Why did 40% of the human population evolve to tolerate lactose?(1 point)
Responses
Lactose tolerance allows people to enjoy a wide variety of food, including milk, butter, ice cream, and cheese.
Lactose tolerance allows people to enjoy a wide variety of food, including milk, butter, ice cream, and cheese.
Within cultures that rely on milk-producing animals, individuals who tolerated lactose had a survival advantage.
Within cultures that rely on milk-producing animals, individuals who tolerated lactose had a survival advantage.
People who have an intolerance experience physical pain, so a tolerance evolved to avoid that.
People who have an intolerance experience physical pain, so a tolerance evolved to avoid that.
Babies rely on milk to survive, so they need to be able to tolerate lactose.
Babies rely on milk to survive, so they need to be able to tolerate lactose.
The correct answer is:
Within cultures that rely on milk-producing animals, individuals who tolerated lactose had a survival advantage.
The correct answer is:
Within cultures that rely on milk-producing animals, individuals who tolerated lactose had a survival advantage.
Explanation: The ability to digest lactose, the sugar found in milk, is dependent on the presence of an enzyme called lactase. In most mammals, including humans, lactase production decreases after weaning, resulting in lactose intolerance. However, in some human populations, there has been an evolutionary adaptation that allows for continued lactase production into adulthood, known as lactose tolerance.
The reason behind this adaptation lies in the domestication and reliance on milk-producing animals. In cultures where milk and dairy products became a significant part of the diet, individuals who could digest lactose had a significant survival advantage. Being able to consume milk as a source of nutrition provided these individuals with an additional food source, especially during times when other food resources were scarce. As a result, the genes for lactose tolerance became more prevalent in these populations over time.
So, the main reason why approximately 40% of the human population has evolved to tolerate lactose is that within cultures that rely on milk-producing animals, individuals who tolerated lactose had a survival advantage.