Sucrose Intolerance In Children
Sucrose intolerance is an atypical disease that, in children, can be difficult to diagnose because it has symptoms similar to other conditions. However, with the right treatment, it can be overcome in a few months or a few years.
What is sucrose intolerance?
Sucrose, the common or table sugar, is the combination of a glucose molecule and a fructose molecule. The first is present in fruits and the second comes from sugarcane.
Due to these two molecules or monosaccharides – which are the smallest components of the carbohydrate group – the product is called a disaccharide.
Sucrose intolerance is due to a deficiency of the enzyme sucrase, also called sucrase or invertin. This enzyme is produced in the small intestine and is responsible for separating the two molecules that make up sugar.
This process takes place in the stomach and prevents sucrose from fermenting. When the enzyme is absent, sugar passes almost intact to the large intestine and colon, where it can stimulate the growth of Candida bacteria .
Furthermore, sucrose promotes the formation of stomach gases. The presence of sugar in the stool is an indication that the condition is latent. We must not confuse sucrose intolerance with food allergy. The first is related to the absence of enzymes and the second is activated by the immune system.
the first foods
The origin of this disease is genetic. Its manifestations appear at the moment when the ingestion of milk formulas begins, in which the sugar content is present. Baby food and other foods given at an early age can show that the baby does not have the enzymes needed to metabolize sugars.
If enzymes are present, even if they are few, there may be tolerance to limited doses of sugar. The doctor will be able to detect the amount of enzymes to prevent sucrose intake from exceeding the permitted limits in each case.
Symptoms of sucrose intolerance
Symptoms produced by poor digestion of sugars can start about 30 minutes after eating the food. Cramping and abdominal pain, diarrhea, gastric distension or bloating and general malaise may affect the child.
Vomiting, gas or flatulence, constipation, nausea, headache and hypoglycemia may also occur. Anxiety, nervousness, tachycardia and arrhythmias are also symptoms of sucrose intolerance.
If there is no timely treatment, the condition can lead to dehydration, loss of micronutrients, weight loss and even malnutrition. This assumes a developmental delay that can lead to anemia, fatigue and nutritional deficit in adulthood.
Sucrose intolerance or something else?
This is a rare disease whose symptoms are often associated with other conditions. Lactose intolerance is one of them, but in this case it is the absence of lactase. This enzyme is also produced in the small intestine and is responsible for the metabolism of sugar in milk; there is usually no gravity.
Symptoms of sucrose intolerance can also be confused with celiac disease, for example. Gluten is a protein present in cereals such as barley, wheat, oats, rye, kamut, spelled or triticale.
In fact, gluten consumption generates an autoimmune response in those who are intolerant, causing inflammation and wear of the small intestine mucosa. Its consequences can be more serious.
To detect that we are facing an intolerance to sucrose in children, it will be necessary to resort to special tests. So the hydrogen breath test, which allows us to measure this compound in the air we breathe, is one of them.
In addition, a daily analysis of reactions to consumption of certain foods will also help detect the presence of this condition. Tests such as blood alcohol, genetic testing or tissue biopsies are also alternatives, as are blood, urine and stool tests.
How can this intolerance be corrected?
Once the presence of the disease is detected, the correction is closely linked to the daily diet. In this sense, medical indications suppress the consumption of foods that cause intolerance.
Other doctors reduce this type of food to the minimum necessary, for example, in order to assess the organism’s behavior; in most cases, relief is usually quick.
Sucrose intolerance can be overcome in a few months or a few years, as long as the specialist’s indications are followed to the letter.
