Question

Why does someone who has lactose intolerance have gastrointestinal problems, such as abdominal distension, gas, cramping, and diarrhea? question 4 options: the lactose is an irritant to the stomach. the lactose in the small intestine neutralizes enzyme action. the undigested lactose in the intestine draws water into the large intestine and is broken down by bacteria. the presence of lactose in the small intestine causes the gall bladder to contract more forcefully?

Answer 1

the undigested lactose in the intestine draws water into the large intestine and is broken down by bacteria. Lactose intolerance is due to the body no longer producing the enzyme required to break down the disaccharide sugar called lactose into the monosaccharide sugars glucose and galactose. Those undigested sugars provide food for bacteria that in turn generate gas. With that in mind, let's look at the available options to see which one is correct. the lactose is an irritant to the stomach. - I hope not. Because babies world wide need lactose for their growth. So this is a wrong answer. the lactose in the small intestine neutralizes enzyme action. - There's a lot of different enzymes used in the digestive process. And it's the lack of the enzyme lactase that causes lactose intolerance. But lactose doesn't neutralize any enzymes, so this is a wrong answer. the undigested lactose in the intestine draws water into the large intestine and is broken down by bacteria. - This looks reasonable. This is the correct answer. the presence of lactose in the small intestine causes the gall bladder to contract more forcefully? - This one is just plain silly. Wrong answer.