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A special issue of Nutrients (ISSN 2072-6643). This special issue belongs to the section "Nutrition and Public Health".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 November 2021) | Viewed by 29914

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Dr. Sandra Abreu

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Guest Editor

1. Research Centre in Physical Activity, Health and Leisure, Faculty of Sport, University of Porto, 4200-450 Porto, Portugal
2. Laboratory for Integrative and Translational Research in Population Health, Porto, Portugal
3. School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro, Vila Real, Portugal
Interests: nutrition; dietary patterns; nutritional epidemiology; obesity

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

For this special issue of Nutrients, we are seeking papers on cow’s milk and human health. We welcome the submission of original research articles, reviews and meta-analyses investigating the effect of milk or milk products on human health.

Commonly consumed by humans worldwide, cow’s milk and its products are recognized as important contributors of numerous minerals, vitamins and high-quality proteins. Indeed, in diversified diets, milk and other dairy products provide considerable amounts of calcium, vitamin A, vitamin B12, riboflavin, niacin and phosphorus. Although evidence has suggested that consuming milk benefits human health from childhood to adulthood, a decline in the per capita consumption of milk, often replaced by beverages with lower nutrient density, has also been reported. In response, it remains important to join efforts to provide high-quality evidence about milk and other dairy foods for literature on nutrition.

Potential topics for the special issue include the effects of milk and milk products on, for example, non-communicable diseases, weight management and obesity, chronic inflammation, metabolic health, human growth, mental health and bone health.

Dr. Sandra Abreu
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

Milk
Milk products
Cultured Milk Products
Human health
Metabolic health
Non-communicable diseases
Public health

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

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16 pages, 2927 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Gastrointestinal Protein Hydrolysis Kinetics: Opportunities for Further Infant Formula Improvement

by Evan Abrahamse, Gabriël G. M. Thomassen, Ingrid B. Renes, Peter A. Wierenga and Kasper A. Hettinga

Nutrients 2022, 14(7), 1512; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/nu14071512 - 05 Apr 2022

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2671

Abstract

The postprandial plasma essential amino acid (AA) peak concentrations of infant formula (IF) are higher than those of human milk (HM) in infants. In addition, several HM proteins have been recovered intact in infant stool and appeared digestion resistant in vitro. We, therefore, hypothesized that gastrointestinal protein hydrolysis of IF is faster than HM and leads to accelerated absorbable digestion product release. HM and IF protein hydrolysis kinetics were compared in a two-step semi-dynamic in vitro infant digestion model, and the time course of degree of protein hydrolysis (DH), loss of intact protein, and release of free AA and peptides was evaluated. Gastric DH increase was similar for IF and HM, but the rate of intestinal DH increase was 1.6 times higher for IF than HM. Intact protein loss in IF was higher than HM from 120 min gastric phase until 60 min intestinal phase. Intestinal phase total digestion product (free AA + peptides <5 kDa) concentrations increased ~2.5 times faster in IF than HM. IF gastrointestinal protein hydrolysis and absorbable product release are faster than HM, possibly due to the presence of digestion-resistant proteins in HM. This might present an opportunity to further improve IF bringing it closer to HM. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cow's Milk and Human Health)

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9 pages, 1067 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Glycemic Response to Infant Formulas: A Randomized Clinical Trial

by Adi Anafy, Hadar Moran-Lev, Niva Shapira, Meital Priel, Asaf Oren, Laurence Mangel, Dror Mandel and Ronit Lubetzky

Nutrients 2022, 14(5), 1064; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/nu14051064 - 03 Mar 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1972

Abstract

Background: Commercial infant formulas attempt to imitate human milk’s unique composition. However, lactose-free and milk protein-free formulas are often chosen due to medical reasons or personal preferences. The aim of this study was to determine the glycemic and insulinemic indices of a variety of infant formulas. Methods: We conducted a three-arm, randomized, double-blind, crossover study. Participants were 25–40-year-old healthy adults. Three commercial infant formulas (cow’s milk protein-based [“standard”], soy protein-based, and lactose-free) were randomly given to each participant. Glycemic and insulinemic responses were determined and compared between the three formulas. Results: Twenty subjects were enrolled (11 females/9 males, mean age 32.8 ± 2.9 years). No significant difference was found in the glycemic index between the three formulas (21.5, 29.1, and 21.5 for the standard, soy protein-based, and lactose-free formulas, respectively, p = 0.21). However, maximal glucose levels were significantly higher for the soy protein-based formula compared to both the standard and lactose-free formulas (111.5 compared to 101.8 and 105.8 mg/dL, respectively, p = 0.001). Conclusion: Cow’s milk protein-based, soy protein-based, and lactose-free formulas have a similar glycemic index. However, soy protein-based formula produced a significantly higher increase in postprandial glucose levels. The implication and biological significance of these results have yet to be determined. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cow's Milk and Human Health)

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10 pages, 384 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Whole Cow’s Milk but Not Lactose Can Induce Symptoms in Patients with Self-Reported Milk Intolerance: Evidence of Cow’s Milk Sensitivity in Adults

by Antonio Carroccio, Maurizio Soresi, Beatrice Mantia, Francesca Fayer, Francesco La Blasca, Aurelio Seidita, Alberto D’Alcamo, Ada Maria Florena, Chiara Tinè, Chiara Garlisi and Pasquale Mansueto

Nutrients 2021, 13(11), 3833; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/nu13113833 - 27 Oct 2021

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3836

Abstract

Background: Lactose intolerance is the most frequent food intolerance, but many subjects with self-reported milk intolerance (SRMI) are asymptomatic at lactose hydrogen breath test (LHBT). The aim of this study was to evaluate the frequency of lactose intolerance in SRMI patients and their clinical characteristics. Methods: In a retrospective study, the clinical records of 314 SRMI patients (259 females, mean age: 39.1 ± 13.5 years) were reviewed; 102 patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) served as controls. In a prospective study, 42 SRMI patients, negatives at the LHBT, underwent a double-blind, placebo-controlled (DBPC) whole cow’s milk challenge. Results: In the retrospective study, only 178 patients (56%) were lactose maldigesters and intolerant at LHBT; 68% of the subjects with SRMI were suffering from IBS; 74% reported dyspepsia (p = 0.0001 vs. IBS controls); and weight loss was recorded in 62 SRMI patients (20%) (p = 0.01 vs. IBS controls). Duodenal histology showed intra-epithelial lymphocytosis in about 60% of cases. In the prospective study, 36 patients (86%) experienced symptoms during the DBPC cow’s milk challenge, and only 4 patients (9%) reacted to placebo (p = 0.0001). Conclusions: A percentage of SRMI patients were not suffering from lactose intolerance. DBPC revealed that SRMI patients had clinical reactions when exposed to whole cow’s milk. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cow's Milk and Human Health)

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13 pages, 299 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Directions of Changes in the Health Values of Dairy Products in the Opinion of Consumers

by Marta Sajdakowska, Jerzy Gębski and Krystyna Gutkowska

Nutrients 2021, 13(6), 1945; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu13061945 - 05 Jun 2021

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2426

Abstract

The aim of our research was to assess whether and to what extent the perceived change in the content of selected ingredients in dairy products is important for Polish consumers in accepting the enhancement of the health benefits of dairy products, including yogurt. The data were collected using a CAPI (Computer Assisted Personal Interview) survey on a sample of 983 consumers. The logistic regression model was used to predict the behavior of consumers associated with their willingness to accept the health aspects of improving dairy products. The results indicated that changes in the level of selected ingredients enhanced the willingness to accept increasing the health value of the product. The socio-demographic characteristics of the participants were not associated with the degree of their willingness to accept the improvement of the perceived health attributes. Practitioners in the dairy industry and policy makers can benefit from these results. When designing food products, it is worth focusing on increasing the nutritional value and enhancing the health value of food that is perceived by consumers as generally possessing positive health benefits, rather than on food that is perceived by them as possessing negative qualities. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cow's Milk and Human Health)

Review

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18 pages, 1825 KiB

Open AccessReview

Potential Protective Protein Components of Cow’s Milk against Certain Tumor Entities

by Christian Leischner, Sarah Egert, Markus Burkard and Sascha Venturelli

Nutrients 2021, 13(6), 1974; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/nu13061974 - 08 Jun 2021

Cited by 15 | Viewed by 6148

Abstract

Milk and dairy products, especially from cow’s milk, play a major role in the daily human diet. It is therefore hardly surprising that the subject of milk is being extensively researched and that many effects of individual milk components have been characterized as a result. With the wealth of results available today, the influence of milk on the development of various types of cancer and, in particular, its often protective effects have been shown both in vitro and in vivo and in the evaluation of large-scale cohort and case-control studies. Various caseins, diverse whey proteins such as α-lactalbumin (α-LA), bovine α-lactalbumin made lethal to tumor cells (BAMLET), β-lactoglobulin (β-LG), or bovine serum albumin (BSA), and numerous milk fat components, such as conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), milk fat globule membrane (MFGM), or butyrate, as well as calcium and other protein components such as lactoferrin (Lf), lactoferricin (Lfcin), and casomorphines, show antitumor or cytotoxic effects on cells from different tumor entities. With regard to a balanced and health-promoting diet, milk consumption plays a major role in a global context. This work provides an overview of what is known about the antitumoral properties of proteins derived from cow’s milk and their modes of action. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cow's Milk and Human Health)

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15 pages, 813 KiB

Open AccessReview

Milk and Dairy Products: Good or Bad for Human Bone? Practical Dietary Recommendations for the Prevention and Management of Osteoporosis

by Alicja Ewa Ratajczak, Agnieszka Zawada, Anna Maria Rychter, Agnieszka Dobrowolska and Iwona Krela-Kaźmierczak

Nutrients 2021, 13(4), 1329; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/nu13041329 - 17 Apr 2021

Cited by 34 | Viewed by 11564

Abstract

Osteoporosis affects women twice as often as men. Additionally, it is estimated that 0.3 million and 1.7 million people have hip fractures in the USA and Europe, respectively. Having a proper peak bone mass and keeping it as long as possible is especially important for osteoporosis prevention. One of the most important calcium sources is milk and dairy products. Breast milk is the best infant food, but milk should not be avoided later in life to prevent losing bone mass. On the other hand, more and more people limit their milk consumption and consume other dairy or non-dairy products. For example, they are usually replaced with plant beverages, which should be consumed carefully in several age groups. Additionally, an important element of milk and dairy products, as well as plant beverages, are probiotics and prebiotics, which may modulate bone turnover. Dietary recommendations focused on milk, and dairy products are an important element for the prevention of osteoporosis. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cow's Milk and Human Health)

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