Thanks a lot ;-) PART 3: THE BIGGER PICTURE It is estimated that 75% of adults w

Question

Thanks a lot ;-)

PART 3: THE BIGGER PICTURE It is estimated that 75% of adults worldwide show some decrease in lactase activity during adulthood (due to gene regulation). The frequency of decreased lactase activity ranges from 5% in northern Europe, to 71% in Sicily, to more than 90% in some African and Asian coun- tries. This distribution is now thought to have been caused by natural favoring lactase persistent individuals in cultures that rely on dairy products. that can lactose exist in your gut. Lactose cannot be directly absorbed through the wall of your small intestine. First, lactose must be digested down into its two parts, glucose and galactose. If you are lactose intolerant, you do not produce an enzyme called lactase which cleaves lactose much like the beta-galactosidase enzyme in E. coli. Once you consume lactose, the bacteria in your gut will come into contact with lactose. As shown from the activities and readings above, this starts a cascade of events which results in the digestion of the lactose 1. Which process (of the ones discussed in Discussion 3) do the bacteria in your gut use to digest lactose? Why? To test for lactose intolerance, blood is taken from the patient every 10 to 15 minutes after ingestion of lactose. Blood glucose levels are measured for each of these time points 2. Why do they measure blood glucose levels instead of lactose levels? 3. Below are blood glucose graphs from two individuals who may be lactose intolerant. Which of the graphs belongs to a patient with lactose intolerance (circle one)? S 40 40 20 10 10 Time (hours) Time (hours)

Explanation / Answer

1. Lactose intolerance is an inability to digest lactose. The major reason some people can’t digest dairy products is they lack the enzyme lactase, which is required to break down lactose in the small intestine. thus it passes to the gut where lactose get breaken down by bacteria present in the gut by a process called fermentation.

2. If your blood glucose level does not rise, this means that your body is not digesting or absorbing lactose. Thus measuring the level of blood give exact indication about amount of lactose being digested. In lactse intolerance paitents, undigested lactose may reach to gut. Thus, change of lactsoe level in the blood may not give the exact inference about the amount of lactose being digested.

3. 1st graph where glucose level is gowing upto 50mg/dl

Related Questions

Navigate

• Browse (All)
• Browse T
• Subjects

---

---

Integrity-first tutoring: explanations and feedback only — we do not complete graded work. Learn more.