Milk Consumption and Chronic Disease Risk – The Strategy or Challenge to Avoid and Eliminate “Unwanted” Compounds and Contaminants

Abstract

Milk consumption is a subject of many opposing opinions, regarding its epigenetic influence on genomic and proteomic cell events, what may change inflammatory, metabolic, oxidative and neurocognitive function. For some of milk ingredients, such as saturated lipids, lactose and some casein forms, the pathogenetic mechanisms were documented. Certain products, including some enzymes, low-weight partially digested peptides and non-protein nitrogen compounds, are still in the serious observations. To avoid "unwanted" compounds is complex, because of different conditions of their appearance, what in some extent determines if they can be avoided in pre-dairy manufacturing or eliminated in a dairy manufacturing and post-dairy processing and packing. Pre-dairy manufacturing should represent new approaches toward genetic selections of dairy breeds regarding milk biochemical composition ( beta -caseins). A number of contaminants, from pesticides to drugs, toxins, hormones, heavy metals, pharmaceuticals, phthalates, carcinogens, synthetic chemicals, or veterinary drugs may appear in a pre-dairy process through the plant material (forage) or artificially via (uncontrolled) cattle treatment. A proper growing and planting conditions, antifungal chemical treatment or dry collection of feedstuffs, or destruction of mycotoxins by biodegradation process may decrease their content. Unwanted compounds of milk, which may be eliminated during dairy manufacturing and packing, may be xanthine oxidase, uric acid, saturated fats and lactose. Beside low fat milk production, the quality improvement in milk fatty acids composition can be achieved by changing the animal feeding type. Regarding lactose or its components, glucose and galactose, it should be clearly distinguished the sugar-free milk from milk containing digested lactose, on the pack nutrition label. The main contaminants which appear, because of dairy products packing in plastic bottles and cups, are phthalates. Good agricultural practices (GAPs) concerning dairy industry should be directed to integrate different preventive strategies and to satisfy personalized nutrition concept.