[Pharmboy]

All humans up to about 4 years of age are able to digest lactose in order to successfully breast feed; only Euros and the Masai maintain that ability into adulthood.

[Lee'sGhost]

Really? So, Asians, Africans, Mongolians, etc., etc. STILL can’t digest lactose?

Thanks for answering and sorry to be so ignorant. Lactose has never been much on my radar.

[Cronos]

well, more northern and eastern Europeans -- Aryanic groups

The interesting thing about this map is that it shows that Semites didn't develop lactose tolerance, but they developed cheeses -- so the southern spaniards have a lot of middle-eastern genes, unlike northern Spaniards.

Ditto for Pakistanis who, though Indic, have a higher rate of intolerance compared to Indians

The highest rate of TOLERANCE seems to be slavs -- so indicating the lack of other foods?

The map shows also something strange -- white Americans have a higher tolerance than Western Europeans and higher than Germanics or Brits -- and the largest population of Euroepans in the USA were from Germanics and English/Scots