Milk: Past and Present

Abstract

Although milk/dairy consumption is part of many cultures and is recommended in most dietary guidelines around the world, its contribution to overall diet quality remains a matter of controversy, leading to a highly polarized debate within the scientific community, media and public sector. The present article, at first, describes the evolutionary roots of milk consumption, then reviews the milk-derived bioactive peptides as health-promoting components. The third part of the article, in general, presents the associations between milk nutrients, disease prevention, and health promotion.