How does Greece have a high percentage of lactose intolerance while also consuming the most milk?

[Dimitri159]

Milk consumption:
https://languagesoftheworld.info/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Milk-Comsumption-per-Capita.png

Lactose intolerance:
https://vividmaps.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Lactose.jpg

It doesn’t add up.

[Petalpusher]

You can be intolerant and still consume milk and dairy products. You just cant drink a full glass of milk every morning without feeling bad. Im guessing there s a discomfort at least, i can do this fine.

[Dimitri159]

You can be intolerant and still consume milk and dairy products. You just cant drink a full glass of milk every morning without feeling bad. Im guessing there s a discomfort at least, i can do this fine.

As far as I’m aware Greeks love their milk. Most Greeks have a full glass every morning it seems like.

[Jingle Bell]

Milk consumption:
https://languagesoftheworld.info/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Milk-Comsumption-per-Capita.png

Lactose intolerance:
https://vividmaps.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Lactose.jpg

It doesn’t add up.

Damn 85% of Brazil its intolerant???
Ty good im in the 15% :cool:

[Aldaris]

It indeed doesn't add up as the second map is completely wrong. I've never met anyone having lactose intolerance in my life. So either I'm living in some paraller universe, or some postgraduals made a huge mistake in their methodology.

[Dimitri159]

It indeed doesn't add up as the second map is completely wrong. I've never met anyone having lactose intolerance in my life. So either I'm living in some paraller universe, or some postgraduals made a huge mistake in their methodology.

Where are you from?

[Aldaris]

Where are you from?

Czechia.

[Immanenz]

i heard Swedish people (women especially) have a lot of Osteoporse problems and some scientists claim actually the high cow milk consumption might be the reason and yet they arent often intolerant. I guess something will kill you sooner or later- it may be beer, vodka, cigaretes or milk.

[Dimitri159]

Czechia.

Czechia has a relatively low percentage compared to the rest of the world on this map. So what’s the problem?

[Dimitri159]

My only guess is that for those who are not lactose intolerant, they drink A LOT of milk. Also I heard that many people who are lactose intolerant can still handle a small glass of milk, in which most Greeks do drink regularly.

[Aldaris]

Czechia has a relatively low percentage compared to the rest of the world on this map. So what’s the problem?

One would expect that if more than 1/3 of Germans and Poles are lactose intorelant, the amount of lactose intolerant Czechs should be about the same. But let's say it's exactly 1/3 of the population. I'm pretty sure I would have already met at least one lactose intolerant if the map was accurate. Yet I didn't.

[Dimitri159]

One would expect that if more than 1/3 of Germans and Poles are lactose intorelant, the amount of lactose intolerant Czechs should be about the same. But let's say it's exactly 1/3 of the population. I'm pretty sure I would have already met at least one lactose intolerant if the map was accurate. Yet I didn't.

Maybe some people you met did not mention anything about being lactose intolerant even if they are.

[Aldaris]

Maybe some people you met did not mention anything about being lactose intolerant even if they are.

True, but in my case, it would be all the people I've ever met who didn't mention anything about it. If there was about 1/3 of lactose intorelant people, that would be quite strange, wouldn't it? Would guess that about half a population probably doesn't know what lactose intolerance even is. Never heard anything like 'I can't eat cheese, I'm lactose intorelant' in my life.

[Petalpusher]

True, but in my case, it would be all the people I've ever met who didn't mention anything about it. If there was about 1/3 of lactose intorelant people, that would be quite strange, wouldn't it? Would guess that about half a population probably doesn't know what lactose intolerance even is. Never heard anything like 'I can't eat cheese, I'm lactose intorelant' in my life.

It's really the ability to digest large quantity of lactose which im not sure is even found in today industrial milk anymore, (tastes very different than farm milk right off a cow). I remember someone in my class who could not have milk in the morning when we went on school trip, he was from Reunion and sort of mulatto ethnically, he could not even drink those little bricks of milk we had for breakfast.

However i can't remember anybody i know since then mentionning it either. It's probably the case in Europe few people are that lactose intolerant they can't even eat cheese for example (imagine that in here...) but i ve seen recently some tv ad promoting a milk for intolerant people, which could become a market with all the non white. There might be levels of intolerance, not a completely on/off thing i suspect.

[kingmob]

Lactose intolerance is overblown in terms of dairy consumption.

Any product that undergoes the transition of lactose into lactic acid through fermentation (most notably sour milk "ksynogala", cheese, yoghurt, kefir, etc.) has essentially zero lactose. Butter also has none.

The only products that retain their original lactose content are fresh cheeses like cottage cheese, which are not eaten almost at all in Greece, and milk, which is usually consumed in small amounts in coffee, etc, so it doesn't matter (2 tbsps of milk in coffee have less than a gram worth at most).

Again we're talking about dairy consumption that is usual for adults.

It's a non issue.

[kingmob]

https://i.ibb.co/tKmV4M0/Screenshot-2023-04-03-at-09-20-08-Nutritional-Value-Real-Greek-Feta.png


Feta cheese lactose content ("carbohydrate") = 0%.

Like I said, a nothing-burger.

[Aldaris]

It's really the ability to digest large quantity of lactose which im not sure is even found in today industrial milk anymore, (tastes very different than farm milk right off a cow). I remember someone in my class who could not have milk in the morning when we went on school trip, he was from Reunion and sort of mulatto ethnically, he could not even drink those little bricks of milk we had for breakfast.

However i can't remember anybody i know since then mentionning it either. It's probably the case in Europe few people are that lactose intolerant they can't even eat cheese for example (imagine that in here...) but i ve seen recently some tv ad promoting a milk for intolerant people, which could become a market with all the non white. There might be levels of intolerance, not a completely on/off thing i suspect.

I agree that the level of intolerance is fuzzy. I'm not a medic, so I may be wrong, but it may be that everyone retains a certain level of lactose intolerance, but in case of Europeans, it's negligible. By the way, if you look at a different studies and figures, the percentages are completely inconsistent. One study claimed that 83 percent of Czechs are lactose intorelant. How those statistics are even done? It's not like a topic you bring into a conversation, but how many people do actually get even tested for that? Never heard of anyone. We can make a poll, actually. Would guess someone was way too generous and included everybody who doesn't feel well after drinking two gallons of milk into that category.

[Dentist]

Czechia.

Lactose tolerance in Europe is connected to how far North you are, and Czechia is right in the middle.

[Ruggery]

Maybe it's because of genes and climate, I don't know, but it just so happens that the further north you go, the less intolerant the population is.

[Petalpusher]

It's only genes and likely some selection further down the road, linked to IEs:


In a study of ancient DNA from 101 Bronze Age Europeans, Allentof et al. (2015) showed that the highest levels of a gene allowing adults to digest lactose and consume raw milk are found in the burials of Yamnaya culture and its ofshoots the Corded Ware and Afanasievo cultures.

https://hal.inria.fr/hal-01667476/document

[Östsvensk]

i heard Swedish people (women especially) have a lot of Osteoporse problems and some scientists claim actually the high cow milk consumption might be the reason and yet they arent often intolerant. I guess something will kill you sooner or later- it may be beer, vodka, cigaretes or milk.

There is a saying in Sweden that goes "Alkohol löser inga problem, men det gör inte mjölk heller" (Alcohol solves nothing, but neither does milk).

[kingmob]

There is a saying in Sweden that goes "Alkohol löser inga problem, men det gör inte mjölk heller" (Alcohol solves nothing, but neither does milk).


Our ancestors from around the world figured this out pretty early, there's absolutely no reason to consume fresh milk over its fermented version, whether it's yoghurt, kefir, cheese, or w/e.

Yet, here we are in 2023 worrying about 'lactose intolerance'.

[Dimitri159]

Lactose intolerance is overblown in terms of dairy consumption.

Any product that undergoes the transition of lactose into lactic acid through fermentation (most notably sour milk "ksynogala", cheese, yoghurt, kefir, etc.) has essentially zero lactose. Butter also has none.

The only products that retain their original lactose content are fresh cheeses like cottage cheese, which are not eaten almost at all in Greece, and milk, which is usually consumed in small amounts in coffee, etc, so it doesn't matter (2 tbsps of milk in coffee have less than a gram worth at most).

Again we're talking about dairy consumption that is usual for adults.

It's a non issue.

But the map appears to be showing milk consumption specifically, not general dairy consumption.