title: Effect of milk and lactose on zinc absorption in lactose-intolerant postmenopausal women.
abstract: We evaluated the effect of lactose intolerance on intestinal zinc absorption under various test conditions in a group of postmenopausal women. Fractional zinc absorption was studied with a dual-isotope technique using 65Zn and 51Cr (as nonabsorbable fecal markers). We performed four absorption tests on sixteen subjects with water (control), whole cow milk, lactose-free cow milk and lactose alone. Mean (+/- SEM) fractional zinc absorption was 0.558 +/- 0.032 with water, 0.276 +/- 0.031 with milk, 0.246 +/- 0.028 with lactose-free milk and 0.564 +/- 0.051 with lactose. No significant differences in zinc absorption were found under any of the test conditions between lactose-tolerant and lactose-intolerant subjects. Milk and lactose-free milk significantly reduced zinc absorption in both groups.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, University of Chicago, IL 60637.
authors.forename: R J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Wood
authors.forename: D A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Hanssen
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D002136:Calcium, Dietary / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007408:Intestinal Absorption / Q000187:drug effects*; D007785:Lactose / Q000494:pharmacology*; D007787:Lactose Intolerance / Q000150:complications / Q000378:metabolism*; D008593:Menopause / Q000378:metabolism*; D008875:Middle Aged; D008892:Milk; D013997:Time Factors; D015032:Zinc / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*
chemical_list: D002136:Calcium, Dietary; D007785:Lactose; D015032:Zinc