Objective: To assess the effects of the ingestion of milk, yoghurt (10(8) bacteria/ml), heat-treated yoghurt (<15 bacteria/ml) and two products obtained by dilution of yoghurt with heat-treated product (10(6) and 10(5) bacteria/ml) on hydrogen production and symptoms of lactose intolerance in lactose malabsorbers.
Design: Double-blind, randomised cross-over design.
Setting: The study was performed in the phase 1 clinical unit of OPTIMED, Nancy, France.
Subjects: Twenty-four male lactose malabsorbers were selected for the study.
Interventions: Hydrogen production and adverse events were followed during 8 h after ingestion of the products.
Results: The results clearly demonstrate that ingestion of yoghurt with 10(8) bacteria/ml leads to lower H(2) excretion and complaints than the other products. Results observed with the products containing a reduced population of live flora remain better than those observed with milk.
Conclusions: The importance of a high population of the live flora is underlined.