Soy And Lactose Intolerance Lactose, a disaccharide consisting of glucose and galactose, is the sugar that naturally occurs in cow's milk, and therefore also in products derived from milk. Since soyfood are naturally free from lactose soy is a good alternative for dairy product. Humans who cannot digest lactose due to insufficient production of the lactase enzyme in the small intestine, experience problems when consuming dairy products such as flatulence, gurgling noises and diarrhoea. Non-specific abdominal disorders also often ndicate lactose intolerance. In the majority of humans, intestinal lactase activity decreases during childhood and dolescence to about 5% to 10% of the activity at birth.It occurs in almost 75% of the orld's population. The prevalence of hypolactasia varies greatly between different populations. In Asians, ypolactasia is present in 60% or more. In certain groups this figure even rises to almost 00%. However, among Europeans, prevalence is mostly lower than 30%. ### References Sahi T. Genetics and epidemiology of adult-type hypolactasia.Scand J Gastroenterol Suppl. 1994;202:7-20. Review. Sahi T. Hypolactasia and lactase persistence. Historical review and the terminology. Scand J Gastroenterol Suppl. 1994;202:1-6. Review. Lee MF, Krasinski SD.Human adult-onset lactase decline: an update Nutr.Reviews 1998 Jan;56(1 Pt 1):1-8 Buller HA, Rings EH, Montgomery RK, Grand RJ.Clinical aspects of lactose intolerance in children and adults. Scand J Gastroenterol Suppl. 1991;188:73-80. Review.