What is the only way to treat galactosemia?

• A. To eliminate galactose from the diet
• B. To supplement with galactose
• C. To increase lactose intake
• D. To replace with dairy-based formulas

Answer: (A)

In galactosemia, the body can’t metabolize galactose due to an enzyme deficiency, so galactose and its toxic metabolites build up unless dietary galactose is removed. The only effective treatment is strict dietary galactose restriction, which means eliminating galactose from the diet. Because lactose from dairy products breaks down into galactose, avoiding dairy-containing foods is essential. There’s no available therapy that bypasses this dietary approach, so supplementing galactose, increasing lactose-containing foods, or using dairy-based formulas would worsen the condition. Therefore, eliminating galactose from the diet is the correct and necessary management.