The benefits of milk
Our immune systems have been the focus of our lives this past year – no matter where we live, keeping up our immunity and ensuring our health remains good is a top priority. What has also been the aim is eating for health, whether it be vitamin D supplements or B vitamins. Rather happily, dairy is a source of vitamins A, B2, B6, B12, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium and zinc, among other necessary ingredients. The sun, meat, eggs and some fortified milks are a source of vitamin D here as well.
As Julian Melletin says in his upcoming article for the May issue of Dairy Industries International, vitamin D is linked to both immune support and respiratory health, which are both key factors in this breathing related pandemic. He discusses dairy brands that have long been associated with fortification, Actimel, and new products being introduced by Bel Brands in the US, where cheese is the foundation. New ways of getting vital nutrients into people’s systems.
I do notice that people tend to self-medicate with foods nowadays. It does make sense. In a pandemic world where we have realised there is little under our control, in most high-income countries, we can adjust what we eat and when.
The nice thing is, whatever you prefer, dairy has something for your palate. Yogurt? We have everything from squeezy fromage frais to Bonne Maman yogurts and Müller’s corners and what your local dairy produces. Cheeses can be as accessible as Laughing Cow dairy triangles to as sublime as Keen’s organic cheddar in the UK (we have both in our house). When I visited the milk aisle yesterday, I had a selection ranging from bog-standard semi-skimmed to Jersey gold top dairy and goat milk. Sour cream, buttermilk, ice cream, butter, fermented milks, milk powders of so many types, to get the goodness of dairy into other products – the list is endless, in a way.
Dairy offers a rainbow of food products for every consumer, no matter where they are in the world. It is something to be proud of.
- Suzanne Christiansen, editor, Dairy Industries International.
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