Lots of people sent me this yesterday, so I wanted to talk about why I think this product is a sham! 🗒️
If you watched my video last month on lactose intolerance, then you know that the lactase molecule in dairy products is what causes the common symptoms of gas and indigestion. Lactose is a two-sugar molecule comprised of a glucose and a galactose ring. Humans can't digest lactose normally, but we can cleave it in two and absorb the individual glucose and galactose. Most people possess the ability to make the lactase enzyme that allows us to do that, and take in the glucose and galactose through our SGLT1 transporters in our small intestines.
For lactose intolerant people, they either don't have the ability to produce lactase, or lack enough in order to sufficiently process the dairy load that they're intaking. In this case, the undigested lactose molecule makes its way down to the large intestine, where it gets fermented by your gut flora, giving off byproducts like gases and leading to the symptoms we associate with lactose intolerance.
Products like Lactaid work to counteract this by essentially just being a tablet of prepackaged lactase enzyme. People can take them while they eat dairy products, and the lactase in the tablet will break down the lactose in their ice cream, cheeseburger, etc. so that they can process it like normal. But keep in mind, this really works because Lactaid is just a delivery system for the lactase molecule right into the gut where it is most effective.
Barrière's Dear Dairy patch doesn't exactly seem to understand that. Looking on their website, Barrière actually makes a variety of patches, which are designed to deliver things like vitamins or other cofactors. This is a legitimate method of delivery for these substances, and mirrors how we use transdermal patches for things like clonidine (a blood pressure medication) or ethinyl estradiol (the birth control patch).
Where this starts to break down for me, is that enzymes like lactase are MUCH much bigger molecules, comprising of almost 2,000 amino acids with a molecular weight of 200,000 Daltons. Not sure how that's supposed to absorb transdermally when the outermost layer of our epidermis (the stratum corneum) generally cannot passively transport molecules over 500 Daltons. For molecules like clonidine (230 Da) or ethinyl estradiol (296 Da), this is totally within the limit, but for the lactase enzyme this is basically like trying to fit an airplane through a straw.
Another thing is that these medications are designed for transdermal delivery because they diffuse into the bloodstream and provide systemic effects. What use would whole lactase enzyme do in the blood? You're not injecting ice cream into your veins, it's in your stomach! The whole point of lactose intolerance is that lactose doesn't get absorbed into the system and thus causes symptoms when fermented by gut bacteria in the lower gastrointestinal tract. Lactaid works because you take it orally, and the lactase you introduce does its job locally where the rest of the lactose you're eating is located. In Barrière's case, not only is the enzyme too big to cross the barrier in the first place, but it's also supposed to survive systemic circulation, pass through the liver, make it to the digestive tract, and work... peripherally? Biochemically, it's just not plausible.
As a supplement product, this isn't subject to FDA regulation, and so they can market themselves however they want. I also couldn't find any clinical study for any transdermal enzyme delivery product, which makes their product's consumer studies-only just all the more suspicious. It's a cool idea of having a wearable that lets you passively take in lactase enzyme instead of having to take a bunch of pills each time you want to eat dairy, but yeah it's all a ruse.
❓ Who in your dms has surprised you like you thought they was small as fuck and they suprised you to be big 🤭✨
💬 This has never happened to me lmao I don't really have expectations like that and i don't get that many people in my dms lmao #tellonym https://t.co/nSNW3vhSJW
I think we need to learn the difference between “I want to know the lore behind this character because they’re my fave” vs “this is important to the narrative so this needs to be in story” Zoros family tree doesn’t add anything to Zoros narrative. That’s why it’s in an SBS.