Hilary Smith, University of Denver

Lactose intolerance makes drinking milk or eating ice cream a literal pain. For some people, eating a dairy treat can lead to bloating, nausea and diarrhea. You might’ve experienced its effects yourself. If so, you may think of lactose intolerance as a defect rather than the norm.

But did you know that most people in the world today are lactose intolerant – and that the condition itself was invented in the 1960s?

“Surely you mean discovered, not invented,” I hear you saying. I don’t. As a historian who has traced the origins of nutrition-science ideas, I have chosen the word “invented” on purpose.

Inventing lactose intolerance

Variations in people’s ability to digest lactose first came to scientists’ attention after American dairy producers found a way to rid themselves of a postwar milk surplus. To offload what they couldn’t sell, they looked to the government to intervene. And it did, buying the excess and embedding it in school lunches and other places with publicly funded meals.

Suddenly, many people who had not habitually drunk milk were consuming it regularly, including not only some Americans but also people overseas. Part of that same milk surplus found its way into school lunches in places such as Japan and Taiwan in the 1950s as the American government began to sell milk to allies during the Cold War.

Many of the groups drinking milk regularly for the first time did not like it. In fact, it made them feel sick. Intrigued, scientists set up experiments to figure out why. In a 1966 study comparing how Black and white people incarcerated in Baltimore metabolized lactose, researchers found that Black participants had lower levels of lactase – the enzyme that breaks down lactose – in their guts.

To the white scientists conducting this study, the trouble that the Black prisoners had digesting milk looked like an “inborn error of metabolism.” They assumed that the normal human state was lactose tolerance and that the lactose intolerant had inherited a genetic mutation.

It was only after years more work with research participants of many races that experts realized that, as one National Institutes of Health official put it in 1981, “lactose intolerance is a normal physiological condition, shared by every adult animal except for certain ethnic and racial groups in man.” People of northern European descent, it turned out, were the weird ones. It was their ancestors who had passed down a genetic mutation – one that made them able to digest milk after infancy.

In short, what scientists discovered in the 1960s was that different bodies process milk differently. What they invented was the idea that lactose intolerance is a defect. Accepting that framing would mean nearly two-thirds of the human population – the estimated prevalence of lactose intolerance worldwide – is defective.

Instead of acknowledging that dairy-free diets can be healthy, people innovated ways to overcome this supposed disability so everyone could consume more.

Nutritional imperialism

Lactose intolerance is one example of what I call nutritional imperialism: a way of thinking that treats white diets as the norm and everyone else’s as an aberration.

Nutritional imperialism was common in the 20th century, when scientists thought that not only milk-rich but also meat-heavy diets were best; they considered diets outside of the United States and Europe too vegetarian. Some also argued that wheat flour, not rice, ought to be the universal staple.

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The same bias applied to bodies. Besides faulty lactose digestion, nonwhite bodies were accused of other failures, too, such as aldehyde dehydrogenase deficiency, an inability to digest alcohol quickly. The less technical term for this may be more familiar: Asian flush.

Such differences might have been thought of as variety, just another way of being human. Instead, each became a deficiency.

Many people today have inherited and perpetuated this way of thinking without knowing it, including those who are deemed deficient by it. In 1959, the director of Japan’s nutrition bureau declared that “rice-eating peoples” such as the Japanese were “resigned and passive” and could correct this by imitating Western diets and switching to wheat.

Today, the most prominent scientist promoting the idea that Asian flush is a disease is a geneticist of Taiwanese descent who started a research consortium to study “the most common human enzymopathy in the world.”

The Chinese Nutrition Society placed a tall glass of milk next to its 2022 Food Guide Plate – never mind estimates that the vast majority of Han Chinese, the largest ethnic group in China and worldwide, are lactose intolerant.

Turning sickness back into difference

Science that pathologizes difference helps racism persist.

In recent years, white supremacists have embraced the concept of lactose intolerance as a distinguishing debility of nonwhite people. Social media users have copied and pasted a map of the geographic distribution of lactose tolerance originally published in the scientific journal Nature into racist chat threads on the online discussion forum 4chan.

In 2017, internet trolls disrupted an anti-racist art installation with neo-Nazi chants and messily downed jugs of milk to accentuate their white identity.

Turning a lactose-digestion difference into a deficiency has done more to reinforce narratives of racial hierarchy than to improve public health. So here’s a suggestion: If you enjoy eating dairy, keep doing it; if you don’t, don’t – and know that there is nothing wrong with you.

Hilary Smith, Professor of History, University of Denver

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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SEATTLE — Alaska Airlines is expanding its international network with new nonstop flights connecting Seattle to Athens, Greece, and Paris, France, beginning in May 2027.

The seasonal Seattle-to-Athens route launches May 12, 2027, with three weekly flights through October. According to Alaska Airlines, it will be the first nonstop service between Seattle and Athens and the only nonstop connection between the West Coast and the Greek capital.

Service between Seattle and Paris begins May 25, 2027, operating five times weekly through October.

Both routes will feature Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft, offering lie-flat business-class suites and upgraded amenities. Alaska says Starlink Wi-Fi will become available as installation continues across its fleet through 2027.

The new destinations join Alaska’s growing international lineup from Seattle, which includes Iceland, London, Rome, Seoul, and Tokyo. The airline plans to add at least five more intercontinental destinations by 2030.

Introductory round-trip main-cabin fares start at $999 and are available for purchase in the United States through August 26, 2026, subject to restrictions. Travelers can book at Alaska Airlines.

Would you choose Athens or Paris for your next European adventure? Share your thoughts in the comments and subscribe to the STM Daily News newsletter for more travel updates.

Source: Alaska Airlines press release, August 20, 2026.

Related Links

• Alaska Airlines Newsroom
• Atmos Rewards
• Athens International Airport
• Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport

Building Financial Confidence

(Feature Impact) Nearly everyone is carrying some level of insecurity about their financial future, even those who are trying to plan ahead. Economic uncertainty, fueled by persistent inflation, stagnant wages and a cooling job market, has led many Americans to feel like they’re falling behind, even when they’re doing many of the “right” things financially.

Though many are paying down debt, saving for retirement and building an emergency fund, they’re still asking, “Am I doing enough?” In fact, only 21% of Americans are financially prepared and assured in their ability to protect their futures, according to Mutual of Omaha’s 2026 Protection Index Survey – a proprietary research study conducted with quantilope – which shows overall financial confidence has declined.

“Many people believe they need to wait until they have more money, more certainty or the perfect plan before taking action,” said Nate Hobson, vice president of sales, Advisor Network at Mutual of Omaha. “But financial confidence is usually built through consistency rather than perfect timing. Even small steps today can make a meaningful difference over time.”

While being financially secure means different things to different people, according to the survey – such as having little or no debt (34%), owning a home (29%), maintaining emergency savings (27%), saving for retirement (26%) or having insurance coverage (26%) – building financial confidence doesn’t have to translate to cutting out everything you enjoy. Instead, this expert guidance can help you be more intentional with the choices you make so your spending reflects your priorities.

Create a Financial Cushion

Whether it’s a car repair, medical bill or temporary loss of income, unexpected expenses happen.

Having even a modest emergency fund can reduce financial stress and reliance on credit cards or loans. If saving several months of expenses feels overwhelming, start with a smaller milestone. Consistency matters more than the starting amount.

Put Good Financial Habits on Autopilot

One of the easiest ways to make progress is removing the need to make the same decision every month. Consider setting up automatic contributions to savings and retirement accounts, regular investment deposits and automatic bill payments, which can help you build financial security even during busy or uncertain times.

Taking a look at everyday spending habits can also make a difference. The survey showed small, everyday choices add up over time, such as cutting non-essential spending (57%), using rewards programs (54%), comparing prices or switching providers (39%) and following a monthly budget (38%). That could mean bringing your lunch to work instead of grabbing takeout, taking a few extra minutes to compare prices at the grocery store or using rewards to get more value from the purchases you’re already making.

Protect What You’re Building

Saving and investing are important pieces of financial protection, but they’re only part of the equation. Protecting income, loved ones and other financial assets is equally important.

For families, life insurance can provide financial protection during key earning and caregiving years, helping replace income if the unexpected happens. For those focused on covering final expenses, guaranteed whole life insurance can help cover funeral and other end-of-life costs. If you’re approaching or living in retirement, an annuity may provide a reliable stream of income that can complement other retirement resources and reduce uncertainty.

A financial professional can help determine which options best fit your goals and circumstances. To see how much coverage is right for your situation, Mutual of Omaha’s Life Insurance Calculator can provide a personalized estimate based on your income, financial obligations and long-term goals.

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For more practical advice to build financial confidence, visit MutualofOmaha.com.

Taking Action with an Extra $1,000

If you unexpectedly received $1,000, your response with the extra cash may reveal your financial priorities and where additional planning could strengthen financial resilience.

Providing a window into Americans’ financial priorities, respondents in Mutual of Omaha’s 2026 Protection Index Report said they would:

• Pay down debt (25%)
• Add it to savings (21%)
• Use it for everyday expenses (14%)
• Invest it (9%)

Photos courtesy of Shutterstock

SOURCE:

Mutual of Omaha

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