Up to 75% of people worldwide begin to lose the ability to digest lactose as they grow into adults. This loss of ability ranges from 5% in northern Europe, to over 71% in Sicily and to over 90% in parts of Africa and Asia. There is no cure for lactose intolerance. People need to change their diet to only include food with very little lactose. There are many milk substitutes.
Milk is not a fermented product. If is not digested, then it may ferment in the small intestine which can cause a problem called pseudoallergy. Amino acids are changed to other substances, which may act in much the same way as histamine in a true allergy.
Lactase evolution in humans[change | change source]
Genetics[change | change source]
A mutation on chromosome 2 stops the shutdown in lactase production. This makes it possible for those with the mutation to continue drinking fresh milk (and eating other dairy products) throughout their lives.
This appears to be a recent adaptation to dairy products. It occurred in both northern Europe and east Africa in people with a historically pastoral lifestyle. Lactase persistence, allowing lactose digestion to continue into adulthood, is a dominant allele, making lactose intolerance a recessive trait.
Genetic studies suggest that the oldest mutations associated with lactase persistence have only become common in human populations in the last 10,000 years. Because of this, lactase persistence is often given as an example of recent human evolution. As lactase persistence is genetic, but animal husbandry a cultural trait, this is gene–culture coevolution.
Related pages[change | change source]
References[change | change source]
- "Improved lactose digestion and intolerance among African-American adolescent girls fed a dairy-rich diet.". Journal of the American Dietetic Association. 2000. http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-27939567_ITM. Retrieved 2009-02-03. "Approximately 75% of the world's population loses the ability to completely digest a physiological dose of lactose after infancy".
- Bulhões, A.C.; Goldani, H.A.S.; Oliveira, F.S.; Matte, U.S.; Mazzuca, R.B.; Silveira, T.R. (2007). "Correlation between lactose absorption and the C/T-13910 and G/A-22018 mutations of the lactase-phlorizin hydrolase (LCT) gene in adult-type hypolactasia". Brazilian Journal of Medical and Biological Research 40 (11): 1441–6. . .
- Itan, Yuval et al. 2010. A worldwide correlation of lactase persistence phenotype and genotypes. BMC Evolutionary Biology. 10(1). p36.
- Swaminathan, N. 2007. Not milk? Neolithic Europeans couldn't stomach the stuff. Scientific American.
- Malmstrom H. et al. 2010. High frequency of lactose intolerance in a prehistoric hunter-gatherer population in northern Europe. BMC Evolutionary Biology 10: 89.
- Coles Harriet (2007). "The lactase gene in Africa: do you take milk?". The Human Genome, Wellcome Trust. http://genome.wellcome.ac.uk/doc_WTX038968.html. Retrieved 2008-07-18.
- Coelho M. et al. 2002. Microsatellite variation and evolution of human lactase persistence. Human Genetics 117(4): 329–339.
- Bersaglieri T. et al. 2004. Genetic signatures of strong recent positive selection at the lactase gene. American Journal of Human Genetics 74(6): 1111–20.
- Wade N. 2006. Study detects recent instance of human evolution. The New York Times. December 10, 2006.
- Swaminathan, N. 2006. African adaptation to digesting milk is "strongest signal of selection ever". Scientific American.
- Aoki K. 2001. Theoretical and empirical aspects of gene–culture coevolution. Theoretical Population Biology 59(4): 253–261.