Potential Harmful Effects of Heavy Metals in Milk and Milk Products on Human Health; A Systematic Review

Abstract

Milk and dairy products are a major source of nutrition, especially for children, because they contain almost all of the nutrients. Consumption of milk and dairy products is high in developed countries and accounts for about 10%-20% of daily calories. Heavy metal poisoning is associated with a number of diseases, but if these heavy metals are found in milk, which is the main food of the vulnerable age group, the severity of the condition becomes even greater. For this review study, keywords such as “Heavy metals”, “Milk, milk products, Safety”, and “Toxicity” were used. The databases searched for in those articles were “Google Scholar”, “SID”, “Scapus”, “PubMed”, “Science Direct”, and “ISI” search engines. The degree of heavy metal toxicity depends on their chemical form of metals. Some forms of metals are rapidly excreted and do not have the opportunity to be absorbed and stored in body tissues, accordingly they are not very toxic, while some forms of metals are highly toxic and lethal. These forms are slowly excreted from metals and can be absorbed and accumulated in fish muscles and other organs. Heavy metals cause harmful effects such as carcinogenesis, malformations, damage to the nervous system, damage to the reproductive system and infertility in men, liver failure and cardiovascular disease, and so on. Therefore, The purpose of this review study, Potential Harmful Effects of Heavy Metals in milk and milk products on Human Health.