Dairy Products

Emerging evidence indicates that dairy foods and ingredients can influence human health. There is increasing interest around the specific role that particular components within dairy foods, such as fat, protein, and other bioactives, play in health. Dairy fat, although a source of saturated fat, may have neutral or beneficial effects on cardiometabolic and gut health. Further, specific types of fat within dairy fat have been linked with improved metabolic health and immune function, while the amount of milk fat globule membrane enclosing the fat may be important in cardiac and muscular outcomes. Dairy proteins may assist in maintaining skeletal muscle mass, particularly post-exercise. While research into individual dairy components is ongoing, the overall dairy food matrix may offer unique benefits to human health as well. For example, the fermentation process involved in cheese and yoghurt production may enhance the nutritional and functional abilities of these foods. This collection of research articles explores the effects of dairy components on health.]