Lactose Intolerant? Drink More Milk!

Many people who claim to be lactose intolerant really aren't, maintains Dennis Savaiano, dean of Purdue University's School of Consumer and Family Sciences, West Lafayette, Ind. The problem, he notes, is that dairy foods can be difficult to digest, and people who don't eat them often enough have not acclimated themselves to the foods.

According to the National Institutes of Health, as many as 50,000,000 Americans are lactose intolerant. While the condition itself isn't harmful--though it may result in gas, bloating, or nausea--lactose intolerance does affect a person's health in the long term because avoiding dairy foods reduces his or her calcium intake. Three-fourths of all calcium in diets in the U.S. come from dairy foods. Too little calcium in a diet can reduce bone growth, which can lead to osteoporosis later in life, resulting in weakened bones, causing fractures and injuries.

A big problem with both calcium intake and lactose intolerance, nutritionists say, is that most people, especially teenage girls, don't consume enough dairy products. "If you only consume dairy products once in a while, you are more likely to have symptoms...