Thursday, January 23, 2014

How did we evolve to drink milk?

Here's an interesting article highlighting the mystery of how the human species evolved to tolerate and integrate milk as a foodstuff. Personally, I think drinking milk is more beneficial for young people than older adults (like myself) who potentially have less tolerance for it. I've come to the place where my milk consumption is from "incidental intake", such as in baked goods, restaurant prepared foods, and in an occasional coffee (because I like it that way!) I also make sure I get ample calcium from vegetable sources and Vitamin D from sun exposure in moderation. As far as I can tell I'm doing great!

If I had to guess, early humans adapted to drink milk because it was easier and more available to them than other foodstuffs where they lived. And since humans can't digest or process grasses directly, it seems likely that livestock became the bridge that enabled plains dwellers to extract more food value from their environment. Sure, that's just speculation, but knowing how humans will seek out and favor an easier nutrition source when not enough is otherwise available, it makes sense to me.

Thursday, January 9, 2014