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Purpose: Milk provides a significant source of calcium, protein, vitamins and other minerals to Western populations throughout life. Due to its widespread use, the metabolic and health impact of milk consumption warrants further investigation and biomarkers would aid epidemiological studies. Methods: Milk intake assessed by a validated food frequency questionnaire was analyzed against fasting blood metabolomic profiles from two metabolomic platforms in females from the TwinsUK cohort ( n = 3559). The top metabolites were then replicated in two independent populations (EGCUT, n = 1109 and KORA, n = 1593), and the results from all cohorts were meta-analyzed. Results: Four metabolites were significantly associated with milk intake in the TwinsUK cohort after adjustment for multiple testing ( P < 8.08 × 10) and covariates (BMI, age, batch effects, family relatedness and dietary covariates) and replicated in the independent cohorts. Among the metabolites identified, the carnitine metabolite trimethyl-N-aminovalerate ( β = 0.012, SE = 0.002, P = 2.98 × 10) and the nucleotide uridine ( β = 0.004, SE = 0.001, P = 9.86 × 10) were the strongest novel predictive biomarkers from the non-targeted platform. Notably, the association between trimethyl-N-aminovalerate and milk intake was significant in a group of MZ twins discordant for milk intake ( β = 0.050, SE = 0.015, P = 7.53 × 10) and validated in the urine of 236 UK twins ( β = 0.091, SE = 0.032, P = 0.004). Two metabolites from the targeted platform, hydroxysphingomyelin C14:1 ( β = 0.034, SE = 0.005, P = 9.75 × 10) and diacylphosphatidylcholine C28:1 ( β = 0.034, SE = 0.004, P = 4.53 × 10), were also replicated. Conclusions: We identified and replicated in independent populations four novel biomarkers of milk intake: trimethyl-N-aminovalerate, uridine, hydroxysphingomyelin C14:1 and diacylphosphatidylcholine C28:1. Together, these metabolites have potential to objectively examine and refine milk-disease associations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This cross-sectional study assesses the relationship between consumption frequencies of food items and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) in European children. Methods: Out of the baseline sample ( N = 16.228) of the IDEFICS study, 6.403 children (1.315 boys aged 2 to <6, 1.908 boys aged 6 to <10, 1.204 girls aged 2 to <6 and 1.976 girls aged 6 to <10 years) had hs-CRP measured and the Children's Eating Habits Questionnaire filled, including a food frequency questionnaire. Logistic regression adjusted for body mass index z-score, education of the mother, breast-feeding and self-reported hours of physical activity in a sport club per week was conducted. Results: Mean frequency intake of raw vegetable was lower in boys ( p = 0.022 in young and p = 0.020 in old) and older girls ( p = 0.026) with high hs-CRP concentration, while in younger girls ( p = 0.008) the same occurred with the cooked vegetables. The probability of having higher hs-CRP concentration was significantly associated with having low consumption frequency of vegetables ( p = 0.004 in older boys, raw vegetables; and p = 0.0032 in younger girls, cooked vegetables). Also, honey/jam intake decreased the probability of having higher concentration of hs-CRP, whereas soft drinks with sugar, mayonnaise and cereals milled increased this probability. Conclusions: Out of all food items associated with hs-CRP, frequency intake of vegetables presented more associations across all the analysis. Findings suggest that a high-frequency intake of vegetables is inversely related to an inflammatory status in children. More studies are needed to assess the association between diet and inflammation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]