Hey smarty pants, guess where I am?
Did you say a restaurant?
Great guess! I'm at a local diner with my friend Gia.
Hey smarty pants, how's it going?
We just ordered a ton of our favorite lunch foods.
Cheeseburgers with cheese fries, mac and cheese, and two large vanilla milkshakes.
Am I forgetting something?
I feel like I forgot something.
Nachos. Ah, yes, of course.
Nachos. With extra queso.
Of course, extra queso.
Which in case you don't know, is melted cheese sauce with chili peppers.
Yum. Double yum. Oh, look, here it comes.
Whoa. Ah, that was so good.
I'm stuffed. I can't eat another bite.
Me, neither. Well, maybe one more.
Ok, now I'm done. Well, except for dessert.
Ooh, I know, let's get cheesecake!
Great idea! Waiter!
Um, what was that? Oh boy, I don't feel so good… Gia, are you ok?
Ugh, my stomach really hurts.
I feel bloated, and a little...
Sorry, trusty narrator, I don't know what's going on.
Lately, I've been getting a tummy ache whenever I eat lots of dairy.
Mm, sounds like you might be lactose intolerant.
Lactose intolerant?
What's that? Smartypants, do you know what lactose intolerance is?
It sounds like a big word, or two big words, but lactose intolerance simply refers to your body's inability to break down lactose, a type of natural sugar found in dairy products like milk, cheese, and yogurt.
Or cheeseburgers? cheese fries, mac and cheese, milkshakes, queso, and...
Okay, who's ready for our famous cheesecake?
I'm ready for the bathroom.
BRB. Poor kid. But the good news is, we can help Gia learn more about lactose intolerance and answer all her lactose intolerance questions.
Like, what happens in your body, when you're lactose intolerant?
Are there alternatives to dairy products for people with lactose intolerance?
And is there any way for a lactose -intolerant person to still enjoy favorite foods like pizza, cheeseburgers, and queso without feeling sick?
Okay, I'm back. No, I'm not.
All right, it's time for another Whiff of Science on...
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Whew, I'm feeling a little better now, but that was kind of crazy.
My stomach hurt and I had to go to the bathroom just from eating a little dairy.
Um... Ok, a lot of dairy.
But wait! Does this mean I won't be able to eat cheeseburgers and mac and cheese and nachos with queso ever again?
Oh, no! Whoa, whoa, whoa.
Hold on. Before you freak out, let's first explain what's happening inside you or anyone who is lactose intolerant.
Fine. I can always freak out later.
You see, normally when you eat or drink foods that contain lactose, things like milk, cheese, or yogurt, your small intestine produces is an enzyme called lactase that helps break down the lactose molecules and allows you to properly digest dairy.
Ah. But when you're lactose intolerant, your body doesn't produce enough of the lactase enzyme to break down the lactose.
When this happens, the undigested lactose interacts with the normal gut bacteria that live inside your large intestine, which causes bloating, gas, and diarrhea.
Pfft. Ugh. Don't remind me.
The good news is the symptoms are only temporary.
And the bad news is I can't have milkshakes and queso.
I love queso, but I don't understand.
I used to be able to eat cheese and drink milk all the time.
In fact, I used to have milk in both regular and chocolate form almost every night as a kid with no problem.
What gives? Ah, good point.
Smarty Pants, do you drink milk?
I know I did when I was a young thirsty narrator.
Well, as it turns out almost all babies are born with the lactase enzyme in order to effectively digest their mother's milk.
So it makes sense why you have the ability to drink milk as a kid.
But as you get older, your lactase production naturally decreases because your diet has become much more diverse and doesn't rely on just milk.
Ah, so you're saying as you get older and drink less milk, Your body doesn't feel the need to produce the enzymes needed to break it down.
Exactly. In a way, your body is trying to be helpful and not make unnecessary work for itself.
But unfortunately, it can have negative side effects when you do indulge in your daily dairy.
This sounds like a pretty common problem.
Are there lots of people with lactose intolerance?
What do you think, smarty pants?
Is it common or uncommon?
If you said extremely common, you're right.
Over two thirds or two out of every three people in the world are lactose intolerant.
True or false? Only humans can be lactose intolerant.
The answer is false.
Animals like cats and dogs can be lactose intolerant.
Cows too. Mm! Whoa...
Is being lactose intolerant a relatively new thing?
I'm guessing it is.
What do you think, smarty pants?
Well, you might be surprised to learn that early humans were all completely lactose intolerant.
Ooh! Uh... Me shouldn't drink milk!
Yep, it was only a few thousand years ago when a mutation in the human genome allowed humans to carry their lactase enzymes into adulthood.
No way! In other words humans evolved to be able to drink milk as adults?
Correctamundo! Around 10 ,000 years ago, early farmers started drinking dairy milk well before their bodies were able to process the lactose.
As you can imagine, this led to a lot of farmers with tummy aches.
Old MacDonald had a farm a ya, a ya, oh, oh no. Sounds like old McDonald had a fart.
Fortunately, over the course of thousands of years, farmer's bodies began to develop a way to keep their lactase enzymes into adulthood.
This allowed them to drink milk without any unpleasant side effects.
With a, here and a, there, here a, there a, everywhere a.
This was especially helpful during times of famine when other sources of food were hard to come by.
Just imagine if you couldn't drink milk from your cows, you'd go hungry.
The milk gene was selectively passed down through generations of early farmers.
And today, lactose tolerance is extremely common in places like Northern Europe, where more than 90 % of people can drink milk as adults, with no problem.
But wait, I thought you said most of the world today is lactose intolerant?
It is. While lactose tolerance might be common in certain parts of the world, it's much less common in other parts like in Africa, Asia, and South America.
I see. But why? The truth is we're not entirely sure.
One of the leading theories says that adults from Europe have a higher percentage of lactose tolerance because their ancestors lived in places with milder climates where dairy cows could be raised more safely and effectively, Mooo.
as opposed to adults whose ancestors lived in very hot or very cold climates where dairy farming was more difficult and milk was more scarce.
Makes sense. But let's talk about me now.
Now that I'm lactose intolerant, does this mean I have to cut out dairy forever?
Good question. The answer is right after this quick break.
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Now back to Who Smarted.
So, you've just found out you're lactose intolerant.
Does that mean you have to give up all of your favorite dairy foods?
Like queso? Nooooooo!
Well the answer is, not exactly.
Really? Please trust the narrator.
Tell me there's hope.
Smarty Pants, do you have a favorite type of cheese?
Did you say cheddar, or parmesan, or perhaps, Gouda?
That's a Gouda choice.
especially if you're lactose intolerant.
You see, a glass of milk contains on average about 13 grams of lactose, but softer cheeses like ricotta, mozzarella, and cream cheese only contain up to six grams of lactose, while hard cheeses like gouda and cheddar only contain as little as a quarter of a gram of lactose.
Ah, so the harder the cheese, the easier it is to digest for lactose intolerant people?
Correctomundo again.
And soft cheeses are less good than hard cheeses but better than regular milk?
Uh -huh. But wait, isn't cheese made from milk?
It is. However, most hard cheeses are relatively safe for lactose intolerant people because most of the lactose is removed in the cheese making process.
Ah. When making cheese, milk is separated into whey and curds.
Lactose is mostly found in whey, which is removed in the fermenting, or aging process.
And then, the cheese is made from curd. Lactose levels are also affected by time.
The longer a cheese is aged, or fermented, the less lactose it will have. Ugh.
Harder cheeses age for longer periods of time than softer cheeses, which is why they're safer to eat for lactose intolerant people.
Okay. I feel a little better knowing I can still enjoy some cheeses without my stomach going crazy, but I'm definitely going to miss having ice cream.
Aha! But what if I told you there was a way you could still enjoy your favorite dairy foods without any side effects?
I would say, whoa! Well hold on to your lactose because you can still enjoy all your favorite ice creams, milkshakes, and queso without any symptoms. How, you ask?
The answer is a lactase enzyme pill.
Did you say a pill?
That's right. Lactase enzyme pills like Lactaid have been around for over 40 years.
These pills contain the necessary lactase enzyme that lactose intolerant people need to be able to digest dairy.
When you take one right before eating dairy, the lactase enzymes go to work, breaking down the lactose molecules, saving you from...
Mm. That's amazing.
But what if I don't have a magical lactate pill handy?
Smartypants, what do you think?
Have you ever heard of dairy free milk?
Perhaps you've seen it in your local grocery store.
Here, which of the following milks do you think are a lactose free alternative to dairy milk?
A, soy milk. B, almond milk.
C, oat milk. Or D, coconut milk.
Did you say all of them?
That's right! All four are great, lactose -free alternatives to dairy milk.
Hold on. How can almonds have milk?
They're almonds. It's true.
Almonds aren't milked like a cow.
Or a goat. Instead, almond milk is made by blending almonds with water and then straining the mixture to remove the solids.
Ah. Other dairy -free milks like soy milk and oat milk go through a similar process.
And the best part, they can all be made into ice cream.
Wow! This has been the worst and best day ever.
Let's get some dairy -free ice cream for dessert.
Sure. On second thought, I think I might be lactose intolerant too.
Be right back. A super shout out to Leela in Durham, North Carolina.
A little birdie told me you love who smarted the best and that you're curious how people invented words and learned to speak.
Such a great question.
Hope this episode helped answer some of that.
This episode, Lactose Intolerance, was written by Brad Derry -Fried de Prima and voiced by Gia Noderry Davis, Adam Lactaid Davis, Max Cheeseless -Kamaske and Jerry Coleburg.
Technical direction and sound design by Josh Hold the Butter, Han.
Who Smarted is recorded and mixed at the Relic Room Studios.
Our associate producer is Max Milkless -Kamaski.
The theme song is by Bryan Soymilk Suarez, with lyrics written and performed by Adam Tex Davis.
Who Smarted was created and produced by Adam Tex Davis and Jerry Goldberg.
This has been an Atomic Entertainment Production.
Who Smarted.
