4 ms·

Lactose tolerance is a fluke, not the norm. Unless you're of European (+ non-Jewish) descent, you probably won't be able to digest most dairy products as an adu

Lactose tolerance is a fluke, not the norm. Unless you're of European (+ non-Jewish) descent, you probably won't be able to digest most dairy products as an adult.

pfdietz 2y ago
Lactase persistence is also common in many parts of Africa.
lotsofpulp 2y ago
There are a billion plus South Asians that eat a ton of dairy. Cows are even sacred. Lactose tolerance is a very wide scale, from zero tolerance to even cheese to being able to drink multiple glasses of milk without getting diarrhea. Based on anecdotal evidence and the seeming popularity of pizza, a lactose intolerance so great that cheese is an issue seems to be rare.
- spondylosaurus 2y ago
  Many cheeses contain little to no lactose, which may be a factor :) But yes, being raised in a dairy-heavy culinary culture is one predictor of continued lactose tolerance into adulthood.
gojomo 2y ago
I know that's the conventional wisdom, but as an adult of European descent who usually handles lactose/dairy well, I sometimes have periods of reduced tolerance, perhaps due to changes in my gut biome. And there's evidence even lactose-intolerant ("lactase nonpersistent") demographics can tolerate ever-larger amounts of lactose with a gradual ramp-up of consumption that shifts their gut biomes in a different direction: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38159728/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38159728/ There's a chance the conventional view overweights human genetics and underweights biome, which could create a self-fulfilling diagnosis of "lactose intolerance". That is: a person notices a bad reaction, and is told (influenced by demographic tendencies) "oh, as an adult you'll inevitably be lactose-intolerant". They avoid dairy, further thinning (or completely eliminating) the bacteria that could help from their gut, ensuring a more-noticeable negative reaction upon further consumption. OTOH, if the right bacterial mix was maintained, or reintroduced then maintained if necessary, many considering themselves lactose-intolerant might not persistently be. (Separate from the bacteria themselves assisting in lactose digestion, there's even some chance that the positive or negative shock of a wildly-changed biome might epigenetically affect the beyond-childhood activation of the human genome's own lactase genes – a possibility mentioned in the middle of this microbiologist's writeup: https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/17/health/lactose-intolerance-microbiome-partner/index.html https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/17/health/lactose-intolerance-mi... )
- spondylosaurus 2y ago
  My gastroenterologist says that intestinal illness can render you temporarily lactose intolerant for a few weeks after the fact. That might be what's happening to you, or some version of it!

Lactose tolerance is a fluke, not the norm. Unless you're of European (+ non-Jewish) descent, you probably won't be able to digest most dairy products as an adult.

pfdietz 2y ago

Lactase persistence is also common in many parts of Africa.

lotsofpulp 2y ago

There are a billion plus South Asians that eat a ton of dairy. Cows are even sacred. Lactose tolerance is a very wide scale, from zero tolerance to even cheese to being able to drink multiple glasses of milk without getting diarrhea. Based on anecdotal evidence and the seeming popularity of pizza, a lactose intolerance so great that cheese is an issue seems to be rare.

spondylosaurus 2y ago
Many cheeses contain little to no lactose, which may be a factor :) But yes, being raised in a dairy-heavy culinary culture is one predictor of continued lactose tolerance into adulthood.

gojomo 2y ago

I know that's the conventional wisdom, but as an adult of European descent who usually handles lactose/dairy well, I sometimes have periods of reduced tolerance, perhaps due to changes in my gut biome. And there's evidence even lactose-intolerant ("lactase nonpersistent") demographics can tolerate ever-larger amounts of lactose with a gradual ramp-up of consumption that shifts their gut biomes in a different direction: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38159728/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38159728/ There's a chance the conventional view overweights human genetics and underweights biome, which could create a self-fulfilling diagnosis of "lactose intolerance". That is: a person notices a bad reaction, and is told (influenced by demographic tendencies) "oh, as an adult you'll inevitably be lactose-intolerant". They avoid dairy, further thinning (or completely eliminating) the bacteria that could help from their gut, ensuring a more-noticeable negative reaction upon further consumption. OTOH, if the right bacterial mix was maintained, or reintroduced then maintained if necessary, many considering themselves lactose-intolerant might not persistently be. (Separate from the bacteria themselves assisting in lactose digestion, there's even some chance that the positive or negative shock of a wildly-changed biome might epigenetically affect the beyond-childhood activation of the human genome's own lactase genes – a possibility mentioned in the middle of this microbiologist's writeup: https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/17/health/lactose-intolerance-microbiome-partner/index.html https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/17/health/lactose-intolerance-mi... )

spondylosaurus 2y ago
My gastroenterologist says that intestinal illness can render you temporarily lactose intolerant for a few weeks after the fact. That might be what's happening to you, or some version of it!