Abstract
Vitamin D is essential in assuring bone health at all stages of life, but its non-skeletal effects are also essential: This vitamin impacts the physiology of the immune system, skeletal muscles and adipose tissue, glucose metabolism, skin, cardiovascular and reproductive systems, neuro-cognitive functions and cell division. The incidence of vitamin D deficiency is widespread worldwide, at any age, in young and healthy subjects, as well as in pregnant women and the elderly population, due to several factors, including inadequate sunlight exposure, skin pigmentation and coverage, adiposity, lifestyle and low dietary intakes. To overcome this problem, the fortification of foods that are consumed on a daily basis, such as milk, is strongly advisable. This opinion paper aims to discuss, in a multidisciplinary way, the current evidence supporting the importance of vitamin D in health and disease and the role of milk as an optimal carrier of this vitamin, to promote adequate intakes, highlighting its unique physico-chemical characteristics linked to both fat globule membrane and casein micelle structure. Moreover, it addresses the impact of industrial processing and storage of consumption milk on the stability of these structures, thus in determining vitamin D bioavailability and the achievement of adequate intakes.
Highlights
Vitamin D deficiency has become a relevant problem worldwide, at any age: In the elderly population, and in young and healthy subjects; the endogenous synthesis of the vitamin may be inadequate even in people living in sunny regions, due to lifestyle changes occurring in last decades [1,2,3]
Vitamin D is structurally a steroid-like molecule, with a side chain that is unsaturated in vitamin D2 and saturated in vitamin D3; it is biologically inactive and requires double hydroxylation in order to be converted to the active form, able to affect mineral metabolism and to control many other diverse physiological functions [15]
The negative feedback mechanisms depend on 1,25(OH)2D3 itself, phosphorus, calcium and fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF-23), whereas the positive ones depend on the parathyroid hormone (PTH), calcium and the type 1 insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1)
Summary
Vitamin D deficiency has become a relevant problem worldwide, at any age: In the elderly population, and in young and healthy subjects; the endogenous synthesis of the vitamin may be inadequate even in people living in sunny regions, due to lifestyle changes occurring in last decades [1,2,3]. Modern technologies for milk sanitation and packaging allow consumption milk to be stored at room temperature up to 10–12 months, supplying this food within an increasing trading area In this context, milk can be a suitable tool to contribute daily to the adequate intake of vitamin D in order to maintain the homeostasis in the blood, reducing the possibility of insufficiency or deficiency. The aim of this work is to discuss, from a multidisciplinary point of view, the wealth of information currently available on both nutritional and health aspects of vitamin D and the role of cow’s milk as a natural carrier of the vitamin D in human diet
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