WHY DAIRY PRODUCTS ARE GREAT FOR YOU

As with most things in your life, reduction and balance is key! Not having any dairy at all may damage your body, whereas having too much could also have the same outcome.

Dairy is so much of an important food group, but recently, what with severe diet regimes and theover-dramatization of food allergies and intolerances - dairy products seem to have, unjustly, been handed a bad name.

All of us need a balanced diet as a way to keep our bodies healthy; no one should remove major food groups from their diet, unless of course recommended to do so by a medical expert, as doing so could mean that you're lacking in crucial vitamins and minerals.

Simply how much dairy should I eat?

As with most things in your life, reduction and balance is key! Not having any dairy at all may damage your body, whereas having too much could also have the same outcome.

In accordance with nutritional guidelines, we should all be getting just about 2-3 servings of dairy each single day.

So, one serving might be a smallish pot of yogurt, a smallish 'matchbox' piece of cheese, or maybe a 200ml glass of milk.

Severe low-fat diets might be one of the main reasons why some people don't have enough dairy in their diet, as the food group is often thought to be being too high in fat. However, by selecting low-fat versions you can still enjoy your preferred dairy foods without the guilt!

Fat free milk can still offer you exactly the same amount of calcium as whole milk; plain yoghurt or low-fat frozen yoghurt and low-fat versions of cheese are all great ways of avoiding the fat while still maintaining a healthy measure of dairy.

Really what are the benefits of dairy?

Where do we even commence? Firstly, quite a number of dairy products are incredibly rich in calcium and protein. Calcium is actually required by the body to build strong and healthy bones and teeth, and protein is a building block of the body, assisting the body to restore and build itself.

Dependent upon the type of dairy consumed other core nutrients that come from this food source includes:
 magnesium, folate and vitamins A, D, E, B1, B2, B6, and B12.

Alternative known benefits to possessing a diet rich in dairy, is that it aids blood to clot and lowers the potential risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke and certain cancers, including for example colon and breast.