Are most Somalis lactose intolerant?

[Username]

Apparently we are one of the most lactose intolerant countries according to some data.

Lactose Intolerance by Country - Milk - ProCon.org

Lactose intolerance is “an impaired ability to digest lactose, a sugar found in milk and other dairy products,” according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Lactose intolerance in infants is caused by a mutation in the LCT gene, which results in a life-long intolerance. This condition...

milk.procon.org

I have never met a lactose intolerant Somali though so that's kinda surprising to me.

 

[Encroacher]

You're telling me we survived on camel milk and meat for 3000+ years, and didn't develop the genetics to break down lactose?

 

[Qeelbax]

The lies. I remember a stat saying 90% of somalis are lactose tolerant.

 

[Kimk]

Me and most of my family are lactose intolent…however I can easily drink camel and goat milk without a problem

 

[Kimk]

90% seems a bit a high..do Somalis drink a lot of cow milk..maybe in shax but our traditional meals don’t include much milk

 

[asveros]

bs. my whole familly have been drinking multiple glasses of milk a day since we were kids.

somalis in general drink lots of milk thats why we r so tall

 

[Periplus]

I am lactose intolerant.

Camel milk doesn’t have a lot of lactose.

 

[Arkan]

You're telling me we survived on camel milk and meat for 3000+ years, and didn't develop the genetics to break down lactose?

We already have the genetics but some of us have a lactase deficiency, meaning our bodies don’t produce enough lactase.

 

[Dooyo]

But we are a pastoral people? Camels, cows, goats are our thing. I'm not lactose intolerant. Love milk and cheese.

 

[Sophisticate]

I would have anticipated greater lactase persistence relative to other groups. I do not have lactose intolerance I have the persistence gene but I developed a milk allergy as a consequence of western living. The caano here sucks. It comes from A1 cows that are pumped with antibiotics.

 

[Mount23]

How can we when our ancestors relied on Meat and Milk to survive??Chineses, Indians etc. Relied on carbs, veggies, rice etc.

All these carbs and vegetable oils is a disaster to the Somali race

 

[Periplus]

How can we when our ancestors relied on Meat and Milk to survive??Chineses, Indians etc. Relied on carbs, veggies, rice etc.

All these carbs and vegetable oils is a disaster to the Somali race

Camel milk barely has lactose.

Indians however use cow milk, cheese and yoghurt in everything.

 

[Nomadic lord]

nah I have been drinking milk of 99% of my life and all somalis I know drink milk.

 

[Sol]

Don't know a single Somali who is

 

[World]

That is referring to the European lactose tolerance mutation, East Africans have their own lactose tolerance gene.

 

[mrlog]

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[El Nino]

You people who are lactose intolerant are missing out on the sweet sweet elixir

 

[Shimbiris]

I would have anticipated greater lactase persistence relative to other groups. I do not have lactose intolerance I have the persistence gene but I developed a milk allergy as a consequence of western living. The caano here sucks. It comes from A1 cows that are pumped with antibiotics.

The vast majority of Mongols are not lactase persistent genetically like Northern Europeans. They're even less lactase persistent than us by a wide margin, last I checked. Yet a fair number of Mongols and even Han Chinese report being able to consume a significant amount of milk without issues. There is evidence in the literature I've seen over the years that populations overtime develop the proper gut microbiome for digesting certain things like the Japanese with seaweed and our ancestors and Mongols with raw milk. If I'm not mistaken, I don't genetically carry many of the markers for lactase persistence yet I can chug a gallon of milk, raw or pasteurized, and feel absolutely normal throughout the day after with no diarrhea or anything like that.

It's the gut microbiome. Somalis who have trouble with dairy are most likely damaged in some way in that respect. Most people are, to be honest. I remember reading how there were so many strains of things like lactobacillus that are heavily depleted in modern people compared to before due to things like SAD type diets, microbiotically compromised mothers and birthing through methods like c-sections. Sad stuff.

Also, another thing to keep in mind is that a lot of pastoralist populations didn't historically just chug raw milk. Our ancestors, including the ancestors of groups like the Mongols, the Maasai and even the Bedouin very often fermented milk into things like yogurt and sourmilks which heavily depleted the lactose and left you with the protein, fat, vitamins, mineral and probiotics.

A lot of the milk was also used to make butter, ghee and in the case of some of these cultural groups cheeses as well. Camel milk was historically pretty much impossible to make cheese from so cheese wasn't much of a thing across the Sahara and for Somali nomads but the rest like sourmilks, yogurts, butter, cream and ghee were very, very common. And one thing all of those things have in common is little to no lactose. If you've left raw milk to ferment for 2-3 days then there's probably only trace amounts of lactose left and almost nobody is THAT sensitive. Same goes for butter, cream and even more so with ghee.

 

[World]

The vast majority of Mongols are not lactase persistent genetically like Northern Europeans. They're even less lactase persistent than us by a wide margin, last I checked. Yet a fair number of Mongols and even Han Chinese report being able to consume a significant amount of dairy without issues. There is evidence in the literature I've seen over the years that populations overtime develop the proper gut microbiome for digesting certain things like the Japanese with seaweed and our ancestors and Mongols with raw milk. If I'm not mistaken, I don't genetically carry many of the markers for lactase persistence yet I can chug a gallon of milk, raw or pasteurized, and feel absolutely normal throughout the day after with no diarrhea or anything like that.

It's the gut microbiome. Somalis who have trouble with dairy are most likely damaged in some way in that respect. Most people are, to be honest. I remember reading how there were so many strains of things like lactobacillus that are heavily depleted in modern people compared to before due to things like SAD type diets, microbiotically compromised mothers and birthing through methods like c-sections. Sad stuff.

Also, another thing to keep in mind is that a lot of pastoralist populations didn't historically just chug raw milk. Our ancestors, including the ancestors of groups like the Mongols, the Maasai and even the Bedouin very often fermented milk into things like yogurt and sourmilks which heavily depleted the lactose and left you with the protein, fat, vitamins, mineral and probiotics.

A lot of the milk was also used to make butter, ghee and in the case of some of these cultural groups cheeses as well. Camel milk was historically pretty much impossible to make cheese from so cheese wasn't much of thing across the Sahara and for Somali nomads but the rest like sourmilks, yogurts, butter, cream and ghee were very, very common. And one thing all of those things have in common is little to no lactose. If you've left raw milk to ferment for 2-3 days then there's probably only trace amounts of lactose left and almost nobody is THAT sensitive. Same goes for butter, cream and even more so with ghee.

Those with Cushitic ancestry actually their own lactose persistence gene, 14010G>C. It is common among non-Horner pastoralists such as Maasai due to their high Cushitic ancestry, in fact they have a higher lactose persistence percentage than Europeans.

 

[Username]

That is referring to the European lactose tolerance mutation, East Africans have their own lactose tolerance gene.

Idk how accurate the website I linked is but they have the country Niger pretty low on there, so Idk if it's about just the European gene.