Adding Value to Whey Protein

The prevalence of obesity and associated type 2 diabetes has risen dramatically, adversely affecting health and life expectancy and increasing health care costs. There is an urgent need to lower the incidence or delay the onset of both conditions by lifestyle-related interventions. Dietary whey protein acts in the gut to affect satiety and post-meal glucose levels by increasing GLP-1 and insulin release. We aim to identify the whey bioactive(s) and control processing artefacts in order to develop a more potent whey protein supplement/food component. The project involves characterisation of the bioactive(s) via in vitro technologies working with whey protein experts to optimise fractionation of whey adding value to a sometimes waste product. This project is a necessary forerunner to human supplementation studies prior to procedure to EFSA health claims and the development of supplements and food components.