Post by BogartPost by YooperBoykaPost by BogartPost by YooperBoykaPost by BogartPost by YooperBoykaPost by wickedwaysPost by BogartI'm not interested in Ballgames (of the kind that can be
shown on daytime tv) nor beer. Boobs aren't that interesting
either unless its pleasure for the lady. They're only lumps
of fat.
ouch! Secondary sexual characteristics go to waste on the
B-Man.....but at least he allowed the pleasure part
;-).....and good for you, Bogey, on the other two....but is a
scientist going to weigh in on the fact that there are also (amidst
the fat) ducts and nerves and....
Milk!!!!
but the majority of adults in the world are lactose-intolerant.
*I'm* not!!!
Post by Bogartlactose is for babies.
Well,...wrap me in a diaper and call me Junior then.
well if it turns you on .....
Bogey,...I drink milk,...*lots* of it.
...along with eating butter, cheese, sour cream, ice cream,...
Lactose is only "for babies" when the society determines it.
This is not the case in the society I live in.
If you are going to determine that I'm an infant for craving lactose,
I figure I might as well dress the part.
No problem.
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lactose_intolerance
Lactose intolerance by group
Human groups Individuals-Examined Percent-Intolerant Allele-Frequency
Swedish NA 2% 0.14
Europeans in Australia 160 4% 0.20
Swiss NA 10% 0.316
American Caucasians 245 12% 0.346
Finns 134 18% 0.424
African Tutsi NA 20% 0.447
African Fulani NA 23% 0.48
African Americans 20 75% 0.87
Australian Aborigines 44 85% 0.922
African Bantu 59 89% 0.943
Chinese 71 93% 0.964
Thais 134 98% 0.99
American Indians 24 100% 1.00
See - most of the world are lactose-intolerant (notice
africans, chinese etc.).
The normal mammalian condition is for the young to lose the ability to
digest effectively milk sugar (lactose) at the end of the weaning period
(a species-specific length of time usually equal to roughly 3% of
lifespan). In humans, lactase production usually drops about 90% during
the first four years of life, though the exact drop and age varies widely.
However, certain human populations have undergone a mutation on chromosome
2 which results in a bypass of the normal shutdown in lactase production,
allowing members of these groups to continue consumption of fresh milk and
fresh milk products throughout their lives.
There is some debate on exactly where and when the mutation(s) occurred,
some arguing for separate mutation events in Sweden (which has one of the
lowest levels of lactose intolerance in the world) and the Arabian
Peninsula near 4000 BC which converged as they spread, while others argue
for a single event in the Middle East at about 4500 BC which radiated from
there. Some sources suggest a third and more recent mutation in the East
African Tutsi. Whatever the precise origin in time and place, most modern
western Eurasians and people of western Eurasian ancestry show the effects
of this mutation (that is, they are able to safely consume milk products
all their lives) while most modern eastern Eurasians, sub-Saharan Africans
and native peoples of the Americas and Pacific Islands do not (making them
lactose intolerant as adults)[1].
I'm not a believer that genetics are firmly set at birth.
They are more like a script that has many potential outcomes.
Y'know,...like those "novels" that allow you to make your own
decision about what happens, then you turn to the appropriate page.
Environmental factors can switch many genes on or off
in innumerable ways.
Even the presence or absence of various intestinal fauna
(and there are myriad of them that have never been studied)
can vastly change the digestion abilities of people, and/or
their general health.
Bogey,...I have a great deal of "First American" genetics
in my DNA, yet I am not lactose intolerant.
(nevermind that 24 subjects is a small enough sample
to make the results meaningless)
I know a great many African Americans who are also not
intolerant. 75% seems way high to me.
I think it may be more likely that ingesting lactose throughout
my life allowed me to continue, as it *may* have, had some of those
who are intolerant not stopped.
It may indeed be that any genes I inherited from my Northern European
ancestors passed on a tolerance, but I honestly doubt that
is the only factor
<quoted from the same article you posted, emphasis mine>
"There have been some cases where the intolerance has somehow diminished
with time; THIS HAS NOT BEEN STUDIED SCIENTIFICALLY, however, and whether it
is a case of desensitization remains to be seen. It should be remembered
that lactose intolerance is not a binary (all-or-nothing) condition: the
reduction in lactase production, and hence, amount of lactose that can be
tolerated VARIES FROM PERSON TO PERSON, and may change with age."
I read an interesting article a while back about the decline
of helicobacter pylori in industrialized societies and the genetic
differences between the organisms found in various parts of the globe.
This organism can cause inflammation in the stomach and/or
duodenum, yet seems to provide protection to the esophagus.
Have you noticed the increased incidence of "GERD"?
Maybe one more case of "unintended consequences" from
trying to protect ourselves from "bacteria"?
For me, knowledge gained last week is fast becoming
"old news" as we learn more faster than we did before.
Simple explanations no longer work.
It's a cool time to be alive, I tell ya.
Even if I'm way off base, I stand by my original statement that breasts
contain milk.
:^)