(by Lino Grossano) The IX annual
congress of the European Proteomics Association opened at Milan
Expo on Tuesday centring on the role of food proteins in
nutritional science.
"To claim 'we are what we eat' and that food can be our
medicine is not just philosophy but an indisputable reality,"
representatives of the Italian Proteomics Association (ItPA),
which organised the congress, said.
"We know in fact that the food we ingest is transformed and
also contains proteins that our body uses, in a complex direct
relationship," the organisers continued.
Study of the proteome of a given food "makes us aware that,
once it has been ingested and transformed by the human organism,
it can change the structure of the proteins in the latter, for
better or worse".
For example, the study of the proteins contained in milk
and breast milk "has shown the existence of proteins that help
cognitive development, others that forge and improve the child's
immune system, reinforcing it", ItPA continued.
"Research has confirmed the importance of breast feeding,
showing how this guarantees not only psychological but also
physiological continuity", as well as allowing the choice of
milk best able to reduce allergic reactions in children.
Scientists have also looked at the proteins contained in
the micro-organisms that are present naturally in many foods,
which they say also give these foods their particular taste.
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