Tag: Lct gene

According to the National Institutes of Health, an estimated 65% of the world's adult population has a reduced ability to digest lactose. This widespread condition is directly caused by a deficiency in a specific digestive enzyme, also known as a protein, which breaks down the lactose sugar in milk products.

While all infant mammals, including humans, can produce the enzyme lactase to digest milk, most mammals stop producing it after infancy. This suggests that the ability for many adults to process lactose is a relatively recent evolutionary development, not an ancient trait shared by all humanity.

Approximately 65% of the adult human population experiences a reduced ability to digest lactose after infancy, a condition directly tied to the function of a specific protein. This essential protein that breaks down lactose is an enzyme called lactase, and its deficiency is the primary cause of lactose intolerance.