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How Dairy Milk Promotes a Healthy Lifestyle
Nutrient Content
Vitamins
Excellent Source of:
- Riboflavin – 25%
- Vitamin D – 24%
Good Source of:
- Vitamin B12 – 16%
- Vitamin A – 10%
Also a Source of:
- Pantothenic Acid – 8%
- Thiamin – 7%
- Vitamin B6 – 6%
- Vitamin C – 4%
Minerals
Excellent Source of:
- Calcium – 31%
- Phosphorus – 25%
Good Source of:
- Potassium – 11%
Also a Source of:
- Magnesium – 9%
- Selenium – 8%
- Zinc – 7%
- Sodium – 5%
Other
Good Source of:
- Protein – 17%
*All nutritional Info From (1)
How Milk Prevents Chronic Disease
Milk and Cancer
Scientific opinions are mixed on whether or not milk can be considered a cancer preventative component of one’s diet. On one hand, higher ranges of milk intake resulted in reduced rates of colorectal cancer in one study. (2) Such a finding would suggest that milk indeed has cancer fighting properties. On the other hand, many studies focused on different types of cancer found that milk intake increases risk of breast and gastric cancer, to name a few. One study suggested that patients at high risk of breast cancer may want to forgo drinking milk entirely. (3, 4) It seems that milk does not contain any active components that reduce total cancer risk, nor any component that is overall beneficial for cancer prevention. However, dependent upon which cancers you are most concerned about, drinking milk may be a preventative step or one not highly recommended.
Milk and Diabetes
Milk is associated with better overall metabolism. Higher metabolic rate places one at lower risk of obesity and complications arising from obesity, namely diabetes. (5) Studies show that consuming one serving of low fat dairy per day could lower risk of type 2 diabetes by as much as 10%. (6) Dairy proteins improve insulin sensitivity, which is one marker used to determine one’s progression towards diabetes or one’s risk of developing it. (7)
Milk and Osteoporosis
Osteoporosis is a bone disease characterized by perforations and weakness in the bones. Risk is determined by bone density and mass. Many know already that calcium is essential for bone health, but evidence suggests that consuming high levels of vitamin D and calcium together is important for growing and supporting healthy bones. Luckily, milk is an easy and low fat way to get adequate amounts of calcium and vitamin D, and then some. (8)