Yogurt, in varied forms, forms quite an integral part of the South Indian diet. And this may very well be due to the fact that the probiotics may actually help lactose digestion. I don't have an immediate reference to for this but will try and dig one up.
On 1/10/07, shiv sastry <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
On Tuesday 09 Jan 2007 8:27 pm, Dave Long wrote: > judging from > the traditional alpine diet, anyone with lactose intolerance here might > have starved even in times of plenty) Is southern indian cuisine as > dairy-heavy as northern? One of the reasons that I have heard quoted for lactose intolerance is early weaning on to cows milk from human breast milk. Lactose intolerance to varying degrees is rampant in India - certainly in Bangalore - where i work, but it tends to vary greatly in severity and is rarely crippling. In a country like India where the cow is held sacred - nobody takes you seriously if you tell them that cow's milk is best for calves, not babies. The ability to afford milk and milk products, particualrly "ghee" was a sign of wealth. But now there is too much food available and India is the world's largest producer of milk. (India is also the world's largest producer of babies - but that is off topic) shiv
