Lactose is the primary sugar found in milk, and is a disaccharide (a double sugar molecule), comprising one molecule of glucose and one molecule of lactose.
With age, many children lose their ability to digest the large amounts of lactose found in cow’s milk, leading to a condition called lactose intolerance. The ‘milk sugar’ lurks around the bowel colon, having escaped normal digestive enzymes and causing digestive upsets like wind and bloating. Although the condition is not normally of a concern in itself, it may lead to intolerance towards milk products and chronic allergy reactions. Read more in the main article.