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Food allergy and food intolerance – CCEALactose intolerance

A food allergy is when the body's immune system reacts unusually to specific foods. Food intolerance is more common than food allergy and is not caused by the immune system.

Part of Home Economics: Food and Nutrition (CCEA)Shopping, storage and preparation

Lactose intolerance

A cow

Lactose intolerance is an adverse reaction to cow's milk.

People may suffer this adverse reaction because the protein component of milk is not tolerated or because the milk sugar, called lactose, is not tolerated.

If a person is unsure which component of milk they do not tolerate, then it is preferable to avoid both and to follow a milk-free diet.

This would mean avoiding not only cow's milk, but all other animal milks such as sheep, goat and buffalo etc.

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