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Scientists are trying to explain why people began consuming animals' milk before they developed genetic mutations which enabled them to digest it properly.
The mutations mean people produce lactase—an enzyme which breaks down milk sugars, called lactose—after they reach adulthood. Without the mutations, lactase production stops in childhood, which can lead to lactose intolerance.
"There is at least a 4,000 year gap between when we see the earliest evidence of dairying and when we see first the evidence of any mutations anywhere in the world," said Professor Christina Warinner, head of microbiome sciences at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History in Jena, Germany.
Only about 35% of the world's population today have lactase persistence mutations. They exist mainly in European populations—especially northwestern Europe—and their descendants, and in parts of the Middle East, sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.
"If we can work out the evolutionary history and mechanics of lactose intolerance (how diet, human genetics, and gut microbes interact), we will have a powerful model for how to tackle other complex digestive disorders and food allergies," said Prof. Warinner.
[...] "The reason people were able to eat dairy before we had the ability to process lactose is because of fermentation," said Cheryl Makarewicz, professor at the University of Kiel, Germany.
"It shows the power of this kind of processing and how it can impact how your body reacts to different foodstuffs," she said. Fermented foods contain microbes which may also play a part in people's digestion.
Microbes in people's guts may have also evolved to break down the lactose. "This hasn't been well studied … It's something we're trying to test," said Prof. Warinner.
To do this, Dairy Cultures scientists are exploring the microbiome, the genetic makeup of microbes that live in the gut, which include bacteria, viruses and fungi. They are studying samples from herders to see if they contain elevated levels of microbes that aid milk digestion.
"The more we can understand about how the microbiome functioned in the past and what it is capable of, the better we will understand how and why the microbiome is changing now and why it is associated with so many health problems today," she said.
(Score: 0, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 25 2020, @07:07PM (5 children)
And if you are a white person, enjoy whatever dairy products you want, including milk.
This defocus on white people that is all the rage makes it sound like this is a worldwide problem. It's not.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 25 2020, @07:15PM (4 children)
Even among "whites", only a minority are lactose tolerant.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 25 2020, @07:27PM (3 children)
This is completely untrue. Did you even read the summary?
"Lactose intolerance" is claimed by a lot of whiny white people just like "gluten intolerance" or whatever is the thing of the day that makes people feel like special snowflakes. If white, you MAY have lactose intolerance, but odds are heavily against it.
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 25 2020, @07:37PM (2 children)
AC to AC, you are full of shit.
There is a reason why "drinking milk is for kids" is a common notion. Many females try to avoid milk (and even other dairy) because it gives them gas and bloat.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 25 2020, @08:09PM
Facts are for snowflake liberal beta cucks dontchaknow?
(Score: 2) by aristarchus on Sunday January 26 2020, @12:01AM
So, it has come to this! https://xkcd.com/1022/ [xkcd.com] AC on AC violence! SoylentNews has turned upon itself! Only one thing [wikipedia.org] can save us now!