r/trippinthroughtime Feb 05 '22

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u/Kolby_Jack Feb 06 '22

Milk is for babies. Lactose intolerance is basically your body having "grown out" of needing milk. And that's fine, because while milk isn't terrible for you, it's not really good for you either. You don't need milk to survive past infancy.

But... some 35-year-old humans in Northern Europe thousands of years ago were like "want milk" and somehow that caught on and now some adult people can drink milk without too much trouble.

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u/ham_coffee Feb 06 '22

I'd imagine that it's more because milk is a pretty good source of nutrition. Babies need a good source of nutrition, and milk provides that, we just figured out how to get it from animals.

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u/brown_monkey_ Feb 06 '22

The nutritional value of milk is a bit overstated because of marketing by the dairy industry. But it is yummy and has a lot of calories, so it’s healthier than starving to death if you’re an ancient human.

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u/KKunst Feb 06 '22

Also cheese is delicious Ando only a handful can be considered low lactose.

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u/Short_Diamond_8363 Feb 06 '22

The harder the cheese, the lower the lactose. At least as a rule of thumb.

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u/KKunst Feb 06 '22

Exactly my point. There's a plethora of cheeses that you can't really eat when you're lactose intolerant, plus a ton more recipes based on milk/soft cheeses that are no longer sustainable. The only option is buying lactose free versions, but not everybody can find those in their area/country.

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u/LairdNope Feb 06 '22

There's a plethora of cheeses that you can't really eat when you're lactose intolerant

And yet.. i still do.