This collection highlights the important contribution of milk and other dairy products to the diets of millions around the world. Chapters discuss key nutritional properties of milk, including lactose, caseins and glycoproteins and the ways in which consumption supports human health and growth.
This collection features four peer-reviewed reviews on the nutritional benefits of milk.
The first chapter highlights the important role of milk and dairy products in human diets due to the amount of energy (calories) they provide and their ability to compensate for foods in the diet with lesser nutritional value. The chapter also reviews the dairy matrix concept and how this matrix can influence human physiology.
The second chapter provides an overview of major and minor milk proteins, including caseins, whey proteins and indigenous milk enzymes. The chapter discusses a selection of milk protein products which are produced on an industrial scale to support human health and growth, such as the use of whey protein in infant formula and dietary supplements.
The third chapter reviews current knowledge on bioactive components existing in cows milk and colostrum, their biological and nutritional functionalities, as well as how these components can be exploited for the benefit of human health and physiological metabolism function.
The final chapter provides an overview of the nutritional properties of dairy carbohydrates and major glycoproteins in cows milk. The chapter considers the contribution of lactose as a substrate for beneficial colonic fermentation to short-chain fatty acids, as well as the importance of glycoproteins in infant diets.
Chapter 1 - The role of the dairy matrix in the contribution of milk and
dairy products to the human diet: Jan Geurts, FrieslandCampina, The
Netherlands; 1 Introduction 2 Dairy as part of a sustainable diet 3 The dairy
matrix 4 Dairy matrix effects: case studies 5 Conclusion 6 Where to look for
further information 7 References
Chapter 2 - The proteins of milk: Shane V. Crowley, James A. O Mahony and
Patrick F. Fox, University College Cork, Ireland; 1 Introduction 2 Analytical
methods for the study of milk proteins 3 Caseins 4 Casein micelles 5 Whey
proteins 6 Minor proteins, enzymes and other components 7 Laboratory-scale
preparation of casein and whey proteins 8 Industrial milk protein products 9
Summary and future trends 10 Where to look for further information 11
References
Chapter 3 - Bioactive components in cows milk: Young W. Park. Fort Valley
State University, USA; 1 Introduction 2 Bioactive proteins 3 Bioactive lipids
4 Bioactive carbohydrates 5 Bioactive other compounds in milk 6 Bioactive
minerals and vitamins 7 Conclusions 8 Where to look for further information 9
References
Chapter 4 - Nutritional properties and biological activity of lactose and
other dairy carbohydrates: Michael Gänzle, University of Alberta, Canada; 1
Introduction 2 Lactose 3 Galacto-oligosaccharides 4 Glycosylated proteins:
lactoferrin, -casein and the caseinmacropeptide 5 Bovine milk
oligosaccharides 6 Conclusion 7 Where to look for further information 8
Acknowledgements 9 References
Dr Jan Geurts is an expert on dairy nutrition & health and specifically metabolic health. He has authored and co-authored more than 100 journal and conference papers to date. Currently, Dr Geurts works as a principal scientist in the Expert Team Nutrition of FrieslandCampina. Previously, he was assistant professor in the Department of Molecular Cell Biology at the University of Maastricht, where he was involved in clinical and nutritional research for the CARIM and NUTRIM Research Institutes, respectively.
