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From: terry@nrcvax.UUCP (Terry Grevstad)
Newsgroups: net.med
Subject: Re: Drinking milk
Message-ID: <242@nrcvax.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 28-Aug-85 17:55:21 EDT
Article-I.D.: nrcvax.242
Posted: Wed Aug 28 17:55:21 1985
Date-Received: Sat, 31-Aug-85 18:16:59 EDT
References: <1832@aecom.UUCP> <667@terak.UUCP> <2569@amdcad.UUCP> <676@terak.UUCP>
Reply-To: terry@nrcvax.UUCP (Terry Grevstad)
Distribution: na
Organization: Network Research Research Corp.  Oxnard,CA
Lines: 38
Xref: tektronix net.med:02335 
Summary: 

doug@terak.UUCP (Doug Pardee) says:
>We of European ancestry tend to forget that the majority of the world's
>adults become violently ill if they drink milk.
...
>In looking up the statistics on lactase deficiency/lactose intolerance,
>I found I erred in claiming "majority...violently ill".  A more correct
>statement would be "the majority of the world's adults get diarrhea and
>gas if they drink milk, with the the more serious cases experiencing
>severe stomach pain."  So much for my infallible memory...
>
>The Merck Manual indicates that the prevalence of lactose intolerance
>is not known precisely, but provides estimates for some ancestries:
>  Orientals -- 90%
>  American blacks -- 75%
>  American Indians -- 75%
>  Mediterranean -- High incidence
>  Northwest European -- <20%
>-- 
>Doug Pardee -- CalComp -- {seismo!noao,decvax!noao,ihnp4}!terak!doug

I can put in my $.02 worth about American Indians and lactose
intolerance.  While not 100% Indian, my family is proud of the fact
that we are of Comanche extraction, and I can't drink milk.  Neither
can 2 of my sisters, one of whom becomes very ill if she drinks milk.
That's 3 out of 5 siblings--but none of us drink milk with any
regularity, even the 2 who don't find milk drinking uncomfortable.

(I realize this is not scientific in the least, but what do you expect
for $.02!)

-- 
\"\t\f1A\h'+1m'\f4\(mo\h'+1m'\f1the\h'+1m'\f4\(es\t\f1\c
_______________________________________________________________________

                                                       Terry Grevstad
                                         Network Research Corporation
	                 {sdcsvax,hplabs}!sdcrdcf!psivax!nrcvax!terry
                                            ucbvax!calma!nrcvax!terry