Lactose breath test: how does it work?

Lactose intolerance, the intolerance to milk sugar, appears in people who are not able to produce lactase enzyme, which should break down lactose into glucose and galactose: the lack of this enzyme causes many gastrointestinal problems if you eat food containing lactose. To diagnose this intolerance, it is necessary to undergo a lactose breath test: let’s discover what this test is.

How to use a breath test

A breath test is a test on your breath, a non invasive medical examination to diagnose food intolerance or malabsorption syndrome. But how do you use a breath test? During the test, patients are asked to breath into a small tube after consuming a specific quantity of lactose: the air exhaled is then analysed and its content of hydrogen is measured. If the lactase enzyme lacks, the lactose ingested is not broken down and fermentation processes occur in the intestine  increasing the production of hydrogen. Such hydrogen is then expelled through breathing: if the hydrogen values in the exhaled air are higher than the standard, you suffer from lactose intolerance.

The preparation of lactose breath test

If you have to undergo a lactose breath test, you must follow a strict preparation. 30 days before the test, you are not allowed to take antibiotics and laxatives and 15 days before the test you must absolutely avoid any kind of dairy product and any milk-based food or food made with milk derivatives. There is a specific diet to follow with allowed food, such as meat, fish, soy-based food. Such a strict diet might frighten at the beginning, but with the lactose and gluten free products by Le Celizie you should not give up on anything! Like their pizza dough with extra virgin olive oil: gluten and lactose free, it is naturally leavened to make it softer and crumblier, as you have always tasted it. It is artisan-made; its accurately selected raw ingredients transform all products by Le Celizie into genuine and healthy food you can’t resist!