The 411 on Dairy

On Nov. 17th there was an article published in New York Times which inaccurately discredits the need for three servings of dairy a day. There have been many recent studies that disagree with this article.

1.National Dairy Council’s Health & Wellness partner, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), released an updated clinical report, “Optimizing Bone Health in Children and Adolescents” in Pediatrics. The report emphasizes the importance of three or more servings of dairy foods and dairy’s nutrients (i.e., calcium and vitamin D) for children’s bone health. The report also points out that milk alternatives, such as soy-or almond-based beverages, may have a reduced amount of bioavailable calcium per glass.

2.Another study, “Consumption of Non-cow’s Milk Beverages and Serum D Levels in Early Childhood,” published in the current issue of the Canadian Medical Association Journal, assessed the vitamin D levels and eating habits of 2,821 healthy children ages one to six and found children who drank only non-cow’s milk were more than twice as likely as children who drank only cow’s milk to have lower vitamin D levels.

The studies continue to point out the necessity of dairy in everyone’s daily diet. So have a large glass of skim milk with your turkey this Thanksgiving!