Truth or Dairy? Milk Based Foods and their place in your Diet

There are so many confusing messages about dairy foods and whether we should be having them or not. Dairy products include yogurt, cheese and milk but they are often seen as the food enemy as it has been rumoured to be linked to asthma, weight gain and an increase in mucous.
​However, there isn’t actually any major empirical evidence to suggest dairy causes any of the above issues. Read on to explore more about dairy in your diet.

My take on dairy is that it should be included as part of a balanced diet as it provides a range of essential minerals and vitamins. Dairy products are a good source of protein and carbohydrate making it a balanced snack and a great post workout pick me up.

​It also provides vitamin A, D, B12 and riboflavin. Dairy also is essential for bone health as they contain calcium, phosphate, magnesium, potassium and zinc which important for developing strong bones for our older years.

Fermented dairy products such as yogurt provide probiotics and prebiotics which help to keep your gut happy. Taking only calcium tablets will only provide calcium but won’t give you all of the other minerals and vitamins in dairy products so continue to include dairy in your diet if you are taking calcium tablets.
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What if I am Lactose Intolerant?

If you are lactose intolerant this does not necessarily mean cutting out dairy all together. It depends on how well you tolerate varying amounts of lactose.
If you are more sensitive to lactose, cheese contains almost no dairy and yogurt contains good bacteria to aid in digestion of lactose. When introducing dairy back into your diet keep a food and symptom diary so you know how you react and to ensure if you have a reaction that it wasn’t something else you may have had in the day.
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How much should we have, and how should we have it?

For a balanced diet it is recommended to have 2-3 servings of dairy products per day. One serving looks like:

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1 Glass of Milk (250ml)

1 Pottle of Yogurt (200ml)

2 Slices of Cheese

Ways to get enough calcium in your diet?

1. Add low fat milk or fortified milk to your oats or muesli in the morning.
2. Have low fat yogurt with nuts and seeds for breakfast.
3. Make a smoothie with low fat milk, banana, oats and peanut butter for an afternoon snack.
4. Take a pottle of low fat yogurt to work for a morning or afternoon snack.
5. If you are feeling like a sweet treat after dinner why not try low fat natural yogurt with stewed fruit.
6. Use a few table spoons of low fat natural yogurt to your spicy curry or use instead of mayonnaise as a salad dressing.