How to Use lactase in a Sentence

lactase

noun
  • Over time, your body produces less of the enzyme lactase.
    USA TODAY, 31 Jan. 2024
  • The spread of that culture had the effect of spreading the lactase persistence gene.
    Quanta Magazine, 5 Jan. 2017
  • Drinking milk after your lactase gene is turned off is no fun.
    Bob Gathany, AL.com, 4 Mar. 2018
  • However, once the infants are weaned, the lactase-producing gene is turned off.
    Bob Gathany, AL.com, 4 Mar. 2018
  • By some measures, most adults do not produce the enzyme lactase, which is necessary to break down lactose sugars in milk.
    Rob Dunn, Scientific American, 1 Sep. 2013
  • This happens if the small intestine doesn't make enough lactase, the enzyme that helps with dairy digestion by breaking down lactose.
    Melissa Matthews, SELF, 5 Jan. 2021
  • The strongest signal of selection was a region on Chromosome 2 that contained the LCT gene producing lactase, the enzyme that breaks down the lactose in milk.
    Aatish Bhatia, WIRED, 30 Sep. 2012
  • These individuals lack the enzyme lactase (to varying degrees) that allows them to break down lactose, the sugar in milk.
    Sara Chodosh, Popular Science, 7 Jan. 2019
  • To digest lactose requires an enzyme called lactase, which infants of all mammals produce.
    Bob Gathany, AL.com, 4 Mar. 2018
  • Famous enzymes include lactase, which breaks down milk sugars in those who are lactose tolerant.
    Ian Haydon, Scientific American, 11 Apr. 2017
  • In drinking a full gallon of milk, most people burn through their available lactase and then become lactose intolerant during the challenge....
    Peter Weber, The Week, 1 Oct. 2018
  • The widespread ability for humans to process lactase into adulthood is an example of such a mutation.
    Darren Orf, Popular Mechanics, 7 Mar. 2023
  • If your body doesn’t produce enough lactase, the enzyme that breaks down the sugar in dairy, drinking a gallon of milk is probably going to lead to bloating, nausea, and some serious farts, at minimum.
    Ali Francis, Bon Appétit, 21 Sep. 2022
  • The fact that your weight stabilized with proper treatment of your lactase deficiency suggests that there are no other worrisome causes in your case.
    Dr. Keith Roach, oregonlive, 19 May 2022
  • This is one cause of lactase deficiency and lactose intolerance.
    Korin Miller, SELF, 14 Dec. 2017
  • Limiting or completely avoiding foods and drinks containing lactose is one way to try to manage the intolerance, as is using products like Lactaid that contain lactase.
    Melissa Matthews, SELF, 5 Jan. 2021
  • Drinking a domestic animal's milk must have given these populations a serious evolutionary advantage in order for the lactase-keeping trait to spread so well.
    Elizabeth Preston, Discover Magazine, 21 June 2011
  • The study also can’t account for the separate development of lactase-persistence alleles in other areas of the world, most notably in Africa, another continent where early evidence of milk consumption has been found.
    Haley Weiss, The Atlantic, 27 July 2022
  • Lactobacillus acidophilus produces lactic acid by producing the enzyme lactase.
    Larry Carroll, Discover Magazine, 12 Oct. 2022
  • What’s more, studies of ancient human DNA have shown that the genetic mutation that enabled European lactase persistence doesn’t look like something that conferred a marginal nutritional advantage.
    Brian Handwerk, Smithsonian Magazine, 27 July 2022
  • Lola’s genome also contained alleles that are usually associated with the inability to produce lactase—an enzyme that’s important in digesting milk—as an adult.
    Kiona N. Smith, Ars Technica, 13 Feb. 2020
  • During fermentation, bacteria break down milk sugars including lactase, turning them into acids and easing digestion for those with lactose intolerance.
    Brian Handwerk, Smithsonian, 7 May 2016
  • Celiac disease and small intestinal bacterial overgrowth are malabsorption syndromes that can sometimes mimic pure lactase deficiency.
    Dr. Keith Roach, oregonlive, 19 May 2022
  • Additionally, there is a strong correlation between pastoralism and lactase persistence.
    Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 8 Sep. 2011
  • The firm won an Accelerator grant to develop a subcutaneous sensor to simultaneously monitor glucose, ketones, and lactase in diabetic patients.
    Nicholas Wallace, Science | AAAS, 8 Apr. 2020

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'lactase.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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