Why don't the Chinese drink milk? Genes and historical and cultural conditions

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

We are told from childhood that we need to drink milk, because it is he althy. But children in China are not given milk, moreover, adults themselves prefer to do without it. What is the reason for this attitude to milk? Why don't the Chinese drink milk? Let's figure it out in our article.

Reasons

There are several reasons why the Chinese do not drink milk. First, the genetic factor. All children under three years of age have the ability to digest milk. They have a special enzyme in their body - lactase, which metabolizes the lactose contained in milk. In adults, this enzyme disappears, hence the intolerance of milk and dairy products in adults. However, not all people suffer such a fate. Therefore, this is connected not only with genes, but also with aspects of the historical and cultural development of peoples in antiquity.

Historical and cultural conditions

Peoples who have traditionally been pastoralists and livestock farmers have acquired a mutational gene for lactose tolerance over the years. This gene has been passed on to subsequentgenerations. How else? Milk and milk products were their staple food. These include the peoples living on the territory of Eurasia.

Who can't drink milk

But the Asian peoples (Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Indians, and Africans) were not engaged in cattle breeding. Their main occupation was agriculture, crop production, and fishing. The reason is the lack of pastures, the unsuitable climate for livestock, the difficulty of production due to small areas. In addition, during the reign of the Tang Dynasty, all pastoralists were considered real barbarians, so the Chinese did not want to deal with their product.

Since milk production was not profitable, the Chinese did not do it. They received useful substances found in milk from other products: calcium from green herbs, protein from fish, and vitamin D from walking in the sun, since there are a lot of sunny days in China. Thus, the Chinese do not feel the need for dairy products. Traditional Chinese food includes rice dishes, noodles, dumplings, bread, meat and fish, vegetables and fruits, and a wide variety of spices. Since ancient times, the Chinese have been eating soy milk. It is not as he althy as cow, but still has a lot of useful substances. It's also much cheaper.

Many generations of Chinese have grown up without milk. Their body rejects not only milk, but also all fermented milk products, including cheese.

Here is the answer to the question of why the Chinese do not drink milk.

Today's situation

Production of cow's milk in China began only a hundred years ago, and in the 80s of the last century the task was to expand it. Now both types of milk are produced in the country: both soy and cow's. Despite the fact that the Chinese understand the benefits of cow's milk, they cannot fully accept it and call it "strange white water".

However, now the government is concerned about this issue. It is believed that children who consume milk are slightly superior in development to those who do not drink milk. Therefore, at present, children in elementary school are given 200 ml of milk every day. The population is not too willing to participate in this program, after all, millennial habits are difficult to change in a few years.

In addition, there are now a huge number of dairies operating in China. The authorities have become so concerned about this problem that now China is in third place in the world in milk production after the United States and India. Russia is in fourth place.

Because of the difficulties in the production of cow's milk, it is quite expensive: from 80 to 100 rubles per liter. You can find milk in stores almost everywhere, but it is more for foreigners and tourists, the Chinese themselves do not drink it much, preferring soy. But Western influences are also penetrating here, as the younger generation increasingly begins to consume milk and cheese, striving to eat more European-style. The older generation is more conservative in this regard, the elderly do not understand why young people drink milk, because even without itwere doing great before. Who knows, maybe at this rate, the Chinese will soon also have an enzyme to digest milk?

Help

Lactose intolerance (hypolactasia) is a condition in which the body cannot digest lactose due to the lack of the lactase enzyme. Lactose is a disaccharide found in milk and dairy products.

In ancient times, lactose intolerance was common to all mankind. When people learned to breed cows and began to consume a lot of milk, they gradually acquired a gene for lactose tolerance. Thanks to the genetic tolerance for milk sugar, Europeans were able to survive and spread over large areas. In northern peoples, approximately 10% of people are lactose intolerant, and in Asian peoples up to 100%! In Russia, due to the large number of different peoples in different regions, the percentage can vary from 16 to 70.

Consequences

If a person is lactose intolerant, they will have to completely give up all dairy products, otherwise the consequences can be severe.

Symptoms of lactose intolerance in adults are upset and bloating, diarrhea, gas, vomiting, nausea, even cramps, fever and dizziness. Symptoms begin to appear almost immediately after lactose enters the body - after 20-30 minutes.

Sometimes lactose intolerance occurs in newborns. In this case, the child refuses the breast,crying and spitting up while feeding.

If you find these symptoms in yourself, you should immediately contact a gastroenterologist.

Why don't the Chinese drink milk? The report is clear: to avoid these symptoms.