So, are dairy products good for us? Are they really, really essential? Find out

THEY are healthy. They are packed with vitamins and minerals. All of which, give us energy and are needed for us to grow. Called by some as ‘nature’s perfect food’, milk and its products provide high quality protein, calcium, Vitamin A, riboflavin and other B vitamins, phosphorous, magnesium, potassium, sodium, chloride and sulphur.

So What Do Milk And Milk Products Do To Us?
Milk contains lactose, which helps increase the body’s absorption of calcium, phosphorous, magnesium and zinc, while helping promote the growth of “friendly bacteria” (known as probiotics). Scientists believe that probiotics can have a positive effect on the functioning of the digestive tract. Calcium in milk serves as the primary source for building and maintaining bone and teeth density and strength, as well as muscle contraction, transmission of nerve impulses and maintenance of cell membranes.

To simplify, here are the benefits from dairy products:
• Reduces the risk for kidney stones
•Keeps control on blood pressure
• Builds and maintains bones
• Keeps teeth healthy. Research shows cheese, eaten after a meal or as a snack helps protect against cavities. Eating cheese also stimulates the production of saliva to help rid your mouth of sugar. Together, saliva and the components in cheese help boost the minerals in your teeth, keeping them strong and healthy.
• Reduces risk of cancer: Cultured milk products like yoghurt contains ‘good-for-you’ bacteria, which, may help your immune system fight disease and prevent some kinds of cancer.
• Reduces the risk of osteoporosis: Although more research is needed to understand the role of dietary protein in bone health, studies show that protein, in addition to calcium, may play a critical role in bone health, thereby decreasing the risk of osteoporosis. High amount of calcium in milk compensates for urinary calcium losses that may be generated by milk protein. Protein and calcium together can result in good bone health.

Some Questions Answered:
Q. What benefits do dairy foods provide?
Apart from all the benefits already mentioned, dairy products better manage your weight, and improve nutritional status, as well.

Q. At what age is it important to drink milk and consume dairy products?
At every age. The National Academy of Sciences recommends the following calcium intake levels for various age groups:
Adults: Ages 50+: 1,200 mg of calcium a day, the equivalent of drinking four - 240 ml glasses of milk.
Adults: Ages 19-50:1,000 mg of calciuma day, the equivalent of drinking at least three -240 ml glasses of milk.
Teens: Ages 9-18: 1,300 mg of calcium a day. About four - 240 ml glasses of milk.
Kids: Ages 4-8: 800 mg of calcium a day, or about three - 240 ml glasses of milk.
Kids: Ages 1-3: 500 mg of calcium a day, the equivalent of about two - 240 ml glasses of milk.

Q.Isn’t it true that if you’re lactose intolerant, you should avoid dairy foods?
No. Research also has shown that many people, who are lactose maldigesters, can enjoy up to two cups of milk a day with meals — one with breakfast and one with dinner — without experiencing symptoms.

Q. Why aren’t people drinking enough milk?
Many adults erroneously think they don’t need to drink milk anymore. However,bones continue to grow in density until the mid-30s, and after that, the calcium in milk is important to help prevent bone loss.

Q. Aren’t there a lot of other ways, besides consuming dairy foods, to get calcium?
Dairy is a powerful package of calcium and eight other key nutrients that fuel your body. Without dairy intake, it’s very difficult to get enough calcium. Other foods contain calcium in smaller amounts. In fact, you would need to eat eight cups of spinach to equal the amount of calcium absorbed from one cup of milk.

Q. Why can’t I just take a calcium supplement?
Supplements are not substitutes. A calcium pill shouldn’t take the place of the calcium in food. A glass of milk, for example, not only provides calcium but also other nutrients. One of these is vitamin D, which is important for calcium absorption.

[ Q and A source: www.nationaldairycouncil.org Other reference: www.albertamilk.com ]

A Contradictory View Point
There are several researches that subscribe to the non- requirement of diary products for human beings. Let us examine them, for a fair view point:

A growing body of scientific evidence suggests that limiting or eliminating dairy products from the diet may be important to achieving optimal health.

“There is no human requirement for milk...,”says Suzanne Havala, author of the American Dietetic Association’s ‘Position Paper on Vegetarian Diets’ and several books on nutrition. “The use of milk and its products is strictly a cultural tradition,” she notes. “There are millions of people around the world who never consume milk.”

Dieticians Virginia and Mark Messina, Ph D, echo this view in their book, ‘The Vegetarian Way’: “Vegetarians who avoid dairy products may seem to be choosing an unusual diet by normal standards, but are actually choosing a typical diet... The belief that milk is essential in the diet is clearly incorrect.”

So, what about the calcium requirement for the human body?
“There’s no best source of calcium,” explains Robert Heaney, a professor with the Osteoporosis Research Center at Creighton University School of Medicine. “The sheer quantity of calcium in dairy products certainly makes them attractive sources, but they have no monopoly on calcium. There’s no reason in the world why you couldn’t get an adequate intake from a vegetable source.”

In fact, nutritional anthropologists believe that our earliest ancestors — who got most of their calcium from wild plant foods — had higher calcium intake than their milk-quaffing contemporaries. Anthropologists also think that until 10,000 years ago or so, all humans were lactose intolerant.
Source: www.earthsave.org