Calcium and dairy products; Advantages and Disadvantages

Calcium and dairy products; Advantages and Disadvantages

While milk and other dairy products are high in calcium and absorbable, they may have several downsides.

Dairy products are often high in saturated fat:

Many leading health organizations recommend that you reduce your intake of saturated fats and choose low-fat or non-fat products. Recent research, however, shows that consuming dairy products made entirely from milk is associated with lower fat and lower levels of obesity. Besides, low-fat or non-fat dairy products contain a lot of hidden sugar. Sugar is added to these products to improve the taste. Sugar can be even more harmful to health than saturated fat and can cause weight gain.

Milk can contain many estrogens:

Some studies have shown an association between natural estrogen in milk and breast, prostate, and testicular cancers. Part of the problem is due to modern dairy techniques, in which cows are given antibiotics and artificial hormones that keep cows constantly pregnant and these cows produce milk for more than 300 days a year.

The more pregnant a cow is, the more hormones are in the milk. Organic milk is made from cows that are herbivores and have not been given synthetic hormones or other additives. Of course, organic milk can also be rich in natural hormones. Because natural and synthetic hormones are found in milk fat, skim milk has lower levels of these hormones.

Some people have lactose intolerance:

This means that these people cannot digest lactose. Lactose is a sugar found in milk and dairy products. Symptoms of lactose intolerance can be mild or severe, including abdominal cramps, bloating, flatulence, and diarrhea. In addition to the pain and irritability that lactose intolerance causes, it can also interfere with the calcium absorption of dairy products.

Tips to increase calcium intake and prevent osteoporosis

To prevent osteoporosis and increase your daily calcium intake, add calcium-rich foods to your main meals and snacks.

Tips to increase calcium intake from dairy products

Use milk instead of water when you want oatmeal or other hot breakfast cereals.

Substitute milk for ingredients such as tomatoes, squash, pumpkin, and curry spices in the soup.

Milk can be added to many sauces as it is used in sauces such as Alfredo sauce and bechamel sauce.

Make pancakes or cookies with yogurt or milk.

Be creative with plain yogurt. Use it to decorate food. Or use it on potatoes.

Add milk or yogurt to the fruit smoothie. You can freeze the mixed smoothie and make ice cream.

Use cheese as a dessert or snack.

For this purpose, you can use Cheddar cheese, Mozzarella, Gouda, Jack cheese, Parmesan cheese, or other types of cheese.