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Over two-thirds of the world’s population lose the ability to metabolise during their lifetime (the majority during childhood). We know today that lactose intolerance, or lactase persistence, has a strong genetic predisposition. Almost 100% of Asians, 70% of African-Americans, East Indians, US Hispanics and approximately 50% of Spanish and French have very low levels of lactase in adulthood (what we would call lactose intolerant). Alternatively, the majority of Caucasians can tolerate lactose into adulthood.



Testing for lactose intolerance/lactase persistence can be done either via chemical or genetic testing. Each has their advantages and disadvantages but is important for any doctor or patient to know about.



This is the story of Lactose intolerance.

Our special guests:  

Dr Michael Page is a Chemical Pathologist and Chief Executive Officer at Clinipath in Western Australia.



Dr Melanie Galea is a Genetic Pathology specialist and Director of genetics at Douglass Hanly Moir Pathology in Sydney.

Over two-thirds of the world’s population lose the ability to metabolise during their lifetime (the majority during childhood). We know today that lactose intolerance, or lactase persistence, has a strong genetic predisposition. Almost 100% of Asians, 70% of African-Americans, East Indians, US Hispanics and approximately 50% of Spanish and French have very low levels of lactase in adulthood (what we would call lactose intolerant). Alternatively, the majority of Caucasians can tolerate lactose into adulthood.
 
Testing for lactose intolerance/lactase persistence can be done either via chemical or genetic testing. Each has their advantages and disadvantages but is important for any doctor or patient to know about.
 
This is the story of Lactose intolerance.
 Our special guests: 
Dr Michael Page is a Chemical Pathologist and Chief Executive Officer at Clinipath in Western Australia.
 
Dr Melanie Galea is a Genetic Pathology specialist and Director of genetics at Douglass Hanly Moir Pathology in Sydney.

Welcome to the This Medical Life podcast. Our mission is to share stories about the triumphs and tragedies of diseases and illnesses from ancient times up until what we know today. It is about those scientific and medical minds who came before us and how, every single day, we stand on the shoulders of giants. This is a podcast about the stories of medicine.


Hosted by Dr. Travis Brown and Steve Davis, our target audience is General Practitioners, medical students, and other health professionals. We hope to educate, inspire and celebrate those who choose to care for others in their profession. From experience, we know that our audience extends beyond these fields and would like to welcome anyone to listen. The stories of those who came before us are nothing short of remarkable and we hope you enjoy them as much as we do.

Production by Tim Whiffen

Design by Tom Buzz

This Medical Life

Explore lactose intolerance's genetics with Drs. Michael Page and Melanie Galea on This Medical Life Podcast.

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