Recognizing and managing lactose intolerance is essential for your wellbeing. A quick, non-invasive test can help you find out whether you have lactose intolerance, allowing you to adopt appropriate dietary strategies.
If it is not diagnosed and managed, lactose intolerance can negatively affect quality of life, leading to chronic digestive discomfort, and may contribute to negative emotional states such as anxiety when sharing meals or eating out.
Self-diagnosis of lactose intolerance has increased in recent years due to easy access to information online. However, self-diagnosis can lead to a series of problems and risks.
First of all, self-diagnosis can be inaccurate. Symptoms of lactose intolerance, such as bloating, diarrhea and abdominal cramps, can also be caused by other gastrointestinal conditions, including irritable bowel syndrome, celiac disease, or even psychosomatic disorders. Without a professional diagnosis, there is a risk of wrongly attributing these symptoms to lactose intolerance and failing to identify the real underlying cause, delaying its diagnosis!
Furthermore, self-diagnosis can lead to potentially harmful dietary choices. For example, if a person self-diagnoses as lactose intolerant and decides to eliminate all dairy products from their diet, they may risk not getting enough calcium and vitamin D, nutrients essential for bone health.
Not everyone knows that lactose is also present in unexpected foods, so without competent support it is not so simple to reduce intake effectively.
Finally, self-diagnosis can lead to unnecessary stress and anxiety. The idea of having to avoid all dairy products can be discouraging and can cause social anxiety, especially when eating out.
