cucciaman OP t1_itvi3d7 wrote on October 26, 2022 at 4:43 PM

Reply to comment by IndyDude11 in We're a group of people with gut health issues, microbiome researchers, and physicians here to answer your questions on the gut microbiome and digestive health (IBS, IBD, and more). Ask us anything! by cucciaman

Great question u/IndyDude11 !

For the most part, lactose intolerance comes down to your genes and is not something that can be restarted, but instead supported. Believe it or not, less than half of the global population are able to produce enough lactase into adulthood to comfortably consume dairy regularly.

That being said, there have been some interesting publications that have looked into using probiotics to improve one’s ability to digest lactose and even the use of prebiotics to feed/sustain the lactose digesting bacteria. So there is potential for this being a solution in the future! But for now lactase pills are the best option for those with lactose intolerance.

Here are some papers if you’re interested!

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30332787/

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12602-018-9507-7