1898: Milk served to Indian students to ward off tuberculosis

The Office of Indian Affairs issues rules for food service at off-reservation boarding schools: “good, healthful, and well-cooked food should be supplied in abundance.” Because the prevailing medical opinions emphasize the importance of milk and other dairy products, schools serve them to students as a means of preventing tuberculosis. This policy miscarries because many American Indians are lactose intolerant—unable to digest lactose, a sugar in dairy products. Lactose intolerance causes nausea, diarrhea, and abdominal cramps.

Theme

Epidemics, Federal-Tribal Relations

Region

Arctic, California, Great Basin, Great Plains, Northeast, Northwest Coast, Plateau, Southeast, Southwest, Subarctic