Dairy: It Does A Body Good!

Most people know that milk is good for a toddlers growing body, but adults and older children need milk too. But when we say that milk is good for us, we are wanting the calcium, vitamin D, potassium and protein that is found in most dairy products not just milk.

Everyone of all age groups need milk. Bones keep developing into our 20's and peak development ends around in our 30's. Also, it's important to maintain the density that we attained by the age of 30. The most important mineral for this development and maintenance is, of course, calcium.

Dairy products can have a high content of saturated fat and cholesterol. So, when choosing dairy products whether it's cheese, yogurt, or milk, we should always choose a low fat or fat free version after one year of age.

There are many ways to incorporate dairy products into your day. A couple of quick grabs are: cheese sticks and yogurt. When making many of your favorite recipes it's easy to add a little low fat cheese. Desserts can be nutritious if they are made with low fat milk, such as puddings and fruit smoothies. Make a veggie dip from plain low fat yogurt. And drink milk :)

Here's a link to the MyPyramid's chart on how much dairy different age groups should be getting: http://www.mypyramid.gov/pyramid/milk_amount_table.html

I also found a link from the Dairy Council of California to estimate your calcium intake: http://www.dairycouncilofca.org/Tools/CalciumQuiz/Default.aspx?action=quiz

I hope everyone is keeping their bones strong by getting in a good dose of dairy each day!