Lactose intolerance disproportionately affects racial minority groups in the United States, increasing the incidence of calcium deficiency and low bone mineral density in these populations. The nutritional quality of lactose-containing food products incentivizes the investigation of long-term treatment options for lactose intolerance. Modifying the gut microbiome to increase the quantity of lactose-hydrolyzing bacteria in the intestines is a promising avenue of treatment that merits investigation. Such modification is typically achieved via consumption of probiotics, prebiotics, or synbiotics in various forms. This systematic review examined 25 studies measuring outcomes of lactose intolerance in subjects given probiotic, prebiotic, or synbiotic treatments. Bacterial strains with the greatest degree of evidence for the reduction of undesirable outcomes of lactose intolerance were Bifidobacterium longum, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus delbrueckii subspecies bulgaricus, and/or Streptococcus thermophilus. Inoculated dairy products also showed strong evidence for the attenuation of lactose intolerance outcomes.
","abstract_html":"<p>Lactose intolerance disproportionately affects racial minority groups in the United States, increasing the incidence of calcium deficiency and low bone mineral density in these populations. The nutritional quality of lactose-containing food products incentivizes the investigation of long-term treatment options for lactose intolerance. Modifying the gut microbiome to increase the quantity of lactose-hydrolyzing bacteria in the intestines is a promising avenue of treatment that merits investigation. Such modification is typically achieved via consumption of probiotics, prebiotics, or synbiotics in various forms. This systematic review examined 25 studies measuring outcomes of lactose intolerance in subjects given probiotic, prebiotic, or synbiotic treatments. Bacterial strains with the greatest degree of evidence for the reduction of undesirable outcomes of lactose intolerance were <em>Bifidobacterium longum</em>, <em>Lactobacillus acidophilus</em>, <em>Lactobacillus delbrueckii</em> subspecies <em>bulgaricus</em>, and/or <em>Streptococcus thermophilus</em>. Inoculated dairy products also showed strong evidence for the attenuation of lactose intolerance outcomes.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Roice, Taylor"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Science (MS)","degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":"Nutrition","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Susan Hawk","David Gee","Tafere Belay"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2021,"date_issued":"2021-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2021-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:37:54Z","subjects":["Lactobacillus","Bifidobacterium","bloating","gas","diarrhea","galactosidase","Dietetics and Clinical Nutrition"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/etd/1518","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Susan Hawk","David Gee","Tafere Belay"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Roice, Taylor"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2021-06-22T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Text"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Nutrition"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science (MS)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Lactobacillus","Bifidobacterium","bloating","gas","diarrhea","galactosidase","Dietetics and Clinical Nutrition"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/etd/1518"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Lactose intolerance disproportionately affects racial minority groups in the United States, increasing the incidence of calcium deficiency and low bone mineral density in these populations. The nutritional quality of lactose-containing food products incentivizes the investigation of long-term treatment options for lactose intolerance. Modifying the gut microbiome to increase the quantity of lactose-hydrolyzing bacteria in the intestines is a promising avenue of treatment that merits investigation. Such modification is typically achieved via consumption of probiotics, prebiotics, or synbiotics in various forms. This systematic review examined 25 studies measuring outcomes of lactose intolerance in subjects given probiotic, prebiotic, or synbiotic treatments. Bacterial strains with the greatest degree of evidence for the reduction of undesirable outcomes of lactose intolerance were Bifidobacterium longum, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus delbrueckii subspecies bulgaricus, and/or Streptococcus thermophilus. Inoculated dairy products also showed strong evidence for the attenuation of lactose intolerance outcomes.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["The Effect of Probiotics, Prebiotics, and Synbiotics on Indicators of Lactose Intolerance: A Systematic Review"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Susan Hawk","David Gee","Tafere Belay"],"dc:creator":["Roice, Taylor"],"dc:date.available":["2021-06-22T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Lactose intolerance disproportionately affects racial minority groups in the United States, increasing the incidence of calcium deficiency and low bone mineral density in these populations. The nutritional quality of lactose-containing food products incentivizes the investigation of long-term treatment options for lactose intolerance. Modifying the gut microbiome to increase the quantity of lactose-hydrolyzing bacteria in the intestines is a promising avenue of treatment that merits investigation. Such modification is typically achieved via consumption of probiotics, prebiotics, or synbiotics in various forms. This systematic review examined 25 studies measuring outcomes of lactose intolerance in subjects given probiotic, prebiotic, or synbiotic treatments. Bacterial strains with the greatest degree of evidence for the reduction of undesirable outcomes of lactose intolerance were Bifidobacterium longum, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus delbrueckii subspecies bulgaricus, and/or Streptococcus thermophilus. Inoculated dairy products also showed strong evidence for the attenuation of lactose intolerance outcomes.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/etd/1518"],"dc:subject":["Lactobacillus","Bifidobacterium","bloating","gas","diarrhea","galactosidase","Dietetics and Clinical Nutrition"],"dc:title":["The Effect of Probiotics, Prebiotics, and Synbiotics on Indicators of Lactose Intolerance: A Systematic Review"],"dc:type":["Text"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Nutrition"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science (MS)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:37:54Z"}