1 University of Miami School of Medicine, Miami, Florida
Recent advances in understanding of individual and racial differences in intestinal digestion of lactose have provided evidence that milk is not well tolerated by large segments of the world population. This is particularly true of the nonwhite majority. Studies have reported as high a percentage as 70% of Negroes to be intolerant of lactose.1 In spite of this information milk is still being used to provide dietary protein supplementation in Africa, Asia, South America, and many parts of the United States. In particular, milk has been a major food in school free lunch programs for years.