Quote:
Originally Posted by longsuffering
Why weren't celiac disease and lactose intolerance diagnosed medical conditions in the 60s, 70s, and 80s? I never heard of these conditions and never knew of anyone having these conditions until the 90s?
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They were. But testing as well as awareness amongst medical professionals and the public has improved since then. It's not like lactose intolerance came out of nowhere. Its effects have been noted for thousands of years and it's estimated that the majority of the world's population has it to some degree. It's just much more prevalent in regions where there hasn't been a long history of dairy consumption. Prior to widespread testing and diagnosis of those conditions people would probably just avoid dairy or wheat because it made them feel sick.
That doesn't mean some people don't act like hypochondriacs or pretend to have an affliction that they don't, but lactose intolerance and Celiac disease are very real and demonstrable things that have existed for millennia.