Microflora of the Digestive Tract

Lactose has been used extensively in conjunction with L, acidophilus milk for the treatment of constipation, and as a general health food. The relation of lactose to the microflora of the intestines and to gastrointestinal mobility has been extensively reviewed (SJf), 

Because /3-lactose is initially more soluble than ordinary lactose (a-lac-tose), it may be supposed that the i -form is utilized more efficiently in nutrition, but the opposite appears to be true. Young rats on a low-fat diet fail to survive when the only source of carbohydrate in the diet is either a-lactose or jS-lactose. Although alopecia occurs regardless of the form of lactose used, it occurs sooner and survival is shorter in rats fed jS-lactose. Whether or not the greater deleterious effect of the jS-lactose is due to a more rapid rate of hydrolysis and absorption does not seem to be known (S5). An industrial demand for jS-lactose has resulted in the development of practical processes for the manufacture of this sugar. (See Chapter IX, under Lactose.) 

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Kind of microflora of the digestive tract Vitamin D deficiency Diet rich in salt and others... 

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