Acute Diarrhea is an important contributor of malnutrition and death in children. Malnutrition and diarrhea are in a never-ending loop that leads to delayed catch up growth, impaired gut health, cognitive impairment and faltering growth. 1
Diarrhea is a digestive tract syndrome caused by various factors including pathogens, leading to frequent, watery stools. It can damage the small intestine , causing lactase deficiency and eventually reducing the ability to digest lactose.
Lactose is the most dominant sugar in human milk, and cow’s milk.Due to the osmotic impact, prolonged consumption of lactose-containing milk or milk products may worsen severe diarrhea in young children. 2
The main treatment is fluid rehydration, electrolyte balance, medications and so on. Key factor to curing acute diarrhea is disaccharide deficiency, hence the use of low sugar and formulas without sugar can be beneficial in treatment of lactose intolerance or diarrhea in children. 2
Review 1 (2013-Cochrane Review)
Aim: To study the efficacy of lactose free diets vs lactose containing diets in reducing severity and diarrheal disease duration in children below 5 years of age.
Participants: 2,973 children < 5 years of age with acute diarrhea. All participants were from high- or middle-income countries.
Intervention: Milk, milk products and foodstuffs without lactose were compared with lactose containing milk,milk products and foodstuffs during diarrheal episodes
Result:
In case of acute diarrhea in young children who are not mainly breast-fed, changing to a lactose-free diet may result in faster resolution of the diarrheawith reduction in risk of treatment failure 3
Review 2 (2021 - Abdulrazzaq S. et al.)
Aim: To study the effects of formulas without lactose vs formulations containing lactose on children with acute diarrhea
Participants: 60 children(32 male, 28 female) with acute diarrhea (<2 yrs)
Intervention:50% on lactose-free, 50% on lactose containing formula
Result:
Children who received lactose free formula during acute diarrhea showed lesserduration of diarrhea, faster recovery and faster discharge 4
Lactose-free diets are simple yet effectivein helping young children battle acute diarrhea. This kind of dietary intervention can significantly cut recovery time and improve outcomes in vulnerable young patients.
Conclusion
Lactose-free diets are simple yet effective in helping young children battle acute diarrhea. This kind of dietary intervention can significantly cut recovery time and improve outcomes in vulnerable young patients.
References
1 Acharyya BC, Srivastava PK. Nutritional management during and beyond diarrhea: Role of rice-based foods. NeonatPediatr Med. 2022;8(9). doi:10.4172/2572-4983.1000199
2 Aierken K, Xu Z, Ma J, Kawuli G. The efficacy of low/lactose-free milk powder in the treatment of lactose intolerance in infants: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis. Medicine (Baltimore). 2024;103(31):e39098. doi:10.1097/MD.0000000000039098
3 MacGillivray S, Fahey T, McGuire W. Lactose avoidance for young children with acute diarrhoea. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2013;(10):CD005433. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD005433.pub2.
4 Abdulrazzaq S, Jaafar FA, Mohammed ZA. Lactose versus lactose free regimen in children with acute diarrhea. Open Access Maced J Med Sci. 2021;9(B):1279-1282. doi:10.3889/oamjms.2021.6733
CVM No: 1745995980528
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