Question

Mr. Smith loves ice cream but he stopped eating it years ago due to lactose intolerance. When his friend Bob told him about lactaid he was so excited to try it that he went out right away and purchased a box of lactaid and a gallon of ice cream. The next day Mr. Smith called Bob and told him that lactaid doesn’t work because he took one pill before he ate the gallon of ice cream and he still ended up with all the symptoms of lactose intolerance. Considering what you’ve learned about enzyme function in this lab, what should Mr. Smith have done to prevent the symptoms of lactose intolerance? Include in your explanation relevant data from the lab

Answer 1

Lactose is a type of sugar found in milk products. Lactase enzyme is normally produced by the body to help break down (digest) lactose. Lactose-intolerant occurs when the body produces low amounts of lactase enzyme.

Lactose-intolerant people suffer from stomach pain and diarrhea when they drink milk or eat dairy products because their intestines don't have enough of the enzyme lactase to break down lactose.

Tablets containing the bacterial version of lactase can aid digestion, but they must be taken every time dairy products are consumed.

The tablets can contains the gene of adeno associated virus which are thrives in the gut human. After taking the tablet the gut cells had inserted the gene into their DNA and were using it to manufacture the enzyme. So Mr. Smith have prevented from the symptoms of lactose intolerance

The consumption of lactase enzyme as a food supplement may assist in restoring adequate levels of the enzyme needed for hydrolysis of lactose, especially for patients with low levels of lactase.