Milk and Dairy Foods. Their Functionality in Human Health and Disease

Authors

Ian Givens Professor of Food Chain Nutrition and Director, Institute for Food, Nutrition and Health, University of Reading, UK. Professor Ian Givens has undergraduate and doctoral training in biochemistry and nutrition and is a UK Registered Nutritionist. He is currently Professor of Food Chain Nutrition and Director of the Institute for Food, Nutrition and Health at the University of Reading UK. His research focuses on the consequences of consuming animal-derived foods, including their contribution to nutrient supply and association with chronic disease risk across the key life stages. Current concerns include the inappropriate use of plant-based milk alternatives in the diets of children and the sub-optimal intake of bonetrophic nutrients by teenage females which is likely to increase the risk of reduced bone strength in later life, especially in the post-menopausal period. Current research includes meta-analyses on the association between dairy food consumption and cardiometabolic disease risk and cognition, and the effect of modifying the fatty acid composition of milk fat on markers of cardiovascular disease risk and the effect of milk proteins on blood pressure, haemodynamics and glycaemic control.