Jasmine R.

asked • 02/06/20

Is it necessary for humans to be able to digest milk into adulthood? How could this be a benifit? Would you compare this to the loss of hemoglobin in icefish ? Why or why not?

1 Expert Answer

By:

Christine M.

The drinking of cows' milk is a modern convenience food. Drinking cows' milk or goats' milk can add necessary nutrients to the diet for some but not all. Many adults from all cultures and some children are lactose intolerant, meaning they do not produce lactulose the enzyyme to digest the lactose in milk. They cannot ingest the nutrients and become ill from ingesting milk or milk products. Prior to modern animal husbandry, Pasterurization and refrigeration liquid milk was rarely drunk . It posed too many dangerous complications, tuberculosis, gastroenteritis, severe diarrhea for example. Cheese was invented as a way to preserve the milk fat from milk and in previous years did not require refrigeration. The drinking of milk came after the invention of disinfectants used to clean udders, modern dairy milking machines, Pasteurization and household refrigeration. Prior to these, milk was rarely drunk. People who are able digest milk and its products do have another source of nutrients , but they are not necessary for humans. There is a wise saying,cows are not a baby's mother unless they are cows, meaning that cows milk or goats milk are a valuable asset but not necessary. There are many other sources of those nutrients, proteins, fats and minerals available to the diet. A good source of information comes from cook books. Look up various common dishes from different cultures and note which ones include a lot of cheeses or milk in them. Not all do, for example how many dishes include cheese as an ingredient in Chinese cuisine? How about Pacific Islanders cuisine? Not many. Two reasons, the areas are not condusive to raising cows and a large number of the population are lactose intolerant.
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02/06/20

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