Asians and lactose intolerance

[theme]

I don't know about you guys, but I am lactose intolerant. And apparently I am not alone. Almost all Asians are lactose intolerant because our ancestors had very little dairy in their diets. As a result, many Asians lack a very important source of nutrients that are found in milk. Here is some info I pulled from a couple of internet sites.


What Is Lactose Intolerance and What Causes It?
Lactose intolerance is the inability to digest a sugar called lactose that is found in milk and dairy products.



Normally when a person eats something containing lactose, an enzyme in the small intestine called lactase breaks down lactose into simpler sugar forms called glucose and galactose. These simple sugars are then easily absorbed into the bloodstream and turned into energy — fuel for our bodies.

People with lactose intolerance do not produce enough of the lactase enzyme to break down lactose. Instead, undigested lactose sits in the gut, causing gas, bloating, and stomach cramps. When the intestine cannot absorb the lactose-containing foods, it can lead to diarrhea.

Lactose intolerance is fairly common. It seems to affect guys and girls equally. Some ethnic groups are more likely to be affected than others because their diets traditionally include fewer dairy products: Almost all Asians and Native Americans are lactose intolerant, and up to 80% of African Americans and Hispanic Americans also have symptoms of lactose intolerance. Their ancestors did not eat dairy foods, so their bodies were not prepared to digest dairy, and they passed these genes on from generation to generation.


Ethnic Group Percent Intolerant
African Blacks 95%
Indians 90%
Asians 90%
North American Blacks 75%
Mexican Americans 75%
Mediterraneans 60%
North American Whites 15%

[Candide]

I know quite a few Asians who are lactose intolerant but 90% seems awfully high to me. In my experience, it's more like 50%. Most people on both sides of my family, including myself, aren't, btw.

[atlasien]

Yes, those figures are too general. For example, "Africans". There's huge genetic variation in Africa, and some populations that had a traditional lifestyle raising cattle have as high lactose tolerance as, say, Norwegians.

I think some Asians are truly lactose intolerant, and others have stomachs that are simply not used to dairy products. For example, when I was in Japan once a woman told me she went on a package tour to France and everyone got mildly ill after an especially intense cheese-tasting tour. I don't think they were all intolerant, Japanese eat lots of strange milk products in small amounts, they just weren't accustomed to that kind of dairy overload.

[Vahz]

My parents and I don't seem to have a problem with dairy at all. Last I checked, my parents gorged themselves on pizza and ice cream the other week.

Sometimes, I've noticed that the worst we'll get is slightly more gas.

[kimtae]

They, that nebulous group of those in the know, always throw out that 90% number but I know it can't be right, not across the board for all Asian groups. Think of Mongolians who consume huge amounts of mare's milk or Tibetans who eat a lot of Yak's milk based dairy. Even in Korea most people drink regular milk and the products for the lactose intolerant only make up a small niche market. In fact there's almost nothing Koreans won't put cheese on these days. Cheese ramyun, cheese fried rice, cheese baked pumpkin, cheese fried sweet potato, it goes on and on. I suspect northern mainland Asians have fairly low levels of lactose intolerance. I'm also curious about that figure for Indians. I love Indian cheese. It's hard for me to believe 90% of them are lactose intolerant.
And for those of you who are lactose intolerant, most yogurts can be eaten safely if they're eaten at room temperature.

[Lum]

My mother made us drink whole milk every day growing up to keep this from happening. After I moved out I stopped buying the stuff, then one day...sploosh. Far as I can tell, you can build up a tolerance to lactose and you can lose it just the same.

[Dimeron]

I don't know about lactose intolerance, but I drink two glass of milk every day. Once in the morning and once before I goto sleep. Never had any problems.

And I eat cheese by the bundles. But then again, cheese usually don't contain too much lactose.

[vsoy]

My mother made us drink whole milk every day growing up to keep this from happening. After I moved out I stopped buying the stuff, then one day...sploosh. Far as I can tell, you can build up a tolerance to lactose and you can lose it just the same.
I took some antibiotics for a sinus infection a few years ago and that blew out what little lactose digestive bugs out of me and now I can't drink milk.

Also, there's a whole range of lactose intolerance. I can eat all the ice cream, cheese and yogurt I want, but milk with cereal will wreak serious repercussions. Some people can't eat ice cream without serious consequences, it's a matter how much lactose your body can tolerate. From what I understand, ice cream, cheese and yogurt have lower levels of lactose than straight milk because of the processes involved in production.

I've found taking those lactase pills allows me to have milk and cereal, milkshakes with no problems. The key is to take the pill with the first bite, not later. My sister claims she "cured" my brother in law of lactose intolerance by buying Lactaid milk for a year but I really have my doubts about that.

[atlasien]

Lactose intolerant or not, I think too much dairy is unhealthy in the long term. I have heard of some connections between breast cancer and dairy consumption.

Most Asian diets are low in dairy, and rates of breast cancer are also low compared to Western diets with a lot of milk and butter. On the down side, all the soy sauce and salty pickles leads to higher rates of hypertension and stomach cancer.

I don't drink milk at all and I try to keep butter and cheese to a minimum.

[Scowl]

Far as I can tell, you can build up a tolerance to lactose and you can lose it just the same.

Just like alcohol! Then again, they say that a large part of being drunk is mental.

I'm curious as to the source for those numbers. We all know that Asians tend to be lactose intolerant, but 90% is way too high. On the other hand, if tolerance can be built up, then I suppose that it's possible that a large portion of that 90% have built up their tolerance over the years.

[awong]

My mother made us drink whole milk every day growing up to keep this from happening. After I moved out I stopped buying the stuff, then one day...sploosh. Far as I can tell, you can build up a tolerance to lactose and you can lose it just the same.

i drank regular whole milk everyday yet I still had problems that got worse in high school

[nekohead]

My hubby LOVES milk. But, he HATES eggs.

[theme]

90% was the number that I got. If you guys have a different source throw it up.

[atlasien]

Massive article that clears up a lot of questions. I snipped out some of the really detailed stuff about intestinal bacteria and hydrogen gas in the colon.

http://www.medicinenet.com/lactose_intolerance/article.htm

The most common cause of lactase deficiency is a decrease in the amount of lactase that occurs after childhood and persists into adulthood, referred to as adult-type hypolactasia. This decrease is genetically programmed, and the prevalence of this type of lactase deficiency among different ethnic groups is highly variable. Thus, among Asian populations it is almost 100%, among American Indians it is 80%, and among blacks it is 70%; however, among American Caucasians the prevalence of lactase deficiency is only 20%. In addition to variability in the prevalence of lactase deficiency, there also is variability in the age at which symptoms of lactose intolerance appear. Thus, among Asian populations, the symptoms of deficiency (intolerance) occurs around the age of 5, among Blacks and Mexican-Americans by the age of 10, and among the Finnish by age 20.

It is important to emphasize that lactase deficiency is not the same as lactose intolerance. Persons with milder deficiencies of lactase often have no symptoms after the ingestion of milk. For unclear reasons, even persons with moderate deficiencies of lactase may not have symptoms. A diagnosis of lactase deficiency is made when the amount of lactase in the intestine is reduced, but a diagnosis of lactose intolerance is made only when the reduced amount of lactase causes symptoms.

[...]

The severity of the symptoms of lactose intolerance vary greatly from person to person. One reason for this variability is that people have different amounts of lactose in their diet; the more lactose in the diet, the more likely and severe the symptoms. Another reason for the variability is that people have differing severities of lactase deficiency, that is, they may have mildly, moderately, or severely reduced amounts of lactase in their intestines. Thus, small amounts of lactose will cause major symptoms in severely lactase deficient people but only mild or no symptoms in mildly lactase deficient people. Finally, people may have different responses to the same amount of lactose reaching the colon. Whereas some may have mild or no symptoms, others may have moderate symptoms. The reason for this is not clear but may relate to differences in their intestinal bacteria.

[...]

Although there are several good ways to diagnose lactose intolerance, most people who consider themselves lactose intolerant have never been formally tested for intolerance. This is unfortunate because at least 20% of people who think they are lactose intolerant are not, and 20% of people who think they are not intolerant, in fact, are intolerant.

[averagejoette]

I drink about one cup of milk a day, eat string cheese, and try to eat yogurt (plain, none of that strawberry flavored stuff) everyday. I eat ice cream like a mad woman. So, I'm not lactose intolerant. I'm quite opposite I guess...a lactose fiend? My mom use to make be drink a least two cups of milk everyday.
My sister had the same regimen, but she recently claims that shes becoming more intolerant and passes foul smelling gas at times.
Most people I know are mildly intolerant, but they can handle milk and such in small amounts.

[theme]

I think cheese and yogurt have properties that make it easier for those who are lactose intolerant to digest.

For example, I can eat cottage cheese like there's no tomorrow and I can eat swiss cheese 2 slices at a time, but I certainly can't drink milk. But milk contains nutrients that are different or missing in cheese. I think cassein and whey, two proteins found in milk, are different in milk than in cheese and yogurt but I'm not sure.

[bananaboy74]

Goddamn, I love lactose-free milk. I get the 1% milkfat one for a little extra flavor. I wish they had this stuff back when I was growing up in the 80's and early 90's. I guess I never had tolerance and the milk at lunch would leave me fighting back gas in my afternoon classes. I grew up short and skinny too, although I guess I came out OK at 5'9".

[ellencho]

I think cheese and yogurt have properties that make it easier for those who are lactose intolerant to digest.

For example, I can eat cottage cheese like there's no tomorrow and I can eat swiss cheese 2 slices at a time, but I certainly can't drink milk. But milk contains nutrients that are different or missing in cheese. I think cassein and whey, two proteins found in milk, are different in milk than in cheese and yogurt but I'm not sure.
This is a lactose intolerance thread. We're talking about lactose intolerance, which is an intolerance to a specific sugar, not protein. This has nothing to do with casein or whey.

Processed dairy foods like yogurt/cottage cheese/ aged cheeses like swiss cheese or parm are lower in lactose than regular milk or fresher cheese like mozzarella because the processed foods have pre-digested your lactose molecules for you. You're fine with cottage cheese and yogurt and swiss because they contain less lactose than milk or ice cream.

[ZhuBaJie]

am i the only one who thinks the dairy industry has a hold on the US collective consciousness and has made it think that it can't live without dairy? i didn't experience all this emphasis on drinking milk until i came to the US, and i hardly think milk is the only source that offers what it offers because a whole lot of people go on with their lives without drinking much of it or having much dairy products.

[Ike]

Isn't everyone lactase deficient in varying degrees? For example... try drinking a gallon of milk in one sitting. Not fun.

[Dialectic]

Humans don't need milk beyond weaning age, which is, what, less than one? (haven't checked my timing on this)

The only two mammals in the world that drink milk after they're weaned are people and domesticated cats, and neither even drinks their own.

We're drinking a substance meant for infant cows, which means not only are we taking in natural cow growth hormone, but also antibiotics and all the non-naturally occurring hormones we've introduced.

Finally, as I recall, I think we only absorb 2/5 of the calcium in milk because it has to bond with phosphorous to be properly absorbed (I read all this years ago, though, so my details are not exactly remembered).

Don't get me wrong, I still drink it, and it goes great with chocolate and cookies and cereal, but it's totally unnecessary.

[minbo]

Ahh, humans don't need hot chocolate either, but it's damn good stuff!

Seriously, milk it does the body good. A lot of nutrients in it, though as D says, it is not all readily accessible by our digestive system. A glass or two every now and then (or it's equivalent in cheese, ice cream, yogurt, etc.) is fairly good "multivitamin" drink, goo or bar. But if you are eating properly, you don't need it at all once you are older than the "natural" weaning age. What the proper weaning age is though is a matter of debate. You can wean your baby at 7 months (though it's not recommended), but the global average I THINK is 3 years. Using physiological information about the development of the human body, and at what stage of development other animals get weaned, the range goes anywhere from 2.5 years to 7 years. A benefit for the mother is that breastfeeding works fairly effectively as contraceptive. This is more important when you are a hunter gatherer because it would be really hard to care for multiple babies every 16 months (7 months of breastfeeding, 9 months of pregnancy). A negative for the mother is that it takes a lot of nutrition for herself to produce milk and causes wear and tear on her body.

Yeah, the milk industry and the juice industry have the FDA by the balls. That's why they promote the myth that drinks with caffeine doesn't count to your water intake for the day. Sure caffeine is a diuretic, but if you are used to it because you drink it every day, it doesn't make you loose water through pee any more often than any other drink.

[DONKEY]

if i drink a glass of milk i get stomach cramps, violent shits, and sweat like crazy. if im lucky ill puke it up before it can start chaos in my intestines.

[nightshade]

Ah, so many of us are lactards. I've accidentally made various friends sick by offering them food that has too much dairy in it.

I've stopped drinking milk in recent years (switched to soy when I was being a psychotic vegan and didn't stop even went I went back to meat), but when I was a kid I used to drink gallons of milk and not get sick. In Canada, milk used to come in little plastic bags in packs of three--we went through tons of it at my house because my brother and I were way too skinny.

But yeah, the dairy farmers in North America really push milk hard. They're such milk pimps. I'm surprised that they haven't turned the "Got Milk?" ads into PETA-like porn.

I think we absorb the calcium in dark green vegetables more easily than the calcium in dairy products. Of course, this might be the psychotic vegan in me speaking--I don't have any unbiased facts to back this claim.

I wonder what would happen if I drank a glass of milk now. Hmm, I think I'll go and eat a vat of Pinkberry tomorrow and test my lactose tolerance.

[Anansasem]

At least my 'mixed' heritage is good for something. I have no know allergies, a very strong immune system, and even very rare immunity to poison oak and poison ivy. I live between Michigan, Illinois, and Wisconsin during the year so dairy is a merit of everyday life. I usually have at least two over-sized glasses of milk a day, and an assortment of cheese, ice cream, and other dairy products. Although, my sister (biologically 'half-sister') is severely lactose intolerant to the point we have to be careful how we eat and store food around her.

Viva, Hybrid Vigor! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hybrid_vigour

[Ike]

Ana, I'm not mixed at all (that I know of, unless you count different provinces of China), and I have no allergies or lactose intolerance either. And this is what Wikipedia has to say about poison ivy: "Around 15% to 30% of people have no allergic response, but most if not all will become sensitized over time with repeated or more concentrated exposure to urushiol." Unfortunately, people do develop allergies later in life, so... knock on wood?

Edit: And on topic, I believe a lot of Hispanics are lactose intolerant too.

[DONKEY]

well i think about 75% of adults worldwide are lactose intolerant. even among white americans, about 25% are lactose intolerant. but for people with non-european ancestry its about 90%
so most of the world is normal and does not drink milk as adults.

[theme]

It turns out that I'm not lactose intolerant anymore. I've been able to drink milk since around June without any problems, which coincidentally was when I started my routine and taking my whey/vitamins. Don't know if those two things are connected but now I drink a few cups a day.

[nightshade]

Pinkberry mission accomplished--and I didn't get sick. Hooray, lactose is my bitch.

There was a moment when I almost left without buying anything because the place smelled like yogurt, and I don't like yogurt. Yes, I know, Pinkberry is frozen yogurt, but I thought all the sugar would pwn that tangy flavour. But I had to hold tight because I'd promised to bring some to a friend who was lending me The Deathly Hallows.

I felt kind of sorry for one guy who was in line ahead of me cause he was obviously his office's bitch. Dude had to carry two flats of the stuff.

Anyhow, I had a small plain green tea. I kind of hated the first taste...then, I swear the stuff is crack-laced because I couldn't eat it quickly enough. Ten seconds later, in a daze, I wandered into Built By Wendy and got them to order me a dress from LA.

Pinkberry is crack. It will make you do strange things. If you live in New York, I recommend you go to the Spring Street location because the last time I passed the Koreatown location, there was a line out the door at eleven p.m.

[ren]

I'd vouch for the building of tolerance and having it actually diminish over time, either to a change in diet or straying from diary for long periods. I'm 1.5 generation, so my parents weren't used to personally sipping from the cow… for the longest time I never had a problem with lactose. I could drink milk, eat ice cream, cheese, whatever… for the most part that diet was a very typical American diet (unhealthy). Wasn't until I left college and I figured it was time to learn how to cook and stop eating hotpockets for breakfast, lunch, and dinner that I changed over to a more Asian diet - lots of tofu, 2 cups of rice daily, seafood the type that doesn’t come in a non-descript box, all fresh produce, and I stopped eating anything frozen, pre-packaged, and I ceased drinking milk and eating any other dairy product. It was at that point where I tried to go back to drinking milk that it really messed me up. With my current diet I've never had a problem with the "IBS" that I was supposedly diagnosed with in my late teens so as soon as I was overcome by the cramping, gas, and diarrhea I figured I couldn't tolerate the diary anymore. I can't claim it's a valid link but that's my experience. I tested it again recently and I definitely can't drink milk. Another possibility… perhaps more rBGH approved bacterial puss in the milk. Mmmm bio-engineered mother's milk straight from Besey. Beats me.

[awong]

i still wonder if my dad is lactose intolerant, ever since I can remember he never drinks any milk, will eat yogart, ice cream and other dairy, but not milk. He may not like it though so never found out and everyone just accepted it lol. My mom doesnt have any problems at all and i dont know about my brother and sister, they just dont bother drinking.

My immunity went down even with consistant drinking every morning, it got worse in high school, I was drinking like 1/4 of a cup just b/c it was getting bad and I was still having problems. But I think before it was worse on a nearly empty stomach with a small breakfast. Though my dinners are large, I still have the same problems if I have milk. If I reduce the milk to 2-3 times a week, I am ok and its better.

[ellencho]

Pinkberry mission accomplished--and I didn't get sick. Hooray, lactose is my bitch.

There was a moment when I almost left without buying anything because the place smelled like yogurt, and I don't like yogurt. Yes, I know, Pinkberry is frozen yogurt, but I thought all the sugar would pwn that tangy flavour. But I had to hold tight because I'd promised to bring some to a friend who was lending me The Deathly Hallows.

I felt kind of sorry for one guy who was in line ahead of me cause he was obviously his office's bitch. Dude had to carry two flats of the stuff.

Anyhow, I had a small plain green tea. I kind of hated the first taste...then, I swear the stuff is crack-laced because I couldn't eat it quickly enough. Ten seconds later, in a daze, I wandered into Built By Wendy and got them to order me a dress from LA.

Pinkberry is crack. It will make you do strange things. If you live in New York, I recommend you go to the Spring Street location because the last time I passed the Koreatown location, there was a line out the door at eleven p.m.

My dad is obsessed with pinkberry, his office is a couple of blocks from K-town. Mostly because it was started by a bunch of Koreans and because he says whenever he passes by one there's a line out the door. I swear, if my dad bought a franchise he'd actually be losing money because our fat family would constantly be behind the counter eating up all the profits.

However... supposedly pinkberry isn't allowed to call their food frozen yogurt because the CA dept of Food and Ag said it doesn't meet the requirements for what they consider frozen yogurt. So if your stomach was able to handle it, you're probably not as lactose intolerant as you thought you were :) Go and eat some more and celebrate.

[nightshade]

Hee, I imagine your dad walking by, considering the purchase of a Pinkberry franchise, and then thinking to himself, "No! We'll all be cracked out on Pinkberry. Must resist!"

I'm kind of disturbed by the fact that Pinkberry isn't allowed to call their food frozen yogurt. What could be in it? Wait, I don't really want to know.

My dad is obsessed with pinkberry, his office is a couple of blocks from K-town. Mostly because it was started by a bunch of Koreans and because he says whenever he passes by one there's a line out the door. I swear, if my dad bought a franchise he'd actually be losing money because our fat family would constantly be behind the counter eating up all the profits.

However... supposedly pinkberry isn't allowed to call their food frozen yogurt because the CA dept of Food and Ag said it doesn't meet the requirements for what they consider frozen yogurt. So if your stomach was able to handle it, you're probably not as lactose intolerant as you thought you were :) Go and eat some more and celebrate.

[minbo]

So far no need to fret. Pinkberry is not allowed to call itself frozen yogurt, not because of what is in it, but what is not sufficiently in it.

According to Wikipedia...


The Los Angeles Times (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Angeles_Times) sent samples of Pinkberry's product to a lab and revealed that Pinkberry did contain active yogurt cultures, but it does not contain the minimum amount of culture to call itself frozen yogurt, according to California state law[15] (http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-pinkberry21jun21,0,1099232.story?coll=la-home-center). According to the Los Angeles Times, Pinkberry's product had only 69,000 bacterial cultures per gram, compared to 3,600 for Golden Spoon, and 200,000 for Baskin-Robbins. The National Yogurt Association (NYA) (http://www.aboutyogurt.com/) established its own criteria for live and active culture yogurt. In order for manufacturers to carry their Live and Active Culture seal, refrigerated yogurt products must contain at least 100 million cultures per gram at the time of manufacture, and frozen yogurt products must contain 10 million cultures per gram at the time of manufacture. This level was based on a survey of leading research scientists involved in clinical studies of the health attributes associated with live and active culture yogurt.[16] (http://www.aboutyogurt.com/lacYogurt/facts.asp)