67th Nestlé Nutrition Institute Workshop: Milk and Milk Products in Human Nutrition

The 67th Nestlé Nutrition Institute Workshop: Pediatric Program on "Milk and Milk Products in Human Nutrition" was chaired by Prof. Roger CLEMENS (USA), Prof. Kim MICHAELSEN (Denmark) and Prof. Olle HERNELL (Sweden) Milk plays a major role in a healthy, balanced diet throughout lifetime. Human milk is the sole source of nutrition in early infancy and milk substitutes have to be chosen carefully as they should be suitable for the infant and deliver as close as possible the health benefits that human milk provides to the infant. During the weaning period milk remains an important part of the diet in completing the nutritional requirements, e.g. for protein, minerals etc. Milk continues to deliver benefits in children of school age throughout adolescence and adult life with regard to bone and heart health and others. The benefits of milk clearly outweigh and perceived negative health aspects. The most important beneficial effects summarized during the workshop were: • Milk remains an important source of dietary calcium, protein, calories, vitamins, minerals, growth factors and other bioactive components in both, low and high income countries. Milk particularly contributes to the dietary vitamin D intake, especially when fortified. • Milk is a crucial part of the diet for child growth and development. There is a clear association with linear growth, although the mechanisms are yet fully elucidated. • Dairy fats contain a range of lipids that may have health promoting properties including omega 3 LCPUFA, gangliosides, sphingolipids, etc Potential adverse effects, like increased risk for type 1 diabetes or negative aspects of dairy fats are to date not substantiated by scientific findings.