Nutrition and health aspects of milk and dairy products and their ingredients

Peer-reviewed | Manuscript received: April 15, 2017 | Revision accepted: September 07, 2017

Preface

The association between the consumption of milk and dairy products and possible health effects can be investigated at various levels: at the level of milk-specific constituents (e.g. saturated fatty acids), at the level of product categories (e.g. milk, yogurt, cheese, as full-fat or low-fat products), or at the level of specific dietary patterns (e.g. the Mediterranean diet). This narrative, non-systematic review is mainly based on meta-analyses and systematic reviews from 2010 on, which evaluated randomized, controlled intervention studies and observational studies. Studies from before 2010 were only taken into account if more recent studies did not exist.

The observation studies were mainly prospective cohort studies. Some associations were also studied in subgroups of larger cohort studies, in the form of (prospective) case-cohort studies, or in the form of nested casecontrol studies.

Abstract

At approximately 190 g/day, current consumption of milk and dairy products in Germany is lower than recommended by the German Nutrition Society. Milk and dairy products are good sources of a range of essential nutrients. One of their main characteristics is the unique composition of the milk fat. Research is currently focusing on the effects of specific fatty acids, the influence of animal feed on the fatty acid pattern, and the health implications of bacteria and their metabolites in fermented dairy products. Epidemiological data suggest that the consumption of milk and dairy products is associated with a lower risk of a range of diseases. Diseases which are likely to occur less frequently in the case of normal consumption compared to low or no consumption include cardiovascular diseases (CVD), stroke, hypertension, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and colorectal cancer. The consumption of milk and dairy products was associated with higher bone mineral density and better bone metabolism markers. An elevated risk of prostate cancer was observed in the case of very high consumption (more than 1.2 L of milk or 140 g of hard cheese per day). Overall, milk and dairy products significantly contribute to a disease-preventing, plant-based diet.

Keywords: milk, dairy products, health, prevention, risks, systematic review

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