Abstract

Carbohydrate intolerance includes two types of condition: (a) those with a specific inherited enzyme defect, as in galactosaemia or essential fructose intolerance, and (b) those with malabsorption of a carbohydrate. The second type of disorder is occasionally a primary inherited defect but is more usually secondary to some clinical condition such as gastroenteritis, surgery in the neonate, coeliac disease, sprue, kwashiorkor, or chronic infection.