Lactose is a naturally occurring sugar in milk. To digest it well, you need an enzyme called Lactase, which mammals have at birth. In all land mammals, lactase production ceases almost completely after weaning.

In the case of humans, this enzyme decreases on average from 90% to 95% in early infancy.¹. However, some ethnic groups continue to produce lactase into adulthood. We say of those who have no more that they are lactose intolerant : When drinking milk, they suffer from varying degrees of bloating, gas, gas and cramps.

Depending on the ethnic group, the prevalence of intolerance ranges from 2% to 15% among North Europeans, up to nearly 100% among Asians. Faced with this strong variation, researchers are still wondering if the absence of lactase after weaning constitutes the “normal” state and if its persistence among European peoples would be an “abnormal” mutation resulting from natural selection.¹.

Many alternative medicine professionals believe that people who are lactose intolerant should respect their particular condition and reduce or even stop their consumption of dairy products rather than attempting to alleviate it through various measures.

Other specialists believe rather that lactose intolerance should not prevent enjoying the benefits of dairy products, including its intake of calcium. Often people with intolerance will digest milk well if they take small amounts at a time or drink it with other foods. Also, yogurt and cheese suit them better.

In addition, studies^2-4 have shown that a gradual introduction of milk can reduce lactose intolerance and lead to a 50% reduction in the frequency and severity of symptoms. Finally, commercial lactase preparations (eg Lactaid) can help relieve symptoms.

We often hear that drinking cow’s milk is not “natural” since no animal drinks the milk of another animal species. It is also said that humans are the only mammal that still drinks milk in adulthood. At Dairy Farmers of Canada⁵, we retort that, according to the same logic, growing vegetables, wearing clothes or eating tofu would not be more “natural”, and that we are also the only species to sow, harvest and grind wheat … Finally, they remind us that since prehistoric times, humans have consumed the milk of cows, camels and sheep.

“If, genetically, humans are not programmed to drink milk in adulthood, they are not necessarily programmed to drink soy milk either. The only reason cow’s milk is the number one cause of allergies in children is that the majority of them drink it. If 90% of children drank soy-based milk, soy would perhaps be the number one cause of allergies, ”argued at Duty⁶, D^r Ernest Seidman, head of the gastroenterology service at Sainte-Justine Hospital in Montreal.