Comment by bigtcm on 12/03/2025 at 16:54 UTC

14 upvotes, 1 direct replies (showing 1)

View submission: Ask Anything Wednesday - Biology, Chemistry, Neuroscience, Medicine, Psychology

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As a general rule, all adult mammals (including humans) are lactose intolerant. In fact, I'm pretty sure most adult humans on the planet are still lactose intolerant.

I've read that lactose tolerance (aka lactase persistance) is one of the strongest positive selective pressures that have ever evolved in humans. It turned essentially worthless grass and scrub brush into a highly nutritious food.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lactase_persistence

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Comment by hypergol at 12/03/2025 at 17:33 UTC

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fwiw, PL came after extensive cheese and milk adoption in eurasia. you've kinda got the causal arrows turned around--PL ameliorated the side effects of lactose consumption.