Milk fat globule membrane in infant nutrition: a dairy industry perspective.

This review provides an overview of the composition, structure, and biological activities of milk fat globule membrane (MFGM) compounds with focus on the future application of this compound as a food ingredient. MFGM is a particular component of mammalian milks and is comprised of a tri-layer of polar lipids, glycolipids and proteins. In recent years, MFGM has been extensively studied for the purpose of enhancing the efficacy of infant nutrition formula. For example, infant formulas supplemented with bovine MFGM have shown promising results with regard to neurodevelopment and defense against infections. Components of MFGM have been shown to present several health benefits as the proteins of the membrane have shown antiviral activity and a reduction in the incidence of diarrhea. Moreover, the presence of sphingomyelin, a phospholipid, implies beneficial effects on human health such as enhanced neuronal development in infants and the protection of neonates from bacterial infections. The development of a lipid that is similar to human milk fat would represent a significant advance for the infant formula industry and would offer high technology formulas for those infants that depend on infant formula. The complexity of the structure of MFGM and its nutritional and technological properties is critically examined in this review with a focus on issues relevant to the dairy industry.

Military report more complementary and alternative medicine use than civilians.

OBJECTIVES: The study objective was to estimate complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use among active duty military and compare data with civilian use. DESIGN: A global survey on CAM use in the 12 previous months was conducted. Final participants (16,146) were stratified by gender, service, region, and pay grade. Analysis included prevalence of CAM use, demographic and lifestyle characteristics. RESULTS: Approximately 45% of respondents reported using at least one type of CAM therapy. Most commonly used therapies were as follows: prayer for one's own health (24.4%), massage therapy (14.1%), and relaxation techniques (10.8%). After exclusion of prayer for one's own health, adjusting to the 2000 U.S. census, overall CAM use in the military (44.5%) was higher than that in comparable civilian surveys (36.0% and 38.3%). CONCLUSIONS: Military personnel reported using three CAM stress-reduction therapies at 2.5-7 times the rate of civilians. Among the military, high utilization of CAM practices that reduce stress may serve as markers for practitioners assessing an individual's health and well-being.