leads to mouth ulcer, but most indication points to acid in milk, leading to acidic reflux. However, this sign is less common in grown-up people as compared to young children. If you notice that your child has mouth ulcer after consuming dairy products, it is time you turn to lactose free organic milk.