[ES]: La leche ha sido reconocida tradicionalmente como un alimento completo cuyo consumo implica elevar los niveles de múltiples nutrientes como minerales, vitaminas y proteínas de elevada calidad nutricional. No obstante, este consenso desaparece al referirse a la grasa láctea. Su elevado contenido en ácidos grasos saturados y colesterol ha sido indiscriminadamente utilizado como argumento para relacionar la ingesta de leche y sus derivados con una mayor incidencia de obesidad, diabetes tipo 2 y enfermedades cardiovasculares. De hecho, se insiste en recomendar el consumo preferente de productos lácteos con reducido contenido en grasa. Sin embargo, los estudios científicos más recientes sugieren que no existen evidencias contrastadas que justifiquen mantener tales recomendaciones en individuos sanos. Se ha demostrado que la grasa láctea constituye una fuente natural de compuestos bioactivos (ácido butírico, ácido linoleico conjugado (CLA), fosfolípidos y esfingolípidos) cuyo beneficio potencial sobre la salud humana permitiría su aplicación comercial en el desarrollo de alimentos funcionales orientados a la prevención de enfermedades crónicas.

[EN]: Traditionally milk has been recognized as a very complete food because its consumption involves raising levels of variety of nutrients such as minerals, vitamins and high nutritional quality proteins. However, this consensus disappears when referring to milk fat. Its high content of saturated fatty acids and cholesterol has been indiscriminately employed as argument to link the milk and dairy products consumption with an increased incidence of obesity, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. In fact, it is strongly recommended the preferential intake of low fat dairy products. However, recent scientific studies suggest that there are no proven evidences to justify keeping these recommendations in healthy people. It has been shown that milk fat is a natural source of bioactive compounds (butyric acid, conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), phospholipids and sphingolipids) whose potential benefits to human health, would allow its commercial application in the development of functional foods, aimed to prevention of chronic diseases.

Peer reviewed