Can Lactose Intolerance Cause Irritable bowel syndrome?

A debate has been going on for a long time on whether lactose intolerance can cause irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). It is commonly believed that lactose intolerance may lead to colon dysfunction, which could cause IBS. But the fact is these are two different conditions with the same symptoms. But both of these are not connected to each other. According to our expert Dr. Howard Goldberg, it is easy to get confused between the two. It is because lactate that is used to treat IBS, are also prescribed to help patients with lactose intolerance to metabolise milk sugar. Lactose intolerance is a condition in which the body fails to digest lactose (a type of sugar) found mostly in milk and dairy product, leading to lactose malabsorption. This can cause issues like diarrhoea, nausea, gas, bloating etc. This condition is triggered by small intestine which fails to produce enough lactase, an enzyme that helps to digest milk sugar. Irritable bowel syndrome, on the other hand is a digestive condition of large intestine, where the person has trouble with bowel movement. IBS can cause diarrhoea, excess gas, mucus in stool, abdominal pain etc.