Are you or do you know someone who is lactose intolerant?

Yes I’m British and have always been lactose intolerant. It’s a thing, and not a glamorous thing at all. I wonder if we found out because of compulsory school milk. My experience in other countries is that they take milk in less offensive forms such as cheese and yogurt which are definitely more tolerable up to a point.

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LibertyChecked28@reddit

Nah, Imo UHT and UHT-adjacent types of milk with [+40% "dry powder" & +20% Palm Oil] is what causes that.

We didn't had any milk-related issues prior the supermarkets took over with their industrial slop which:

-Almost doesn't spoil, with shelf-life lasting up to 3 years.

-Doesn't get affected by hot weather despite being on the open for entire week.

-Doesen't get infested by bacteria, nor is swarmed by bugs.

-Quite literally can't be dygested by your gut track.

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tenebrigakdo@reddit

I don't think stuff with aditives can be marketed as 'milk' in the EU? It's a typical thing where the regulation tends to be anal AF.

UHT is just heated and mixed milk. It hold for a couple of months before opening and gets bad in a different way than fresh since heat kills the naturally present bacteria, so different cultures grow in it after opening. It still goes bad in a couple of days if not kept in the fridge (I know that for a fact, we didn't have a fridge in the office for a while but still wanted milk in coffee). I've heard people say it gives them issues but I don't know why that would be the case.

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Cristopia@reddit

So I found this other map which shows lactose tolerance and actually for the British Isles and Scandinavia there is a lower amount but for the Balkans the number is indeed higher but nowhere near as much as OP's map claims.

Lactose intolerance: worldwide distribution

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my-opinion-about@reddit

There are enough lactose intolerant in Romania, but the subject is more complicated than we think. Unlike “basic” biology that present you lactose intolerant and tolerant as binary choice, in reality is that “advanced” biology that shows the tolerance is a range and you could lose the ability gradually through life.

I know people that are completely fine and tolerant of little lactose, some can drink even one glass of milk without issues, but no more, and there are people - me included - that can drink literally litres of milk and be fine.

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MarkMew@reddit

Are people like "oh I'm not intolerant I just have a lil diarrhea if I drink a lot of milk" in y'all's countries lol?

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Mysterious_Pack3598@reddit

Honestly I haven't even really heard things like that much 🤷‍♂️

In my own family, considering our 'Western Carpathians shepherds' ancestry I am pretty sure that lactase persistence became universal in such communities as people would've been surviving off of milk and milk products.

I do know someone that can 100% digest lactose but she has an allergy to milk products. So she doesn't get any digestive issues but she does get hives and things like that.

I really, really doubt something like 70% of Romanians not being able to digest milk. You can't really be a heavily pastoral culture and also unable to digest lactose.

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Chance-Ad-2284@reddit

Generally goat and sheep milk has smaller doses of lactose.

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floare_salbatica@reddit

We don't drink that much goat milk. 😅

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Chance-Ad-2284@reddit

You don't now but what about your ancestors 500-1000 years ago.

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GeneratedUsername5@reddit

No, they just don't have diarrhea whenever they drink milk.

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Happy-Hour88@reddit (OP)

The Westerners are more open about health issues in general. No one at my work or my friends knows I am intolerant.

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souprun@reddit

Alot don't know tbh. I know multiple bulgarians who are lactose intolerant and just ignore it. For the longest time they just believed there was another reason for their stomach to be upset all the time.

Important to note that most of them can have bulgarian yogurt without their stomach acting up, but can't have regular milk, ice cream and cheese.

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AnarchistRain@reddit

Thays because the bacteria used in Bulgarian yogurt eats the lactose during fermentation. Its why our yogurt is sold so much in east Asia.

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BeneficialAd8431@reddit

100% used to work as bartender. So many people blamed Coffee instead of the milk lol. Even then and there couldn't see it. Other probably blame the cold, the food, the government

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Practical_Ranger_175@reddit

It's 100% not because in most cafees the milk they use is some imitating garbage and is kept all day on the bar and not in a fridge...Then you realize you don't have farts when you make the cappucino at home with actual refrigerated milk that isn't expired. Wild!

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BeneficialAd8431@reddit

and is kept all day on the bar and not in a fridge.

Nope, the milk must always be kept cold. And part of the job in making coffee is managing the milk. Most milk for coffee drinks should be heated on order, and from a fresh batch.

You can't reheat the milk 4-5-10 times. Not only it will expire, but it loses the ability to incorporate air, even if you add partly new milk to the new batch. It would look like a messy dish soap

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Stealthfighter21@reddit

Because yogurt contains much less yogurt. But yes, I've never heard of this condition until I traveled abroad.

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boyski33@reddit

Yeah it’s mostly due to awareness. Milk always made me shit but I just thought it was normal.

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shurdi3@reddit

Yogurt, now with 40% less yogurt!

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Stealthfighter21@reddit

I meant lactose.

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tweetegirl@reddit

That's because we abandoned them in the woods when we find out

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mariabutalone@reddit

I'm from Bulgaria and I'm absolutely lactose intolerant.

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MaximStaviiski@reddit

Normal people have lactose intolerance. Balkan people have YEARS of undiagnosed diarrhea.

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magonba@reddit

You don't know if they are. And also many of the people you met don't know.

(Yes, many lactose intolerant people do not know that they are lactose intolerant.)

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BeneficialAd8431@reddit

Chances are almost everyone you know is. Intolerance doesn't mean you die on spot. Some even have low tolerance and blame coffee instead of milk when they consume a machiatto/Capuccino

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GeneratedUsername5@reddit

But what would prove that they are, in fact, milk-tolerant? Do you think we could falsify this claim somehow?

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BeneficialAd8431@reddit

I'm not scientist, but If you can't successfully digest at least 2 glasses of milk, you have intolerance. There's probably different threshold of tolerance as well.

I've never had any issues consuming cooked milk, or in smoothies etc as part of the other dishes. But when consuming Milk on its own, after 3-4 glasses I do experience some symptoms.

If you say "who consumes 4 glasses of milk" I do lol. Not everyday lol, but I do like it as palate and inside body "cleanser", I like the taste as well.

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GeneratedUsername5@reddit

I mean, I can consume a liter of milk with no problem, and nobody around had any problem with it for decades, with supposed rate of intolerance of 70%.

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smurfk@reddit

Ok, and that's the case with some people. But where does this data come from, then? Because I don't know anyone diagnosed as "lactose intolerant" among my family or acquaintances. So, I could say that some counties underdiagnose the condition, but then did they just ask people if they have stomach problems after they drink milk? That data wouldn't be correct either, as most of them wouldn't recognize it as a problem, even when asked about.

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BeneficialAd8431@reddit

How do they know how many fingers the average human has, if they haven't counted and put mine in the calculations as well?

They don't need to ask every single person. They could have conducted a study with 1000 people from that place. Or maybe there's some method that you can arrive to by proxy (not sure, not a scientist).

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smurfk@reddit

The logical method for medical conditions is to get them from the health department. Because they have that data, what percentage of people have specific conditions and diseases. That's why, the methodology is relevant.

But ffs, the person that wrote the text, can't even write correctly. "Percentage of lactose intolerance" makes no sense.

It's just one of those maps with modified text. Might be a geological map or a completely different type of data.

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Nork_Inc@reddit

How come mongolia is at the lower side their whole goddamn kingdom revolved around eating dairy food all the time.

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Best-Ad-1223@reddit

I am. Two sips of milk and my ass explodes.

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WorldlinessRadiant77@reddit

Lol it’s because we don’t drink milk as a culture.

Yoghurt and cheese contain almost no lactose so even someone intolerant like me can consume them. Not milk and not white sauce though.

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Capital-Possible2573@reddit

U know why? I went to 4 specialists(so called doctors) and none of them even asked me about this. And yes i did get all the tests even the probing once. Later i made a test on my own in the blood clinic and figured out i am c/c …… fuck all

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Sad-Plankton-2034@reddit

Same in Turkey. Can’t think of Turkish cuisine without cheese and yogurt.

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hgaben90@reddit

Alright. How about people who fart suspiciously often?

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mrbadger30@reddit

There’s this thing, called gastritis, you’ve probably never heard of it

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hgaben90@reddit

The two can cause or even worsen each other. But sure, I've never heard of it.

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mrbadger30@reddit

There’s also irritable bowel/colon syndrome, diverticulitis, etc

Hey, maybe it’s a Central Asia/migrant people kind of thing. I drink milk and I’m fine. My wife drinks milk and she’s fine. I might eat a gallon of icecream at summer a day and I’m fine.

But folks whose forefathers are not IndoEuropean are not… bummer :(

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Happy-Hour88@reddit (OP)

It could be gluten intolerance or coeliac disease. Both affect the tolerance to dairy btw.

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ValtenBG@reddit

Same. Dairy is big part of our cuisine

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boyski33@reddit

Tbh you just don’t know. Or there are levels to it. I consider myself lactose intolerant because milk makes me fart and I’d get the shits sometimes. But I only started thinking about it recently because I hadn’t even heard of that term growing up. Chaves are I’ve always been.

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orkushun@reddit

Neither have I in Turkey or Cyprus (I'm TC), we drown shit in Yoghurt and drink watered down fermented yoghurt. In Cyprus we even drink our tea with milk. This map seems uneducated.

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auroralemonboi8@reddit

Yogurt, ayran and cheese has much less lactose compared to normal milk. People that are lactose intolerant can still consume them without severe side effects. And in turkey we dont drink milk straight up, we dont even put it in tea or coffee, we drink ayran. So my guess is that people who are lactose intolerant in turkey just dont realise they are

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idontwantoliveanymo@reddit

"we" is very strong for a diverse country like turkey. my grandmother drinks milk every day. milk is served with desserts. milk is in many desserts. i have never heard anyone having problem drinking milk and i live in the south.

where are you from, central? east?

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Stormrage44@reddit

To be honest if it's no bother for deserts or coffee or ayran or yoğurt, then what is the problem

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orkushun@reddit

That's actually fair, TIL, but then they would notice with deserts like sutlac and kazandibi, or recent favorites like soguk baklava.

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IgnoreMyPresence_@reddit

Well hello, haha

For a couple of years now I'm having to avoid milk, since more than a cup sends me to a trip to the WC.

But funny enough - any other dairy product I have no issues with. It's a bit of a mouthful everytime I have to describe "how much" intolerant I am when there's catering. It's weird, since it's mild enough that if needed I can ignore it, but uncomfortable enough that I'd rather avoid it.

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Happy-Hour88@reddit (OP)

Because we rarely state it lol. I am intolerant yet no one at work knows.

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Character-Pirate1297@reddit

As a Balkan myself, I don’t think we even recognise lactose intolerance, just punch through it. Hence the statistics.

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Silent-Prior8456@reddit

Same in Albania

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Glittering-Toe-1622@reddit

My wife and my mother both are

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HorrorsPersistSoDoI@reddit

Same, we basically invented lactose, this map is absolute shit

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Confident-Manager616@reddit

And I hate it so much.

gif

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latespresso@reddit

I know a few people but 71% is wild. We consume yogurt and cheese all the time and if it was that high, it’d be well known. Percentages looks off.

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SchoolForSedition@reddit

Both of those are much more tolerable as they have less lactose

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Whole_Obligation_776@reddit

what needs to be the barrier for clarification, sucking a cow's tit?

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zog_i_zi@reddit

How many people you know that drink pure cow milk? Yogurt, kefir and cheese have much less lactose.

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Stormrage44@reddit

Between ages 7 to 14 kids drink a lot of milk in Turkey. It's because kids hate to wake up early and drink a glass of milk instead of making a breakfast. But I known only few people that were lactose intolerant, or at least intolerant enough to be aware and not consume it.

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WearsWhite2KillKings@reddit

Most kids have tolerance to lactose. A lot of them lose it in adulthood. My sister used to drink like 2 liters of milk every day until she was 16. Now in her late 20s she shits her pants if she drinks one glass. She can eat cheese and yogurt just fine though.

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spicygayunicorn@reddit

Yeah that happend to me, had no issues all childhood, and in my late teens I noticed I had issues with dairy and it just got worse and worse

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Stormrage44@reddit

Interesting...

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backhand_english@reddit

Why would anyone older than 10 drink milk? When it comes to beverages, milk is pretty shitty. Who even says "you know what, I'm so thirsty, I'm gonna grab a nice glass of cold milk"?

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GeneratedUsername5@reddit

Why not? It tastes good, I guess that is the number 1 reason we consume food.

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Sephbruh@reddit

I don't usually drink it throughout the day but I have milk every day with breakfast, because it's just a great drink.

I never understood ""adults"" who call milk "icky", you were drinking it just fine 20 years ago but one day it suddenly turned gross?

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Mustafa1558@reddit

I drink a lot of milk. Every other night i go "im thirsty im gonna grab a glass of milk". I dont appreciate you talking that way to milk.

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AdorableAd8490@reddit

Your question tries to apply your experience as some universal true. At least 24% of the human population (adults) drinks milk, and there’s a 4.5 billion estimate.

It’s a complete food. Lots of protein, calories and vitamins. You’re very skinny and malnourished? Drink milk and your physique will certain change. There’s even the GOMAD bulking strategy.

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BeneficialAd8431@reddit

Then if no one does, it sums up the intelligence of comment section. Milk has far more lactose than its byproduct. Most people in the world shit their pants if they consume 2 spoons of milk.

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PerpendicularTomato@reddit

Bro I drink 1-2 liters of milk per day im older than 10

When I was growing up all the schools I went to have free cold milk (unlimited) so that's where it started

Nothing better than cold milk, except eastern Europe milk that shit tastes like cows vagina

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SuperConcert8949@reddit

Why would anyone drik kvas, or beer, or wine, or even water?

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raoulbrancaccio@reddit

Why would anyone older than 10 drink milk?

Now you can reflect on why, culturally, this question comes naturally to you :)

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backhand_english@reddit

"why would anyone drink more than a cappuccino per day?"

I agree. Especially when you can drink espresso straight up.

Only milk I approve of is in my morning macchiato...

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NoSnackin@reddit

"Who even says "you know what, I'm so thirsty, I'm gonna grab a nice glass of cold milk"?"

Lots of Americans have said that very sentence.

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backhand_english@reddit

No wonder people try to shoot up schools. Too much milk on the menu.

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zog_i_zi@reddit

Well, I can imagine some British fucker saying that 🤷🏽‍♂️

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backhand_english@reddit

They are pasty as fuck, milk keeps their skin from melting away.

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dallyan@reddit

I am and I know a bunch of people who have a sensitivity; we just never labeled it as such.

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No_County_585@reddit

My 60 year old mom learned she was lactose intolerant last month when i proposed the idea to her, then we cut dairy down and discovered it that way. She told me she thought she just got very frequent stomachaches lmao

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Axel0010110@reddit

This shit is made up.

People in Balkan/Romania/Turkey eat a lot of yogurt and cheese and I met no one to be lactose intolerant. You cannot even survive here without cottage cheese, that is the main idea lol

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Antti5@reddit

Yoghurt has very little lactose because it's been fermented. Many cheeses also have almost no lactose.

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12aq11@reddit

Reading these comments, I think you won't get people from these cultures to admit they have a tummy ache from milk, or realize the farts come from the milk.

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GeneratedUsername5@reddit

So this is non-falsifiable? Either they have it or they simply wont admit it?

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12aq11@reddit

Do you mean my claim or the study that gives the supposed percentages?

They can be tested for low lactase enzyme in their gut.

But asking people on reddit is just anecdotal/subjective

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GeneratedUsername5@reddit

Both, since your claim and the study are about the same thing.

I mean, you can ask around people Croatia. Or check the grocery stores - with supposed rate of 70% of intolerance, nobody would drink raw milk and nobody would sell it.

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12aq11@reddit

Supposedly this is the source of the map but I don't have access to any archive to view and check. This study is about the genetics of lactase persistence or lactose tolerance.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/lactose-and-lactase/

Both claims in this thread are falsiable and easily tested. You even just explained one way to do it. But it doesn't just need to be an anecdotal survey. They can look at genes and test for lactase persistence.

My raw milk statement was in another thread, but still falsifiable, even if people in the Balkans don't want to test it. Raw milk is actively and legally sold in Croatia in mljekomats and from farmers.

Beyond genetics, it seems that when people do better with goat milk or raw cow milk, that their problem is likely not with lactose, nor is the benefit necessarily the unpasteurization, but from the lack of the A1 beta casein protein, because it is common for raw milk farmers to have breeds that mostly or exclusively have A2.

Raw milk also can be mildly probiotic and the unpasteurized state preserves some fragile vitamins, so that can indirectly help the body with the effectiveness of overall nutrient absorption and thus their production of lactase, but probably not significantly compared to regularly having more potent probiotics and nutrient sources.

Here are other studies on the genetics of lactose persistence.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19034520/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19714206/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15657608/ https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(20)31187-8

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12aq11@reddit

Or they just dont have it. But also it could be a problem with the A1 milk protein or homogenized fat.

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VladimirLogos@reddit

At 40 I definitely get more bloated from cheese and milk, but never considered it as some kind of problem. I'm still productive at work and the discomfort I feel is easily tolerable.

Dunno, I may test myself and see if I have developed lactose intolerance.

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Fred_Neecheh@reddit

Lol this map is hilariously wrong

I know exactly one person in the Balkans who is lactose intolerant

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BGD_TDOT@reddit

Bruh, this map is bullshit.

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pdonchev@reddit

I know some lactose intolerant people in Bulgaria, but it's far from even 40%. I don't think it goes into the double digits.

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GeneratedUsername5@reddit

Looks like Americans projecting their worldview on Europe.

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ACM96@reddit

I grew up in Istanbul and yes, I am lactose intolerant.

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Creative_Jicama_6875@reddit

I haven't mat anyone with lactose intolerance in Greece, I thought this was more of a thing in America, because it's usually in american movies/shows

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ulasxd@reddit

There are many in greece actually but they just think they re having random diarrhea attacks lol

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GeneratedUsername5@reddit

Well if it is random - it is not lactose intolerance. I think people would notice over the decades that every second person shits his/her pants, drinking milk. At this rate it is quite hard to miss.

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Creative_Jicama_6875@reddit

I assume there are, I'm not saying no one is, it's just I haven't met anyone

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ulasxd@reddit

Unfortunately there’s not much info about it among greek ppl. We’re tryna inform them! Βεβαιως δεν ειναι φυσιολογικο να χεζεις πανω σου μετα από ένα ποτήρι γαλα ελεος χαχαχψη

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Global-Scientist3903@reddit

I have lactose intolerance and I'm from Romania.

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Practical_Ranger_175@reddit

Reading the comments reminded me that It's 2026 and people now think they are "intolerant" to every food as long as it gives them gas.

Newsflash, milk is protein rich and protein gives gas. Especially when you have like 250-500ml at once or more. Guess I'm intolerant to meat and eggs too!

I'd worry if I shat myself after a capucino but only after excluding gull bladder issues, which are easily triggered by caffein.

Also, street cafees use the worst possible milk, which is often immitating product and is kept all day on the bar instead of the fridge. I've had many friends think they have such issue, until I make them good cofee at home and use real, refrigerated milk.

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Happy-Hour88@reddit (OP)

Well to me a glass of milk gives me explosive diarrhea, not just gas. As a typical Balkan person no one knows I'm that intolerant. I mean it's not like discussing it even with friends is okay. Also, it's not as dangerous as my gluten intolerance.

Eating wheat and gluten makes me feel like I'm on drugs, moody and brain foggy.

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petahthehorseisheah@reddit

88 in username

gif

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Happy-Hour88@reddit (OP)

A Gen Z or alpha discovering there are people born in 1988.

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petahthehorseisheah@reddit

And I guess the two H-s are also a coincidence?

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Happy-Hour88@reddit (OP)

I don't get it, really, must be some nerdy pop culture reference only geeks way too much into shitty American pop culture know.

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k0mnr@reddit

Where is the data for this? From Romania to cheese people eta tons of cheese.

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zog_i_zi@reddit

I’m not lactose intolerant but I’m having trouble with digesting cow milk. And I know many people in Serbia that are lactose intolerant.

Lot of people doesn’t know that they are intolerant but you will hear from many that they don’t drink milk because their stomach hurts, but they love yogurt and don’t have any problems with it.

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12aq11@reddit

If you have trouble digesting it, it sounds like you have lactose intolerance.

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zog_i_zi@reddit

Actually I don’t know about lactose, but it’s very possible. But I know for sure that I have problem with some protein that can be found only in cow milk. So I shouldn’t eat/drink even yogurt or hard cheese if they are from cows milk.

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12aq11@reddit

Ah yes some people have a problem with A1 vs A2 protein or the homogenization of the fats.

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zog_i_zi@reddit

Lucky me, CRO,SRB,MNE,MKD… have G.O.A.T. goat/sheep cheese. I can’t imagine life without it.

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12aq11@reddit

Indeed. That's what my husband's brother did.

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KrunoOs@reddit

I'm Croatian. Became lactose intolerant in my forties. 51 now.

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vasjpan002@reddit

Usually, they had some intestinal disease which killed all the lactose digesting bacteria

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Martha_Fockers@reddit

you know living back home i didn't know half the shit that exists today existed.

i never met a single person who had gluten intolerance was lactose intolerant back home in my life hell i dont recall meeting someone who had damn allergies lmao. Back than people would disregard your mental illness as you just being stupid and not yet mature and you would just grow up normal somehow lmao

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Kohonis@reddit

With a consumption of 12 kilos of feta cheese per person yearly, if the map is right we should be first in toilet paper consumption

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NikobasNiko@reddit

Hahha most of Serbians would die. Where do you find such wrong data?

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Commie_Vladimir@reddit

I have mild lactose intolerance. I can eat fermented dairy (they're low in lactose) or small quantities of milk but above 100-200ml of milk my bowels get upset. I'd bet around half of the population is like this but since it's not severe they don't know.

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m_handzhiev@reddit

Never met anyone

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icancount192@reddit

I have heard of people having mild intolerance and they don't know about it.

Cheese making them gassy, milk sending them to the loo, gets making them burp.

They don't classify themselves as lactose intolerant, but they are.

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Artistic_Wind333@reddit

I don't drink milk anymore. Until 30-32, i had no issues. Then i got mild intolerance. I mentioned it to a doctor during yearly check up and she told me that a lot of greeks become lactose intolerant but do not accept it, or understand it. I have no issues with cheese and yogurt. I believe it is common, because of the joke "μιλκο+τυρόπιτα" that gets you the runs . I did not get the joke until i got intolerant.

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Next-Pepper-4761@reddit

Wait, you can be intolerant well into adulthood??

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Artistic_Wind333@reddit

"While it can emerge at any age, it is most common in adults over age 20. It may also develop suddenly after injury to the small intestine."

From https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/7317-lactose-intolerance

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RiRianna76@reddit

Same with me, I was able to eat half a block of feta in one sitting and around age 25 I developed a mild intolerance along with IBS. Now that I manage the IBS foods I can see how the dairy intolerance when triggered in small doses could be ignored as general digestive issues if you are not forced to pay attention due to having more sensitivities to work around. And ofc I also used to not get that joke and now it makes me cringe with fear

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casual_philosopher02@reddit

I honestly know of none+

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icancount192@reddit

Really? Maybe they haven't made the connection.

An aunt of mine was gassy for ages and couldn't believe she was lactose intolerant, didn't even think about the possibility. She thought it would be like allergies or severe stomach cramps.

She cut off dairy and no more farts

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Artistic_Wind333@reddit

1)Not making the connection 2)Denial 3)It is not a discussion you randomly have with most of people.

My only issue is with milk. I avoid it, but from time to time i might drink a little. It varries how much it annoys me. Regarding "not making the connection" , i forget the connection. I might have milk with no issues for a couple of times and afterwards, the times it annoys me a lot, my wife reminds me "you had milk earlier".

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Striking_Company9486@reddit

Source of this map: my anus.

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Intelligent_Big_5270@reddit

I was born in Bosnia of full heritage - I am lactose intolerant. I think drinking a glass of whole milk each day led me to have acne before anyone else in fourth grade.

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stormine_dragon@reddit

I am mildly intolerant to lactose, but not enough to prevent me from consuming it. I know a few people from my surroundings who are lactose intolerant, but not many.

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Vdd666@reddit

No.

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vbd71@reddit

Does farting after drinking half liter of milk count as lactose intolerance?

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Environmentalister@reddit

Indians are less tolerant than europeans, so I think so.

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vbd71@reddit

Yet milk is widely consumed in India.

Plus, we're not Indians anymore.

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Environmentalister@reddit

It is consumed, but it is still less digestible, europeans first came with the mutation.

Plus, we're not Indians anymore.

True as well, you mixed in middle east and Europe as well.

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12aq11@reddit

Yes

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Mestintrela@reddit

Yes

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zyzx97@reddit

I swear I've seen the exact reversed version of this.

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North_Kangaroo_1309@reddit

I literally dont know a person who is lactose intolerant and im Bulgarian

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GeneratedUsername5@reddit

100% lactose intolerance beyond Urals looks like parallel reality.

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kurwalover@reddit

hello originally from antalya turkey all my family lactose tolerant I don't think this map is accurate

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DancikMD@reddit

Never seen a lactose intolerant in Moldova

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Lorumba@reddit

This data would make sense if this was a circlejerk sub but no this is not real I know no one lactose intolerant.

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GimmeFuel6@reddit

My whole immediate family is 🤷🏻‍♀️

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RandomPolishCatholic@reddit

This map has got to be fake. I only know like 3 people who are lactose intolerant…

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sstopggap@reddit

The Balkans run on milk, geese and yogurt, so I doubt this map is anywhere close to correct.

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ButcherZV@reddit

As a person who lives in Balkan region (dark green on this map) i never meant anyone who has this problem. We all eat shitload of milk and other dairy products, so i don't think that this map is true. First time I ever heard about lactose intolerance was in a tv show The Big Bang Theory xD

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ContributionLatter32@reddit

lol no?

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bocsika@reddit

In Hungary, my little sister, my mother, my spouse (from Romania), her girlfriend all seriously intolerant, some of them developed the condition during their 40's.

They experience severe symptoms if lactose consumed, and the connection between that and milk was not established for decades.

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Tukaya3@reddit

I dont jnpw anyone %70+ is not correct I belive

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vulpixvulpes@reddit

I'm not sure if the prevalence on this map is correct (source?). There aren't very many lactose intolerant people in România I'd think, although I do a few people who were diagnosed young.

And like others here have said, there are plenty people who are mildly intolerant but don't realize it, especially because they weren't intolerant as children. A lot of become lose some milk tolerance with age, and intolerance doesn't mean "get the shits one second after touching milk" for all people. It can mean mild stomach ache, bloated, gassy and it takes a few hours for the symptoms to appear as digestion progresses.

That is me as an adult. As a child I had no issues and eating cheese was a big thing in my family. But then as a teenager I started constaaaaantly being gassy, bloated and mild digestion issues. In my early 20s decided to be vegetarian and it got worse, I thought I must have IBS or something... Due to being vegetarian and loving cheese, I ate a lot of dairy every day, loved yogurt and had milk in my coffee every day. Every evening I had a stomach ache.

I gave up dairy at some point and I stopped having digestive issues. Like completely. This was 6 years ago. I get bloated a few times a year when I get my period.

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gabr1e11aa@reddit

Croatia, I am and I know 2 people who are also lactose intolerant. I just choose to ignore it and eat whatever I want 🤣

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Cookiesend@reddit

At what AGE?

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haadyy@reddit

Lactose intolerance is grounds for revoking citizenship on the Balkans... The map lies.

(The number of Balkan people I know who are lactose intolerant are statistically negligible compared to the amount of people I know.)

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ivandemidov1@reddit

r/mapporncirclejerk

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Alternative-Tie-4970@reddit

Ain't no way Italy is that high

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Winter_Way_8513@reddit

Milk just make me fart is ti intolerance?

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NoDust8843@reddit

Pretty much fake

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ThickCaterpillar9867@reddit

Who makes this data?

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hubbabubbameqershi@reddit

I've met only one in Albania who is lactose intolerant. I never knew that was something around here so the percentage might be wrong.

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smurfk@reddit

Oh yes, the map of misinformation!

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krisko11@reddit

Yea the Greek Yogurt and Bulgarian Yogurt being national pride relates to 40% of people there not being able to consume dairy. Makes senae

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IlVesAr@reddit

40% know someone who is intolerant. Big difference. I'm still sceptical of the data tho

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Happy-Hour88@reddit (OP)

Yoghurt is fermented so better tolerates than unfermented milk.

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morphick@reddit

Haven't heard anyone I'm directly connected to (I'm 52).

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LibertyChecked28@reddit

Bs map

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Chance-Caterpillar38@reddit

is lactose intolerance really genetic? Can it be cultural? Because as far as i know it can be fixed by having regular lactose intake for a period as long as it takes (depends on the level of intolerance) and endure the process as it lasts. Most people would get trough it under 3 months.

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Lblink-9@reddit

It's genetic, because lactose tolerance is a genetic mutation. But you can also lose the tolerance with age. Africa is very lactose intolerant, for example (random statistic I know).

The map here is just a bit weird, because I'd know if a third of our population was lactose intolerant

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Barbak86@reddit

I know 1 lactose intolerant person, and I don't even know him personally. He used to be a prolific poster on Facebook and he used to complain that there are basically no lactose free products in Kosovo, and lactose free Milk is not always available, so he buys the entire mini supply when he sees them in a supermarket.

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arturius2000@reddit

Pretty much everyone, but no one is aware of it 😂😅🤪

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znobrizzo@reddit

Did you get this map from a circlejerk sub?

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LoresVro@reddit

Me

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_Caligulean_@reddit

Wtf is this map? I don't know a single lactose intolerant person here

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Substratas@reddit

The map is inaccurate. The Balkans is the region where the mutation of lactose tolerance happened and then it spread all over the world. Which is why so many Balkaners tolerate lactose so well despite being so far from Northern Europe.

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Environmentalister@reddit

Corded Ware Culture in Central and East Europe was.

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Mestintrela@reddit

Greeks have always been mostly lactose intolerant. Ancient Greek and Roman authors described in detail how amazed/horrified they were because the Germanic and Celtic barbarians drank raw milk and digested it.

While we "the civilised" had to turn it into cheese and yoghurt to digest it.

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Substratas@reddit

Not exactly Balkans, but close to the northern Balkans. My bad.

NoBal people are some of most lactose intolerant people on Earth.

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Environmentalister@reddit

This map is complete BS, but complete. You cannot get more wrong than this, delete it

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TheSamuil@reddit

I don't think I am lactose intolerant, though in the past few years I've been avoiding drinking ayran because I noticed I tend to feel sick afterwards in spite of loving the drink

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casastorta@reddit

This is such a weird choice for colors… at least it could have been sorted in a way that it makes sense as a scale but noooo….

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oioioioioioiioo@reddit

When I don't consume lactose for a long time my stomach doesn't support it, don't know if I can't count myself

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Worried-Owl-9198@reddit

What kind of map is this? This condition is almost non existent among Turks we've got those nomadic skills.

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rrrzrrr@reddit

Shhh nobody tell this guy about actual % of Turkic DNA among Turkish population

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OkoMushrooom@reddit

Technically I am, although I wouldn’t call it an allergic reaction or anything I just get bloated with gas while consuming dairy products, and in larger quantities it becomes painful to digest it was only then when I realized what was happening. But not all types of dairy products cause it, I have absolutely no problems eating feta cheese I feel nothing, but other types of cheese I can feel start a chemical reaction.

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Jaran_sa_Balkana@reddit

Why'd you revive Yugoslavia and the USSR on this map?

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SuedeJacketMonster@reddit

This is typical western fabrication. I've never met anyone lactose intolerant in my whole life. It doesn't exist.

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Radusili@reddit

This is 100% made up

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zwiegespalten_@reddit

I am

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Ivek255@reddit

As young i newer heard of anyone beying lactose intolerant , now just one my friend is slightly lactose intolerant , ( can drig coffe or eat 1/2 of a yogurt and nothing over that bad )

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ThingCandid9553@reddit

No

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Mestintrela@reddit

Yeah my mother is/has become lactose intolerant. But it took many years for us to realise it for what it is. It only happens with milk not other dairy.

So far noone else in the family has it, but maybe when we also get older we will become. Good thing I never liked milk in the first place.

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Happy-Hour88@reddit (OP)

Me too. For me it's because I am intolerant to gluten. Maybe if she tries to go gluten-free she will be able to tolerate dairy more?

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Mestintrela@reddit

She drinks lactose free milk ever since she realised it and the symptoms have stopped completely so I dont think it is gluten related.

There are also tablets with the lactase enzyme as an alternative.

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SchoolForSedition@reddit

Lactase production decreased with age as well.

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Moooooooola@reddit

The majority of Sicily is lactose intolerant eh. Lol.

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dupeni@reddit

I am. When I drink milk I have stomach problems, other dairy products are good. Sause Iam Macedonian

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perverteconomist@reddit

Lactose intolerance is too gay of a condition to admit in Turkey.

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InterestingSplit6095@reddit

Skill issue

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TheLonelyPrincess741@reddit

Yes! I think 20% to 40% is a bit high though. It’s a thing but not that common.

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NoScreen54@reddit

i do

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Istar10n@reddit

I am, but I didn't find out until getting a genetic test for it at age 30.

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OkBag8209@reddit

most of the people doesn't even know they are intolerant they just fart a lot and feel bloated think its normal

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driftstyle28@reddit

This map is complete bullshit, I know maybe one person who is lactose intolerant, and he is from Norway😂

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tipoftheiceberg1234@reddit

Definitely not 52% in BiH. I don’t think I know anybody who has had issues eating cheese/dairy. I’m the only one and even then it’s a 50/50 how it’ll affect me

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WorldOfTech@reddit

Up until 30-32 I was not, afterwards I became and I don't know why. I guess it happens.

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Mestintrela@reddit

Because the lactase gene gets less and less expressed as we age.

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WorldOfTech@reddit

Yeah, figured as much, still none in my family is, genes probably don't matter with this.

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latespresso@reddit

I’m 24 and diagnosed with egg yolk intolerance last autumn. Never had issues before, shit happens.

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Ujemegaz@reddit

I guess we got used to living with it.

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12aq11@reddit

My Croatian husband's brother was when he was younger and their two cousins still are. My only problem is usually gas with some dairy products.

Raw/unpasteurized is supposed to be better on the digestion (from a sanitary farmer). I am fine when drinking it (mostly Western European heritage, some Slavic/Balkan).

A story from my friend's relative - on a number of visits, a lactose intolerant kid was given raw milk because the mom didn't inform the host. Then the mom found out he had milk and was worried. Yet he had been drinking it for weeks and was fine.

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Mestintrela@reddit

When you get Listeria from the raw milk, you dont care about lactose intolerance. Thats true.

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12aq11@reddit

That's why it matters how the milk is extracted and stored.

Been fine going on a year of drinking it.

If you enjoy Parmigiano-Reggiano or Grano Padano, know that's made with unpasteurized/raw milk 😉

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PckMan@reddit

Nope. Never met anyone.

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AnaBaros@reddit

I know a few people. However I also know people are very unaware what is lactose/gluten intolerance, and they think if they don't have stomach pain or not sh***ing themselves, they are ok. But symptoms can be subtile.

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Happy-Hour88@reddit (OP)

Yeah I am gluten intolerant and a glass of milk makes me run for the loo. They say on a strict gluten-free diet digestion of lactose improves. It's hard to be gluten-free with so many amazing pastries in the Balkans.

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AnaBaros@reddit

My husband is both gluten and lactose intolerant however he has very mild symptoms and he lived 30+ years eating both without any problems. However he tried not eating gluten for 2 weeks just to see if his eczema will be better and after it disappeared he realized milk makes the same problems 🥲 Then we saw the same eczema in a lot of people around us, hence my statement that people have no idea what is intolerance if they don't have severe symptoms.

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12aq11@reddit

Yeah the gas can be terrible, but they might not make the connection.

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MagmaSlte@reddit

I dont think a lot of people in Bulgaia actually realise or admit they are lactose intolerant, prob similiar in other balkan countries.

From my experience it is like 50/50

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Happy-Hour88@reddit (OP)

True. I drink a glass of milk when I want to relieve my constipation, sorry if TMI. :P

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