Milk, a superfood to include in our diet
The milk It is one of the products that is most present in our diet. From breakfast to night in the form of an ingredient of some homemade dessert. However, this article that relates so much to household food has lost its presence in recent times in favor of other beverages of vegetable origin that supplant dairy products from animals.
The data that they offer from the Milky Interprofessional Organization, INLAC, show how the consumption of milk in Spain has fallen in a 0,5%. A situation that of this entity is related to some food myths that have become fashionable substitutes of plant origin. For this reason, we recall the importance of this article in our diet and the benefits that are lost by dispensing with it.
Low calcium intakes
The main effect that the decline of milk consumption is that the new generations are not receiving all the calcium they need for their proper development. From INLAC it is indicated that 75% of schoolchildren have calcium intakes inferior to those recommended by experts. The drop in demand for dairy products is partly to blame because more than 60% of the calcium in the Spanish diet comes from these items.
To curb this situation, INLAC together with the European Union, has initiated the campaign 'Say yes to three dairy products a day'. A slogan that summarizes what is intended from this association: reminding consumers of the benefits of consuming this product. "In the last three decades there has been an increase in overweight and obesity in the EU population, especially in children, whose estimated prevalence of overweight reached 30% in 2006. This situation betrays the gradual deterioration of the quality of feeding and low physical activity of the population of the EU as a whole, we can expect a future increase in chronic diseases.In the long term, this trend will reduce life expectancy and, in many cases, the quality of life in the EU ", explained José Armando Tellado, president of INLAC.
Dairy products in childhood
As has been said, dairy products are very important in the developing of the smallest of the house. A drink, that except cases of intolerance, should not be replaced by others. These are some benefits that have milk consumption for the little ones:
- Greater bone density. Milk provides calcium, an element that contributes to the normal growth and development of bones in children. To reach an adequate bone mass, it is considered necessary to intake 1300 mg / day of calcium from 10 to 19 years.
- Decreases body fat. Several studies highlight that calcium intake and the body fat ratio in children are inversely related and children who ingest more calcium tend to have a lower amount of body fat. This could decrease the risk of obesity in adolescence and in adulthood.
- Regulates blood fat. An adequate consumption of milk and milk products can improve the lipid profile, of fats, present in the blood. This article and other derivatives provide linoleic acid that helps maintain normal cholesterol levels.
Damián Montero
