It has been with us for millions of years. In the form of breast milk, it is the first food that mammals receive; the only one that in our first stages of life is capable of providing us with essential nutritional principles for proper neuronal, bone, muscle developmentin addition to the necessary immunoglobulins to provide defenses to newborns.
All this constitutes the irrefutable proof that we are talking about a healthy, wholesome, balanced food with innumerable beneficial properties for human beings. Perhaps for this reason, a good part of the population chooses to maintain milk of animal origin (cow’s, above all) in their diet once the lactation phase is over. In the form of liquid milk or as dairy derivatives.
From pasteurization to milk Lightenriched, lactose-free…
Throughout history, milk has had to adapt to the needs of our species. The discovery of different techniques (fermentation, smoking, etc.) made it possible to enhance certain properties and, above all, to make it possible to store it for a long time for use in times of hardship. This is how yogurts, cheeses and the different derivatives, so consumed today, were born.
More recently, in the second half of the 19th century, the findings of Louis Pasteur (1864) represented a turning point in the evolution of the consumption of this food. The finding by the French scientist that treatment with high temperatures (pasteurization) inactivated microorganisms was later applied to milk by the German scientist Franz von Soxhlet (1886).
The practice of pasteurization, in addition to significantly increasing the shelf life of milk, considerably reduced the appearance of diseases such as tuberculosis, salmonellosis or Maltese fever and It was a great advance for humanity..
A century later, the change in eating habits in Western civilization has led to the appearance of milk Light, from which the fat is removed, or from enriched milk, to which polyunsaturated fatty acids of the omega 3 type are incorporated, among other things. In addition, due to the specific needs of certain population groups with intolerances or certain deficiencies, lactose-free varieties or those supplemented with calcium, vitamin D, etc. emerged.
The genomics revolution
Currently, the great advances in molecular biology, which allow us to know in detail the genome of the different species, have led to the development of what is known as genomics. Thanks to this discipline, today it is possible to select animals that produce milk with differential characteristics regulated by one or several specific and known genes.
Thus, milks such as the so-called A2, which is characterized by containing only the A2 variant of the beta-casein protein, the main protein component of cow’s milk, begin to reach the consumer. As the A1 variant is absent, it prevents the release of a peptide called β-casomorphin-7 during the intestinal digestion process, which can cause intestinal discomfort and, on occasion, intolerance. For this reason, A2 milk has begun to be marketed as a more digestible product and suitable for people intolerant to beta-casein A1.
Optimized milks to make cheese
There are also more and more breeders who genotype –that is, determine the genetic variants– of their animals and select them in order to obtain better yields in the cheese and yoghurt making process.
For example, it seems that a certain variant of the kappa-casein protein, specifically B, favors milk curdling, which allows to obtain better results in the elaboration of cheeses. On the way, therefore, is the definition of a new variety of milk optimized for the production of this product.
They are just two exponents of the current applications of genomics, which, without a doubt, in the coming years will allow the development of new types of milk, adapting to the needs of consumers at all times. If milk has always been present in our history, it is foreseeable that it will continue to be so in the future, with different updates. Perhaps even more present than ever.
Reference article: https://theconversation.com/sigue-es-leche-la-leche-184753
Add Comment