Zdravstveni efekti mleka i mlečnih proizvoda - istine i zablude

Milk product consumption has been associated with overall diet quality and adequacy of intake of many nutrients. The intake of milk products is especially important during childhood and adolescence. The effects of milk on population’s health have been questioned in the second half of the 20th century. The main concerned points were cholesterol and saturated fatty acid presence in milk products, and their negative influence on blood pressure and risk of coronary disease. In last fifty years a large pool of controversial results has been collected and milk health effects were heavily debated. There is evidence that milk consumption has fallen over the last 20 years. Recent studies, however, have suggested that milk consumption may have a great role in prevention of metabolic syndrome risk, bone health, some vascular diseases, and no results were obtained in support of the hypothesis that milk consumption increases the risk of some cancers. Several effects of milk consumption, especially on body weight and weight loss, require further research. American Dietary Guidelines for healthy eating, recognizing the need for reversing current trend of decreased milk consumption, increased in 2005. recommendation for milk consumption from 2 to 3 cups per day of fat-free or low-fat milk or equivalent milk products, recognizing the nutritional benefits of milk and milk products.Mleko je od davnina bilo cenjeno kao namirnica velikog nutritivnog značaja posebno zbog visokog sadržaja punovrednih proteina i kalcijuma. Međutim pedesetih godina prošlog veka, nakon otkrivanja veze ishrane i nekih hroničnih degenerativnih oboljenja, posebno unosa holesterola i zasićenih masti sa rizikom od kardiovaskularnih oboljenja, mleko i mlečni proizvodi su na sebe skrenuli negativnu pažnju javnosti. Osamdesetih godina prošlog veka pojavili su se i prvi radovi koji su konzumiraje mleka i mlečnih proizvoda povezali sa povećanim rizikom od kardiovaskularnih oboljenja, a devedesetih sa povećanim rizikom od nekih vrsta kancera. Pregled rezultata deset najvećih kohort studija pokazuju da konzumiranje mleka čak smanjuje rizik od nekih srčanih oboljenja, a slični su rezultati dobijeni pri nedavnom ispitivanju povezanosti mleka sa rizikom od metaboličkog sindroma. Evaluacija najvećih istraživanja povezanosti konzumiranja mleka i raznih tipova kancera ne podržava hipotezu o mleku kao faktoru rizika