FATTY ACIDS: IMPLICATIONS FOR HUMAN HEALTH

摘要

Milk represents a complete source of nutrition for suckling animals. It has evolved to meet the energy and essential nutrient requirements of offspring up to the point of weaning. However, with the development of agriculture, man has exploited the potential of milk and dairy products as foods that can be consumed throughout the lifespan. Through breeding programmes and development of management techniques, milk from ruminant species has become a major staple of the human diet. In the British NationalDiet and Nutrition Survey (Hoare et al., 2004), 94% of adults reported consuming milk during the previous seven days. Milk and milk products were estimated to contribute an average of approximately 10% of total energy, 14% of total fat and 24% of saturated fat to the British diet. It is the contribution to saturated fat intake that has caused concern to many human nutritionists. For many years it has been recognised that certain dietary saturated fatty acids have the potential to raise plasma cholesterol and thereby increase the risk of developing atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (CVD). As a result, a reduction in intake of full-fat dairy products has been central to public health dietary recommendations around the world. However, the discoveryof potential health benefits of a number of bioactive fatty acids, including conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), which is uniquely associated with ruminant meat and milk fat, has led to some reconsideration of the impact of dairy fat on human health.