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UK government could scrap school milk subsidie:
And independent review by London Economics said " the government should consider ending" the 1.5 pound annual sum it pays to help provide milk to 1.3m children across 12000 schools.
The department for the Enviroment, food and Rual Affairs paid 36000 pound for the report to be carried out, and copies have been handed to the department of Health and Department for Educations and Skills.
Jim Begg, director general of dairy industry association dairy UK , urged the government to continue supporting milk in school .
"This is about getting a nutritional product in to school," he told www.DairyReporter.com , adding it did not makes to "dismantle a tried and tested way of encouraging children to drink milk" at a time of concern o ver children' nutritional intake.
http://www.dairyreporter.com
Dairy is Still the Best Way to Help Keep Bones Strong :
February 15, 2006 – The Women's Health Initiative study (as reported by the New England Journal of Medicine press release, Feb. 16, 2006), found that calcium and vitamin D supplements in healthy, postmenopausal women provide a modest benefit in preserving bone mass and prevention of hip fractures in certain groups of older women but did not prevent other types of fractures. While these findings are important, they don't diminish the recognized value of milk and milk products in helping people build strong bones over the course of a lifetime.
Key Facts:
Most of the women in the study had adequate calcium intake before the intervention. There is a threshold effect with calcium as with most nutrients: once you're consuming an adequate amount, more doesn't mean additional health benefits.
The new study examined the impact of supplements, not food.
The 2004 Surgeon General's Report on Bone Health and Osteoporosis emphasizes the importance of including calcium and vitamin D-rich foods like milk, cheese and yogurt in the diet to help prevent osteoporosis.
Research published in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition in 2000 by prominent calcium and bone expert Robert P. Heaney, MD, of Creighton University in Omaha suggests that a diet devoid of milk and milk products could lead to bone fractures.
The U.S. Dietary Guidelines recommend 3 servings of fat-free and low-fat milk and milk products each day to help provide adequate calcium – a vital mineral that was identified as a “nutrient of concern” because of widespread under-consumption
http://www.dairynews.net/
Scientists develop dairy cow DNA test :
Reporter: Tim Lee
First Published: 29/10/2006
Australian dairy farmers have taken the lead in the quest to breed the world's most productive and profitable dairy cows. Using technology being hailed as a revolutionary advance in cattle breeding, local scientists have developed a system known as "genetic finger-printing". The process is a DNA test that allows farmers to accurately predict the quality and performance of a bull's offspring, well before its daughters are born. It can also measure the genetic potential of individual cows for such traits as milk producing ability or disease resistance. All the test requires is a few hairs from the animal.
http://www.nutraingredients.com/news
Nutraceutix builds science on probiotics and innate immunity
By staff reporter
25/10/2006 - A daily delayed-release tablet containing four probiotic strains boosted the innate immune system in healthy, non-elderly adults, says a pilot study funded by Washington-based Nutraceutix.
“This study, which is one of the first to examine the effects of nutritional probiotic supplements on innate immunity in healthy adults, is an important step toward the investigation of their use in improving immune health and function,” wrote lead author Sheryl Berman in the journal Nutrition Research (Vol. 26, pp. 454-459).
The innate immune system refers to the immune system we are born with, and is the body's first line of defence. The acquired immune system comes into action if a pathogen can get past the innate system and tailors the immune response specifically to deal with the invading organism.
The new research, by scientists at Bastyr University and the University of Washington in Washington State , is increasingly important as the current regulatory environment around the world means companies are under more and more pressure to provide evidence for the claims made on product labels.
In the US , there are no FDA-approved health claims for probiotics, but Danone 's DanActiv is marketed for its immunity enhancing properties, on the back of solid clinical evidence. Lifeway Foods, on the other hand, simply says its probiotic kefirs contain seven active ‘friendly' microorganisms.
Europe-wide health claims framework is currently in the works, but in the meantime the degree to which probiotics are marketed with solid health claims depends on the market. In the UK , for instance, Yakult is marketed for digestive health and Actimel for 'supporting the body's natural defenses'.
The new research used probiotic tablets formulated for delayed release by Nutraceutix , which also funded the study, and looks set to add to the science behind this form of probiotic. The four strains used were Lactobacillus rhamnosus, Lactobacillus plantarum, Lactobacillus salivarius, and Bifidobacterium bifidum and the tablets contained at least two billion organisms.
Ten healthy subjects were recruited (age range 24 to 54, five women) and given three probiotic tablets every day for eight weeks. Blood samples were taken to measure markers of innate immune function, including Natural Killer (NK) cell activity, phagocytes, neutrophils, and immunoglobulin A (IgA) levels.
The authors report a significant increase in the percentage of phagocytes (26 per cent) and neutrophils (7 per cent) after eight weeks of supplementation.
“These findings suggest the possibility that ingestion of these nutritional supplements by healthy individuals may help protect against bacterial and viral infections,” said Berman.
However, no statistically significant enhancement of NK cell activity was observed, nor was there any change in IgA levels.
“Although the reasons for the lack of enhancing effects of probiotic supplementation on NK activity and salivary secretory IgA remain unclear, the baseline measurements for NK cell activity and salivary secretory IgA showed a high degree of within-volunteer variability,” said the researchers.
“Given the pilot nature of this study, it remains possible that probiotics do alter these immune parameters in healthy adults, but the small sample size limited our ability to observe an effect,” they said.
Taken overall, the researchers said the the results support the proposition that the four-species probiotic supplement does improve important aspects of the immune function in healthy individuals.
“Based on the preliminary findings of this study, conducting a larger, placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trial will be essential to determine if there is a difference in effects of these immune parameters over short- vs long-term treatment periods,” concluded Berman.
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