On 20th-22nd August 2020 scientists and healthcare professionals joined the virtual World Congress on Osteoporosis, Osteoarthritis and Musculoskeletal Diseases 2020 (http://virtual.wco-iof-esceo.org/). This was a major event for which more than 7500 delegates were registered.
As part of the Congress, a workshop, organised under the auspices of the European Society for Clinical and Economic Aspects of Osteoporosis, Osteoarthritis and Musculoskeletal Diseases (ESCEO), was held on the ‘Impact of whole dairy matrix on musculoskeletal health and aging’ (https://virtual.wco-iof-esceo.org/sessions_esceo )
Professor Ian Givens, Director of the Institute for Food, Nutrition and Health, presented an invited paper at the workshop on ‘The concept of the food matrix compared to single nutrients’. This highlighted the necessity of understanding the matrix effects of dairy foods, particularly in relation to nutrients for bone health.
The press release for the workshop quoted Professor Givens:
“The effect of a given nutrient may vary dramatically depending on its food source, the composition and the physico-chemical structure of the food. For example, calcium bioavailability is generally much higher when provided by dairy products than by vegetables”.