Dairying and the evolution and consequences of lactase persistence in humans.

Milk Consumption, Nutrition, and Growth We have previously discussed the high-caloric content of milk, and the role it has in establishing the microbiome, and transferring hormones, proteins, and other nutrients from mothers to offspring. The presence of milk proteins on pot residues found throughout Europe during the Neolithic attests to the widespread use of milk among early farmers ([6]), but this evidence does not differentiate whether the milk was directly consumed, or used to produce cheese or yogurt. These cultural transitions led to animal milk and milk-derived products being consumed beyond the age at which consumption of human breastmilk ceases, a dietary shift that likely had not occurred previously within our evolutionary lineage. Keywords: agriculture; dairying; growth; human evolution; lactase persistence EN agriculture dairying growth human evolution lactase persistence 7 13 7 06/20/23 20230601 NES 230601 Implications The domestication of milk-producing mammals and the use of milk products has been widespread among human populations throughout the past 10,000 years. [Extracted from the article]