Human lactation has evolved to produce a milk composition that is uniquely-designed for the human infant. Not only does human milk optimize infant growth and development, it also provides protection from infection and disease. More recently, the importance of human milk and breastfeeding in the programming of infant health has risen to the fore. Anchoring of infant feeding in the developmental origins of health and disease has led to a resurgence of research focused in this area. Milk composition is highly variable both between and within mothers. Indeed the distinct maternal human milk signature, including its own microbiome, is influenced by environmental factors, such as diet, health, body composition and geographic residence. An understanding of these changes will lead to unravelling the adaptation of milk to the environment and its impact on the infant. In terms of the promotion of breastfeeding, health economics and epidemiology is instrumental in shaping public health policy and identifying barriers to breastfeeding. Further, basic research is imperative in order to design evidence-based interventions to improve both breastfeeding duration and women’s breastfeeding experience.

Listed by Unglue.it.

Mycotoxins are considered the most frequently occurring natural contaminants in human and animal diets. Considering their potential toxic and carcinogenic effects, mycotoxin exposure assessment has particular importance in the context of health risk assessment. The magnitude of a given exposure allows the derivation of the associated risk and the potential for the establishment of a disease. Although food ingestion is considered a major route of human exposure to mycotoxins, other contexts may also result in exposure, such as specific occupational environments where exposure to organic dust also occurs due to the handling of organic materials. Animals could be exposed to mycotoxins through consumption of contaminated feed, subsequently entering in the food chain and thus constituting a source of exposure to humans. Human biomonitoring is considered a new frontier for the establishment of the human internal exposure to mycotoxins. Although several studies have summarized the potential outcomes associated with mycotoxin exposure, major gaps in data remain in recognizing the mycotoxins that are the cause of diseases. This book contributes provides research that supports the anticipation of potential consequences of the exposure of humans and animals to mycotoxins, future risk assessments, and the establishment of preventive measures.

Listed by Unglue.it.