Dear HealthSmart,

What is it about dairy products that causes lactose intolerance? Will all dairy products cause a similar reaction?

HealthSmart asked Dr. Dennis Savaiano, M.S./Ph.D., Director of the North Central Nutrition Education Center at Purdue University. Here’s his response:

Lactose intolerance is caused when someone has a deficiency in the enzyme that splits lactose into glucose and galactose. It’s called lactase, and it’s found on the surface of the cells lining the small intestine. This lactase deficiency is the culprit. A common misconception is that all dairy products are created equal and must be avoided. Lactose is a protein that is found in the water of milk products, so any product where the majority of water is removed, such as hard cheeses, will have very little lactose. Other products where a lot of the excess water has been removed, such as Greek yogurt, typically cause little lactose intolerance reactions.

Dear HealthSmart,

My 80 year old father is healthy and lives independently, but I worry constantly that his high blood pressure will cause a heart attack or stroke. He resists the idea of moving into a home or with me. How can he best protect himself from unforeseen accidents?

HealthSmart asked Dr. Jeff Williamson, M.D., Professor of Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, in Winston-Salem, N.C. Here’s his response:

Perhaps the most vulnerable ambulatory people in the community are elderly adults who suffer from complications of high blood pressure. For example, elderly people who are hospitalized following a disability and have to leave their homes are found to be suffering from complications of hypertension like heart failure, stroke and heart attack. Putting seniors who suffer from high blood pressure on medication will help them remain ambulatory and is a safe and relatively inexpensive way to extend time that people can live independently and avoid common conditions that often cause a person to have to depend on assisted living.

Dear HealthSmart,

My mother is a hoarder and recently it has been tearing our family apart. She does not seems to make any effort to organize her life and clean up our home. What are some steps that I can do as the daughter to begin this process?

HealthSmart asked Dr. Neziroglu, Director of the Bio Behavioral Institute. Here’s her response:

The first step is getting her engaged with treatment by hosting an intervention where family members and loved ones write down and express how the hoarder’s disorder is affecting their lives and the hoarder’s life, hopefully in the presence of an expert on hoarding, such as a psychologist. The next step of treatment is working with that expert in the home of the hoarder, establishing what room, or what area of a room, they want to start organizing. It’s important to avoid going from one room to another as it can cause more stress and anxiety about the process. This is not a cleanup job, but rather a method to examine the hoarder’s thought process and behavior patterns. Hoarders are instructed to separate items in categories such as donations, things to throw away, things to box up, and things to keep. Rules also need to be made. For example, the hoarder cannot justify why they are keeping flyers from years ago, useless trinkets, or clothes that will never fit them again. Then they will move onto acquisition trips in which the hoarder and expert go to the hoarder’s favorite store and place all of their favorite items in the cart, only to walk to the entrance and leave the cart and items without buying anything.

Do you have questions on health or wellness you’d like answered by the nation’s leading medical researchers? If so, you can send to Editor@WashNews.com. HealthSmart is a national newspaper column from the Washington News Service in DC. Due to demand, we are unable to reply to all inquiries. Responses through the column are no substitute for care from physicians or other medical professionals.

Copyright Ellen James Martin 2021