lactase

Is drinking cow’s milk healthy for humans? Many remember the rush to get to the head of the line for milk at morning recess in elementary school and TV ads showing healthy kids running around the playground accompanied by the message that milk helps build healthy bones. But scientific research now questions if drinking milk is really a good idea. The answer may be found by studying the Neolithic humans who first started to practice dairy-related animal husbandry. A multidisciplinary team of researchers discovered that until 8,000 years ago only children were able to digest lactose (a form of sugar present in milk); adults could not produce endogenous lactase, the enzyme required to break down lactose. Donkey milk: Ancient elixir