How to Eat Healthy Food: Part Four--Dairy

An estimated 10 million American men and women suffer from the effects of osteoporosis, and another 34 million have low bone density, which puts them at risk for osteoporosis. The calcium in dairy products helps prevent this. However, the high vitamin A content in milk products can actually weaken bones. There is a suspected link between high dairy consumption and prostate cancer. Dairy products are also high in saturated fat, which is not healthy. In order to maintain optimum health, you need to balance your dairy product intake.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. 
    
   Healthy Choices

   Learn how large a serving really is. For dairy products, 8 ounces of milk or 1.5 ounces of cheese constitutes one serving. For a person with normal dietary requirements, the recommended daily amount is two to three servings. Growing children need more; special diets (lactose intolerant, for example) need less. Helpful links with additional information are at the end of this article for your convenience.

2. Choose lower fat dairy products whenever possible. The lower fat content does not mean lower calcium content. For healthy dietary purposes, dairy products are limited to milk, cheeses and yoghurt.

3. 
    
   Not Dairy

   Keep in mind that butter, margarine and cream belong in the fat and oils group now, even though they are made with dairy products.

4. 
    
   Be Healthy

   Choose frozen yoghurt instead of ice cream for a healthy snack alternative. The fat content is much lower.

Tips & Warnings

• Check with your health care provider before making any major changes to your normal diet.
• Children under the age of two need whole milk.

Resources

• Food Pyramid Dairy Products
• USDA Complete Food Pyramid
• Healthy Food Choices
• Photos

[tachic]

on 6/6/2009 Dairy is very important when trying to eat a well-balance healthy diet.

[kristara]

on 6/3/2009 Great healthy eating tips!

[gahazeleyes]

on 5/28/2009 Thanks for part four.

[sonni57]

on 5/20/2009 I eat a lot of dairy since I'm a vegetarian and need protein thanks for the good article.

[klnygaard]

on 5/17/2009 learning serving size is so important