Discussion 4.

1 Lactose Intolerance

1/ Symptoms of Lactose Intolerance:

 If a guest is lactose intolerant, she/he will experience one or more of the following
symptoms 30 minutes to two hours after consuming a milk-containing or milk-based
product:
o Abdominal bloating, pain, or cramps
o Borborygmi crumbling or gurgling sounds in the stomach)
o Diarrhea
o Constipation
o Flatulence, or gas Nausea, which may be accompanied by vomiting

 These main recognized symptoms of lactose intolerance are gastrointestinal in nature, but
some other symptoms have been reported include headaches, fatigue, loss of
concentration, muscle and joint pain, mouth ulcers, problems urinating, and eczema.

2/ What Causes Lactose Intolerance?

 Actually, someone can become lactose intolerant at any point in life. In fact, some people
show their intolerance to lactose early in life while others may get it in their teenage
years, or even in adulthood. For instance, my brother acknowledges that he is lactose
intolerant 8 years ago. However, during his childhood in China, he never had this
problem and milk was his most favorite. So, why some people are lactose intolerant and
others are not?
 Theoretically, for people who are lactose tolerant, lactose must initially be split into
glucose and galactose with the help of lactase, an enzyme found in the small intestine of
mammals. Next, both glucose and galactose are absorbed into the bloodstream through
the intestinal lining. However, for people who are lactose intolerant, the activity of
lactase that prevents the splitting of lactose is reduced or absent causing by lactase
deficiency, lactose in their food moves into the colon instead of being processed and
absorbed. In the colon, normal bacteria interact with undigested lactose, causing the
symptoms of lactose intolerance. There are types of lactose intolerance:
o Primary form is the most common form and happens when dairy products are
hard to digest by adulthood. It is caused by genes and some ethnic groups are
more prone to developing lactose intolerance than others such as East Asian, Est
African, Arab, Jewish, Greek, and Italian.
o Secondary form occurs when our small intestine decreases lactase production
after an illness, injury, or surgery involving our small intestine
o Congenital form is genetic and the rarest form. This makes babies to be born
with lactose intolerance causes by a complete absence of lactase activity. The
reason why this form is rarest because the disorder must be passed by both mother
and father on the same gene variant for a child to be affected. This pattern of
inheritance called autosomal recessive.
o Developmental form happens in babies who are born prematurely. Then, it
usually lasts for only a short time after birth and goes away on its own.
3/ Steps to Take for Managing Lactose Intolerance:

I believe managing lactose intolerance is very important not only for those who have but
also for culinary business owners.
- So, as a host / hostess, I must:

 Listing all the ingredients and having a food allergy warning sign on the menu so guests
are aware of what they should or should not order.
 Staff training must be taken seriously; especially, servers must have knowledge on the
menu and be able to explain what food they should avoid due to lactose intolerance
 Staff should understand and are able to define the difference between lactose intolerance
and milk allergy since many people are misleading, and the differences are significant

- The fact is that depending on how much lactase your body makes, you may have mild,
moderate, or severe symptoms and steps to take for managing lactose intolerance may be taken
differently. As a person is lactose intolerant, he or she should:

 Limit his or her intake of foods causing symptoms of lactose intolerance

 Choose lactose-free or foods low in lactose including lactose-hydrolyzed milk (Lactaid),
soy beverage, rice beverage, casein, or soy-based products.
 Read food labels and ingredients carefully to avoid sources of lactose
 If you have severe lactose intolerance, you should ask either your doctor or pharmacist
about lactose in your medications and they would be able to provide a lactose free
substitute.
 Try lactase enzyme drops, tablets, or other products made with these preparations to
reduce the lactose in milk or dairy products. Tablets are taken before eating types of food
having lactose while enzyme drops can be added to milk before drinking.
 For those having severe lactose intolerance, they need to find other sources of nutrients
including vitamin D and calcium because these nutrients are very important.

4/ How Preparations Would Benefit Someone with Lactose Intolerance?

I think my solutions are beneficial to someone with lactose intolerance because they can
avoid the symptoms, know how to manage, and even planning ahead for eating out and social
events. For instance, people with lactose intolerance should manage common dairy products and
replace their favorite with lactose-free version, such as Lactaid milk, cottage cheese, and ice
cream.

As I mentioned above, lactose intolerance is caused by lactase deficiency and Lactaid is

the original lactase dietary supplement making milk and dairy products more digestible for
individuals with lactose intolerance. In fact, lactase in Lactaid products helps break down lactose
into galactose and glucose, and for those have lactose intolerance, they can consume dairy
products. As a result, Lactaid is taken to help people with lactose intolerance digest dairy foods
easily and gets all necessary nutrients in dairy products, such as vitamin D and calcium.
 4.2 Does Cheese Cause Nightmares?

Robert’s Experiment:
- Hypothesis: Does cheese cause nightmares?
- Dependent Variable: the number of nightmares
- Independent Variable: Experimental Group: participants had to eat cheese
before bedtime
- Control Group: participants did not eat cheese before bedtime
- Sample Size: 9 participants
- I do not think Robert has proved his hypothesis.

Flaws in Robert’s Experiment:

1/ Hypothesis (wrong format) – The hypothesis that Robert made is a question not a
hypothesis. According to the textbook, hypothesis is a suggested and testable explanation after
observations. It means after observing something and asking questions, we should then make
hypothesis and a possible answer should be given.

2/ I think eating cheese before bedtimes is NOT the only reason causing nightmares. Actually,
other factors including anxiety, stress, medicines, etc. also negatively influence our dream
content. So, saying whether or not cheese causes nightmares is too vague and cannot be proved.
If I were Robert, I would make my hypothesis by saying eating cheese before bedtime will
increase the FREQUENCY of nightmares.

3/ Sample Size: His sample size is too small and was not split evenly. Actually, the credibility of
an experiment’s results is to perform it with a large sample size to make the results more
representative of an entire population. Especially, there is no guarantee that all participants
followed instructions and did experiment properly, and errors are unavoidable. So, if we have a
large sample size, we can eliminate all the wrong information and ensure our conclusion is
reliable and validity.

4/ Sleep time, types, and the amount of cheese participants consumed also matter. In the
experiment, Robert was not clear about what time the participants should sleep and wake up, and
how much cheese they can eat before bed. I looked up on the internet and found out that eating a
heavy meal before bed means your body is going to boost its metabolism and temperature which
leads to more brain activity during REM sleep; it stops you getting a restful sleep. Actually,
sleeping too much or going to bed with a full stomach may cause nightmares. On the other hand,
for lactose intolerant people, eating too much dairy foods, such as chees, causes symptoms like
gas, bloating, and cramps and will effect on dreams.

5/ There is no record of control group. Robert did not mention whether or not participants who
did not eat cheese before bedtime in control group had had nightmares.

Suggestion:
1/ Hypothesis – If we eat cheese before bedtime, the frequency of having nightmares will be
increased.
2/ He could increase his sample size from 9 to 50 participants or even 100 participants. The
larger sample size captures the full diversity of a population better than a small one.
3/ Robert should have specified what time participants should sleep in order to ensure that all
participants have a same sleep duration, types, and amount of cheese intake. The differences may
lose the creditability of the experiment.
4/ Robert must ensure that he collected and recorded all the reports from participant. For
example, he could create a table with the frequency of nightmares so every participant in each
group can write down their time frame.
5/ He should specify that participants should not eat too much before going to bed because going
to bed on a full stomach can cause nightmares – including brain wave. The reason is having extra
food means your body is going to boost its metabolism and temperature leading to more brain
activity during REM sleep.

- Sample Size: 100 participants

- Hypothesis: If someone eats cheese before bedtime, the frequency of having nightmares will
be increased.
- Dependent Variable: the number of nightmares
- Independent Variable: Experimental Group: participants had to eat cheese before bedtime
- Control Group: participants did not eat cheese before bedtime
- Standard Variables: The size of both experimental and control group is evenly
The time frame of each participant should not be different too much
Types and amount of cheese must be evenly for participants in
experimental group

Reflection:

Actually, this week discussion was fun to me; especially, although we come up with the
same answers, the explanations are different. Some students provided good points of how they
believe Robert did not complete the experiment properly and the conclusion is not findings are
not well-supported for his hypothesis. For instance, we all believe that the sample size is too
small. The fact is that larger sample size, the more accurate his hypothesis would be. For
example, a student said that the hypothesis is not proved since Robert only used his family
members in this experiment took a toll on the results. Interestingly, he claimed that all family
members are close and “they probably experience all the same surrounding as far as where they
live, family problems, and same environments.” As a result, his results are bias.
Additionally, another student said about the errors in the experiment may occur in any
experiment. For example, she said how could Robert know if all attendants recorded their
activities accurately. Especially, the student asked how Robert believed if their records are
correct while he was not there to see whether they ate cheese before bed or not. It sounds fun to
me, but she was right by saying so. Without observation, wrong records are unavoidable, and he
must expect possible errors. However, he could have helped his findings become more accurate
by increasing the sample size and designing the research properly.
 believe the fact that he only used his family members in this experiment took a toll on the results
because since they're all related and are close they probably experience all the same surroundings
as far as where they live, family problems, and same environments. This makes the results more
alike than different instead of if he were to use random people.