• Ephera@lemmy.ml
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    8 hours ago

    Lactose intolerance isn’t an allergy. The body just lacks lactase in the small intestine for breaking down the lactose. Which means the lactose goes off into the colon unprocessed, where bacteria will gladly ferment it, which causes tons of gas to be released, which is what causes bloating and pain.

    Additionally, to quote Wikipedia:

    The unabsorbed sugars and fermentation products also raise the osmotic pressure of the colon, causing an increased flow of water into the bowels (diarrhea).

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lactose_intolerance#Causes

    And really, lactose intolerance during adulthood is kind of the default. It’s only mostly just humans in Europe that started evolving towards adult lactose tolerance.

    • rumschlumpel@feddit.org
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      12 hours ago

      It’s only humans in Europe that started evolving towards adult lactose tolerance.

      Not true, there are ethnicities in sub-saharan africa that are also lactose tolerant, especially eastern africa.

      • Ephera@lemmy.ml
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        11 hours ago

        Alright, yeah, I guess, I should’ve formulated that differently. Basically, this map, which is also in the linked Wikipedia article: