Lactose Intolerance
Patients who have had a gastric bypass procedure may experience one variety of gastric bypass side effects, lactose intolerance. Learn about how and why this may occur, and how this may affect your diet after gastric bypass.
Lactose, the natural sugar found in milk products, is digested in the small bowel by means of the enzyme lactase. About 10% of adults in the United States are lactose intolerant meaning they do not have enough lactase to digest ingested lactose. When they eat milk or milk products (that contain lactose), they develop crampy abdominal pain, bloating and diarrhea.