This fact sheet can be used by health care providers to educate patients who are lactose intolerant about how they can get enough calcium each day.

This fact sheet is part of Milk Matters, a public health education campaign to promote calcium consumption among tweens and teens, especially during the ages of 11 to 15, a time of critical bone growth.

This fact sheet answers the following questions:

• Are there different types of lactose intolerance?
• How common is lactose intolerance?
• Is self-diagnosis of lactose intolerance accurate?
• What are calcium consumption strategies for patients with lactose intolerance?
• Are there any special recommendations for populations with high rates of lactose intolerance?
• Should children take calcium supplements?
• What can I do to help my patients?