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Dementia risksWhat's best for your bones?

Dementia risksWhat's best for your bones?

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The danger of raw milkMilk Poses Health Risks WithoutBenefits, Study Shows, with disease out-breaks linked to unprocessed milk risingin the United States, a review publishedin the January 1, 2009 issue of ClinicalInfectious Diseases examines the dan-gers of drinking raw milk. Milk and dairyproducts are cornerstones of a healthydiet. However, if those products are con-sumed unprocessed, they can present aserious health hazard because of possi-ble contamination with pathogenic bac-teria. An average of 5.2 outbreaks peryear linked to raw milk have occurred inthe United States between 1993 and2006—more than double the rate in theprevious 19 years, according to co-authors Jeffrey T. LeJeune and Päivi J.Rajala-Schultz of the College ofVeterinary Medicine in Columbus, Ohio.Contamination can occur at the time ofcollection, processing, distribution, orstorage of milk, the authors write. Manypathogens can be found in the dairy farm

environment,which cancontaminatethe teat skinof dairy cowsand conse-quently themilk at thetime whencows are milked. For example,Salmonella and E. coli have been report-ed in pooled milk collected from farms.,Outbreaks of salmonellosis, campy-lobacteriosis, and E. coli related to rawmilk consumption have been reportedsince 2005. Raw milk advocates claimthat unpasteurized milk cures or pre-vents disease, but no scientific evidencesupports this notion. Testing raw milk,which has been suggested as an alterna-tive to pasteurization, cannot ensure aproduct that is 100 percent safe and freeof pathogens. Pasteurization remainsthe best way to reduce the unavoidablerisk of contamination, according to theauthors.

Beating cancerClean living way to beat cancer. Over 40% of breastand bowel cancer cases in rich countries are pre-ventable through diet, physical activity and weightcontrol alone,experts says.Simple measureslike cycling to workand swapping fattyfoods or fruit canmake all the differ-ence for these andmany other can-cers, they say. Globally, each year there are millionsof these preventable cancer cases, the WorldCancer Research Fund estimates. Its report makesrecommendations for "clean living" policies.According to the report, about a third of the 12most common cancers in high-income countriesand about a quarter in lower income countriescould be prevented through diet, exercise andweight control. This includes cancers of the throat,lung and bowel. After not smoking, it is clear thatdiet, physical activity and weight are the mostimportant things people can do to reduce their can-cer risk” says Mike Richards – Professor, NationalClinical Director for Cancer.

Dementia risksLong hours links to dementia risks. Longworking hours may raise the risk of mentaldecline and possibly dementia, research sug-gests. The Finnish-led study was based onanalysis of 2,214 middle-aged British civil ser-vants. It found that those working more than55 hours a week had poorer mental skills thanthose who worked a standard working week.The American Journal of Epidemiology studyfound hard workers had problems with short-term memory and word recall. Leadresearcher Dr Marianna Virtanen, from theFinnish Institute of Occupational Health, said:"The disadvantages of overtime work shouldbe taken seriously."

Saving wheat crops?CSIRO Plant Industry scientists andinternational collaborators have dis-covered the key to overcomingthree major cereal diseases, whichin epidemic years cost wheat grow-ers worldwide in excess of $7.8 bil-lion. In a paper published today in -entists from CSIRO Plant Industry,the University of Zurich and theInternational Maize and WheatImprovement Center have identifieda wheat gene sequence which pro-vides protection against leaf rust,stripe rust and powdery mildew.“Genetic disease resistance is highlydesirable in plants as it is more envi-ronmentally friendly and profitablethan strategies like spraying pesti-cides,” says a senior principalresearch scientist at CSIRO PlantIndustry, Dr Evans Lagudah. “Thenewly identified resistance geneproduct – known as Lr34 trans-porter protein – is the first of its kindto be found in a commercial cropthat is capable of delivering broad-spectrum control of multiplepathogens.”

Leading article . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1News. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2His health issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-4What’s best for your bones?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5Experts corner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-7Contest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

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cuisine. Below you can find the mostimportant dairy products obtainedfrom milk, butter, cheese and yogurtand a complete selection in the tableabove (the selection presented in thistable consist of products that you don’tfind in supermarket/hypermarket usu-ally)

Types of dairy products

Milk. It must pass several processesin several grades of bacteriaStreptococcus lactis and Leuconostoccitrovorum, before you can consume itwithout any risks. The most safeprocess is known as ultra-high temper-ature processing or (less often) ultra-heat treatment (both abbreviatedUHT) is the partial sterilization of foodby heating it for a short time, around 1-2 seconds, at a temperature exceeding135°C (275°F), which is the tempera-ture required to kill spores in milk. Evenif this process is popular among milkproducts the process is also used forfruit juices, cream, yogurt, wine, soups,and stews for many years.

Crème fraîche, slightly fermentedcream with its smetana -a Central andEastern European variety of sourcream – and clotted cream (a thick andspoonable cream made by heating).

Cultured buttermilk, fermented con-centrated (water removed) milk usingthe same bacteria as sour cream .

Kefir, fermented milk drink resem-bling buttermilk but based on different

yeast and bacteria culture. Butter, mostly milk fat, produced by

churning cream. It is made by churningfresh or fermented cream or milk. It isgenerally used as a spread and a condi-ment, as well as in cooking applicationssuch as baking, sauce making, and fry-

ing. Butter consists of butterfat, waterand milk proteins. Butter is an emul-sion which remains a solid when refrig-erated, but softens to a spreadableconsistency at room temperature, andmelts to a thin liquid consistency at32–35 °C (90–95 °F).

Cheese, produced by coagulatingmilk, separating from whey and lettingit ripen, generally with bacteria andsometimes also with certain molds. It isproduced by coagulation of the milkprotein casein. Typically, the milk isacidified and addition of the enzymerennet causes coagulation. The solidsare then separated and pressed intofinal form (see table). Dairy productsobtained from cheese: cottage cheese,quark and fromage frais.

Yogurt, milk fermented byStreptococcus salivarius ssp. ther-mophilus and Lactobacillus delbrueckiissp. bulgaricus sometimes with addi-tional bacteria, such as Lactobacillusacidophilus . Dairy products obtainedfrom yogurt: ayran and lassi.

Gelato, slowly frozen milk and water,lesser fat than ice cream

Ice cream, slowly frozen cream andemulsifying additives. In some storesyou can also find: ice milk, frozen cus-tard and frozen yogurt (yogurt withemulsifiers that is frozen).

Other similar products: kumis/airag,viili, kajmak, kefir, filmjölk, piimä, vla,dulce de leche and Uloo kao pathalaeen ka.

Milk powder: produced byremoving the water frommilk.Condensed milk: milk whichhas been concentrated byevaporation, often with sugaradded.Ricotta cheese: milk heatedand reduced in volume,known in Indian cuisine asKhoa.Butter milk: the liquid leftover after producing butter

from cream, oftendried as livestock food.Ghee: clarified butter,by gentle heating ofbutter and removal ofthe solid matter.Anhydrous: milkfat.Curds: the soft cur-dled part of milk (orskim milk) used tomake cheese (orcasein).Whey: the liquid

drained from curdsand used for furtherprocessing or as alivestock.Cream cheese: pro-duced by the addi-tion of cream to milkand then curdled toform a rich curd orcheese made fromskim milk withcream added to thecurd.

More about milk, butter and cheese dairy products

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Ninety-nine percent of the cal-cium in the human body isstored in the bones and teeth.The remaining 1% is found in

the blood and other tissues. The body gets the calcium it needs intwo ways:� One is by eating foods that containcalcium or taking calcium supple-ments.

Good sources include dairy products(yoghurt, UHT milk etc), which havethe highest concentration per servingof highly absorbable calcium, and darkleafy greens or dried beans, which havevarying amounts of absorbable calci-um. � The other way the body gets calciumis by pulling it from bones.This happens when blood levels of cal-

cium drop too low, usually whenit's been awhile since havingeaten a meal containing calcium.Ideally, the calcium that is "bor-rowed" from the bones will bereplaced at a later point. But, thisdoesn't always happen. Mostimportant, this payback can't beaccomplished simply by eatingmore calcium.

All about dairy products

Dairy products are generallydefined as foodstuffs producedfrom milk. They are usually high-energy-yielding food products. Aproduction plant for such pro-cessing is called a dairy or a dairyfactory. Raw milk for processinggenerally comes from cows, but

occasionally from other mammalssuch as goats, sheep, water buffalo,yaks, or horses. Dairy products arecommonly found in European, MiddleEastern and Indian cuisine, whereasthey are almost unknown in East Asian

� Calcium

What’s best for Calcium is a mineral that thebody needs for numerousfunctions, including buildingand maintaining bones andteeth, blood clotting, thetransmission of nerve impulses, and the regulationof the heart's rhythm.

YOUR BONES ?

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