New article: UHT milk may improve understanding of age-related diseases read more at here http://www.spinonews.com/index.php/medical-news/item/3334-uht-milk-may-improve-understanding-of-age-related-diseases

Ultra-high temperature processing milk is helping scientists to better understand on neurodegenerative diseases and type 2 diabetes, opening the door to improve treatments for these age-related diseases.

UHT (Ultra-heat treatment) or ultra-pasteurization, is a process that purifies milk by heating it to above 275 degrees Fahrenheit for 1 to 2 seconds to kill spores in milk. UHT is also used in fruit juices, cream, soy milk, yogurt, wine, honey and more.

ANU Professor John Carver, said that two unrelated proteins aggregate in UHT milk over a period of months to form clusters called amyloid fibrils, which cause the milk to transform from a liquid into a gel. The normal pasteurized milk did not form amyloid fibrils. The same type of protein clusters is found in plaque deposits in cases of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.

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Professor Carver said milk proteins changed structurally when heated briefly to around 140 degrees Celsius or 284 degrees Fahrenheit to produce UHT milk, causing the gelling phenomenon with long-term storage.

Parkinson's, dementia and type 2 diabetes are big problems for the ageing population in Australia and many other countries around the world. Around 500 million people worldwide suffer from these diseases, which cause millions of deaths each year.

 

He said, our interest in milk proteins led to a discovery of the reason for this gelling phenomenon occurring in aged UHT milk. The research does not suggest UHT milk can cause age-related diseases.

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