Dairy

Quick Tip: Consuming a daily requirement of calcium in cheddar cheese would be equivalent to 700 calories, mostly from fat, but meeting your calcium needs from non-fat milk comes with fewer than 350 calories and almost no fat. If you are trying to limit your fat and calories, choose lower fat dairy products such as skim (fat-free) milk, or 1% (low-fat) milk, lower fat or reduced fat cheeses, and low-fat yogurt.

Why do we need it?
Dairy products are good sources of carbohydrates, protein, calcium, vitamins A & D, magnesium, potassium, phosphorus and B vitamins. Our body absorbs the calcium from dairy products better than most foods. Calcium is essential in optimal bone health (including teeth), and it also functions in nerve transmission, maintaining optimal blood pressure, muscle contraction (including the heart), blood clotting, secretion of hormones and enzymes, and decreasing risk of some cancers. Because calcium is essential to proper functioning of the heart among other roles, if we do not consume enough through foods (or supplements), our body will obtain the calcium it needs from our bones, leaving them weak and brittle and increasing our risk of stress fractures, breaks and osteoporosis.

How much do we need?
Most healthy individuals need approximately 1000-1200 mg of calcium every day, although pregnant women, lactating women and adolescents should try to consume 1500 mg/day. One serving of milk, yogurt or cheese has about 300-500 mg each therefore we should consume an average of 3 servings every day. Other foods that are also good sources of calcium include calcium-fortified cereals, snacks, juices and soy products, canned sardines or salmon, beans, oysters and vegetables.

Optimal calcium intake is important in children to ensure proper development and growth of their bones. Adults and children (especially if vegetarian) may need to take calcium supplements regularly if their diets do not provide enough. A variety of excellent calcium supplements exist on the market today in both chewable and pill forms. Calcium supplements should not be taken with other supplements that may include iron, because these two minerals inhibit the absorption of one another.

What constitutes one dairy serving?