In recent years nutrition science has shifted focus from single nutrients to researching the effect that whole foods have on our health. For many foods the nutrient content does not necessarily predict the related health effects or outcomes.

Foods consist of many different nutrients and components (bioactive compounds and non-nutritive components) that sit within complex physical structures – a fluid, a semi-gel or spoonable structure or a solid. The ‘Food Matrix’ describes a food in terms of both its physical structure, its nutrient content and how these interact.

This is especially true for dairy foods like milk, cheese and yoghurt. Research is recognising that the health effects of dairy foods go well beyond the benefits of their individual nutrients. Dairy as a whole food, is greater than the sum of its parts and the unique interaction of nutrients within dairy, referred to as the Dairy Matrix, is responsible for its many health benefits.