What are the differences between the races/ethnic groups as far as lactose tolerance is concered ?

Question

What are the differences between the races/ethnic groups as far as lactose tolerance is concered ?

Answer 1

Generally, people who are descended from groups who herded cattle tend to be lactose tolerant.

People whose ancestors did NOT herd cattle tend not to be lactose tolerant.

Therefore, Europeans and North Africans show high levels of lactose tolerance, whereas most Asian groups do not.

Interestingly, it seems that lactose intolerance is the "normal" state, and tolerance is the abberration.

Answer 2

Jews of Eastern Europe have a high degree of lactose intolerance, even though dairy is a large part of the diet.  It creates a lot of phlegm.

If you ever watched the 70's show "Welcome Back Kotter", the main character, played by Gabe Kaplan, always made "his father's noise".  I think Ashkenazic Jews can all relate.

My parents eat cottage cheese by the gallon.  Most of my relatives turn green at the sight of it.

Answer 3

From my experiences Asian  show the lack of the enzyme which promotes the tolerance.  Other than that I do not see a pattern...

Answer 4

In the US: The prevalence of primary lactose intolerance varies according to race. As many as 25% of the white population (prevalence in those from southern European roots) is estimated to have lactose intolerance, while among black, Native American, and Asian American populations, prevalence is estimated at 75-90%.

Internationally: Of the world's population, 75% is estimated to be lactose-deficient. Lactose intolerance is very common among Asian, South American, and African persons.

Answer 5

I do not know a lot about this except that most East Asians (people of Mongolian descent, e.g, Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Amerindian) are lactose intolerant, whereas most Europeans are not.  East Asians are lactose tolerant when they are young, but sometime in early adolescence they become lactose intolerant by losing lactase, the enzyme needed to properly break down lactose.  Evidently lactose intolerance was the original state of humans but quite a long time ago a mutation in Europeans kept lactase in their system into adulthood.  A complication of lactose intolerance later in life is increased risk of low bone density -- osteoporosis -- which leads to fracture.  The reason is that milk is a major source of the calcium that builds up bones, and if one stops drinking it without eating alternative foods with high calcium content, one's bone density peaks too early.  Hence about 55% of Asian women and 30% of Asian men are at risk. I simplify a bit but that is the essence of it.  See the link for more details.

Answer 6

The only group of people for whom lactose (animal dairy products) are completely compatible, are the 11% of the human population, whose Blood Type is "B"...

The successful "B" mutation occurred somehwere in the vicinity of Northern India, 10,000 years ago, among peoples who milked their livestock-transportation, and moved in two directions. One group moved northeast into Central Asia, the other westward, towards the Fertile Crescent...