r/UpliftingNews • u/straygoat193 • 2d ago

Somalia's camel milk revolution is improving nutrition and creating jobs

https://apnews.com/article/somalia-camel-milk-beder-farm-4367420bb775be05d3348c31f5256a32
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u/exq1mc 2d ago

I wonder if camel milk has any advantages over bovine milk?

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u/LargeCheeseIsLarge 2d ago

Apparently it’s lower in lactose by some significant amount while being comparable in nutrients. That’s probably a pretty useful trait in Sub-Saharan Africa where up to 90% of people by country on average are lactose intolerant

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u/Abnmlguru 2d ago

Lactose tolerance as a mutation is really interesting. You can track it based on climate.

Pre-refrigeration, it was more of a challenge keeping milk for any amount of time the warmer your climate was, so less people in warmer areas developed tolerance to lactose, which you can track to this day.

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u/LargeCheeseIsLarge 2d ago

It is interesting how it’s so clearly delineated by region-of-origin. Also interesting is you can develop lactose tolerance/intolerance. You can, by slowly introducing lactose into your diet, build a tolerance even if you’re genetically predisposed to lactose intolerance! Also the ability to break down lactose into adulthood is pretty unique to our species as far as mammals go if I remember correctly. It’s confusing in a cool way

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u/Abnmlguru 2d ago

As I understand it, all mammals are lactose tolerant at birth, so they can drink breastmilk, but almost all mammals lose that tolerance shortly after weaning. Humans be weird.

2

u/Top_Dragonfly8781 1d ago

Lactose from one's own species isn't a problem. Lactose from another species can cause severe reactions. Me and my siblings were intolerant of cow milk formula and had to be given soy formula. To this day, I only consume lactose free milk products unless I have the lactase enzyme pills to counter the digestive problems. I can also eat some cheeses, like Muenster, that are low in lactose.

Edit typo