Welcome – Get the Whole Dairy Story Here « Back

Welcome to Dairy Makes Sense, Midwest Dairy’s blog. As a registered dietitian for Midwest Dairy, I am excited to be selected as the first blogger and share dairy’s nutritional story. In the coming months, you’ll be able to find information and dialogue with us on all things dairy. We hope you continue to visit us often and get to know our other expert bloggers.

Dairy’s Unique Nutrient Package Delivers

When it comes to good nutrition dairy makes sense. Why? Milk has a whopping 9 essential nutrients including calcium, potassium, phosphorus, protein, niacin, vitamin A, vitamin B 12, riboflavin and vitamin D. These 9 essential nutrients make milk nutrient rich. In fact, Americans are unclear about essential nutrients and don’t know the whole story. Nutrient-rich foods have many nutrients per calorie. What are these nutrients and why are they important?

When it comes to vitamin D, many Americans are vitamin D–prived, partly because we don’t drink enough milk. Vitamin D is like a key that unlocks your bones helping them absorb calcium. D also helps maintain adequate blood levels of calcium and phosphorus. Emerging research on vitamin D suggests it might play a role in heart health, immune function, cancer, diabetes and weight management. A single 8 oz serving of milk provides 100 International Units (IU) or 25% of the daily value based on the food label. This makes milk an excellent source of vitamin D. Food sources of vitamin D are few and most of us use sunscreen or live in a cooler climate so we can’t make enough from the sun. Take this survey to see if you’re at risk of being D-prived.

I would love to know your thoughts or answer any questions. In future blog posts, I’ll write more about milk’s remaining 8 essential nutrients.