Impact of cheese matrix on lipid release mechanism

加拿大农业和农业食品部描绘的市场趋势表明，奶酪消费停滞不前，对加拿大的这一关键行业可能产生重要影响。这部分是由于普遍接受的观念，即饮食中的饱和脂肪，其中奶酪贡献显着，增加心血管疾病的风险。然而，最近的研究表明，食物基质可能对肠道脂肪吸收和餐后血脂升高（脂血症）的幅度有重大影响。已经表明，奶酪基质中脂肪球的捕获可以延迟肠道脂肪吸收，因此可以降低餐后脂血症的程度。最近已经引入了快速与缓慢脂质释放的饮食概念，并且已经提出缓慢释放对餐后脂质代谢具有有益作用，餐后脂质代谢是众所周知的心血管疾病的风险因素。 该项目的目的是首次研究奶酪基质如何影响脂肪的释放和吸收。我们的假设是：奶酪的结构属性（钙含量，奶酪类型，脂肪滴大小等）调节生物可及性和脂质释放，从而导致有利的餐后脂质反应。 该项目将有助于培养2名硕士研究生，以满足加拿大食品行业对高素质人才的迫切需求。这项研究还将提高有关哪些因素（组成，加工步骤等）能够调节脂质释放的知识。这可能会导致开发新的奶酪和乳制品，具有更好的特性或健康益处（例如，奶酪中钙含量增加，盐含量减少，脂质释放最佳等）我们的工业合作伙伴。

Market trends depicted by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada suggest stagnation in cheese consumption, with potentially important impact on this key industry in Canada. This is in part due to the commonly accepted notion that saturated fat in the diet, of which cheese contributes significantly, increases the risk of cardiovascular disease. However, recent studies indicate that food matrix could have a major influence on intestinal fat absorption and the magnitude of after meal blood lipid elevation (lipemia). It has been suggested that the trapping of fat globules within cheese matrix could delay intestinal fat absorption and, therefore, could reduce the magnitude of after meal lipemia. The dietary concept of fast vs slow lipid releases has been introduced recently and a slow release has been proposed to have beneficial effects on the after meal lipid metabolism which is a well known risk factor for cardiovascular disease. The aim of this project is to investigate for the first time how the cheese matrix affects the fat release and absorption. Our hypothesis is that: Cheese structural attributes (calcium content, cheese type, fat droplet size etc.) modulate the bioaccessibility and lipid release, thereby resulting in a favorable postprandial lipid response. This project will contribute to the training of 2 graduate MSc students which responds to the pressing needs for highly qualified personnel in the Canadian food sector. This study will also improve the knowledge about which factor (composition, processing steps, etc) is able to modulate lipid release. This could lead to the development of novel cheese and dairy products with improved properties or health benefits (ex. cheese increased in calcium, reduced in salt with a optimal lipid release, etc.) by our industrial partners.