International symposium The Dairy Matrix

Three renowned nutritionists will share their knowledge during the symposium ‘The Dairy Matrix: a new approach to understanding the health effects of whole foods’ to be held on 3 October 2017. The symposium will be organised by the NZO in cooperation with the European Milk Forum (EMF).

A food product: more than the sum of its nutrients

Although everyone will agree that saturated fat increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases, we cannot find these negative effects with respect to the consumption of full-fat dairy. Another fact is that although bread contains a lot of salt, the blood pressure does not rise by eating bread and it even protects against cardiovascular diseases. This implies that a food product is obviously more than the sum of its nutrients. An explanation of these effects of a food product can be found in the food matrix. In plain words the food matrix is the whole of nutrients and other aspects of a food product, such as structure and substance, and in particular the interaction between all aspects from the moment of eating, chewing and swallowing up to and including digestion and excretion.

International speakers

At the symposium three internationally renowned will speak, being Prof Ian Givens of the University of Reading (VK), Dr Emma Feeney of the University College Dublin and Prof Arne Astrup of the University of Copenhagen. Emeritus Prof Frans Kok will act as Honorary Chairman and English will be the official language of the symposium. The symposium can be attended free of charge. Interested persons can register before 1 October through vanrijn@nzo.nl.

‘The food matrix: is it time to rethink how we evaluate the health effects of food?’ Ian Givens, Institute for Food, Nutrition and Health, University of Reading (UK)	‘Muscle, bones and body fat: dairy matrix effects on body composition’ Emma Feeney, Food for Health Ireland, University College Dublin	‘Metabolic health: the impact of the dairy matrix’ Arne Astrup, Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, University of Copenhagen	Honorary Chairman Emeritus Prof Frans Kok, former professor in nutrition and head of the Human Nutrition division of the University of Wageningen (NL).

Organisation

The symposium will be organised by the Dutch Dairy Association in cooperation with the European Milk Forum (EMF) in The Hague, the Netherlands. This autumn, the EMF will also organise the symposium in Copenhagen (4 October), Brussels (11 October), Belfast (30 October) and Dublin (1 November).

Background article about the milk, yoghurt, cheese food matrix

Do you want to know more about the food matrix? Voeding Magazine offers the scientific state of affairs with respect to the food matrix of milk, yoghurt and cheese. The article will also indicate which other factors may influence deviating results from nutrition-epidemiological research. The article is on-line available: ‘The food matrix: more than the sum of nutrients’.