Dairy Products and Overall Health

 

There is a lot of debate about whether humans should drink cow's milk or not, and we can say that there are hundreds of available books about this subject. Beyond the arguments of the vegan movements around the world, the fact is that drinking milk has become an integral part of the daily life of people around the globe, and no one can imagine the diet without this food.

A healthy diet is inconceivable today without the proteins, calcium, phosphorus, fats, and carbohydrates present in milk. In addition very few foods contain sodium, calcium, iron, potassium, vitamin A, vitamin B1, vitamin B2, and vitamin B3. Besides its delicious taste, we can enjoy endless milk variants such us desserts, yogurts, and creams. Dairy products are a favorite meal for many people.

Let us see some of the benefits of dairy products.

Skeletal system.

Diets rich in milk and dairy products help in building and maintain in good shape the bone mass throughout the whole life. In this way we reduce the risk of osteoporosis. Consumption of dairy products is particularly important for the bones health during childhood and adolescence, when we create and build our bone mass.

Diets that include milk products have a higher nutritional quality.

Calcium is used to build bones and teeth, and to maintain bone mass. Dairy products are the main source of calcium in the diets in all Western countries. Diets that include multiple servings of dairy products per day can improve our bone mass substantially.

Blood Pressure.

Diets rich in potassium may help in maintain a healthy blood pressure. Dairy products, especially yogurt and fluid milk, provide potassium.

Weight Loss.

A team of nutrition researchers at the University of Tennessee, has reached important conclusions regarding the effect of calcium on body fat. A diet high in calcium help with the fat burning mechanisms.

The study was carried out for 3 months with a group of 34 persons. They followed a personalized eating plan which reduced the daily intake by 500 calories, but half of them were given with 1,100 mg of calcium daily, while the contribution of calcium to the other half was only 500 mg.

The result shows that people with the highest calcium-rich diet, reduced their weight by 22% more than the others.

Although the many benefits of taking dairy products, is important to note that some individuals and some human races are lactose intolerant and can not consume milk. Fortunately, many vegetables and nuts have the same properties and nutrients that the milk and its derivatives.