Dairy: Friend or Foe.

Humans have been eating dairy for centuries, but some question whether it should be a part of our diet. In this article, we address the conundrum: dairy – is it your friend or your foe?

Let’s start with the basics. According to the Australian Dietary Guidelines, adults should have 2 ½ serves of dairy foods each day to provide a whole range of nutrients, including the bone-strengthening calcium. But latest surveys show that we are only consuming 1 ¾ serves daily. 

So why are we falling short – and putting our bones at risk? Some people may be avoiding dairy for medical conditions, like milk allergies or lactose intolerance, others may have been told to stop eating it to keep their cholesterol down, and some might just be steering clear of it to manage their weight. Are any of these valid reasons to give up delicious milk, cheese and yoghurt?

There’s no doubt that if you have a diagnosed allergy to milk, you should avoid all dairy. There – how clear-cut was that! But did you know that if you have lactose intolerance, you can still have up to ½ serve of dairy a day? For these people, it’s OK – in fact, recommended – to include ½ cup of milk (yay, ‘normal’ cappuccinos are back!), 1 slice of cheese or 100g of yoghurt, because it’s thought that this amount of dairy keeps the gut working properly, whilst still minimising any unpleasant digestive symptoms. 

What about my cholesterol then, I hear you ask? It’s true that saturated fats (some of which are found in dairy) can raise cholesterol levels, but rather than cut out dairy completely, all you need to do here is swap from full-cream to reduced-fat or skim versions of your favs, so you can have your cake and eat it too!

Now to the biggie – does dairy make you fat? This notion floats about in some of our consciousness, and it also comes and goes in the popular media. But when we look at the scientific results around dairy intake and weight gain, there is no evidence to suggest a link. Some studies even find a benefit of including dairy when trying to lose weight, for dairy foods are high in protein and low GI (read: fills you up) and if choosing reduced-fat or skim versions, are not even particularly rich in kilojoules. 

And finally, one from the left field (although I know some of you earth-lovers always have this in mind), how sustainable is dairy anyway? I mean, don’t all those cows increase greenhouse gas emissions via their you-know-whats? Recent research conducted by the CSIRO examined the diets of 1732 Australian adults, from both a nutrition and sustainability perspective, and found that 90% of the healthier and lower greenhouse gas emission diets included dairy foods. 

So there you have it. And I’ll leave it up to you now to decide if dairy is your friend or your foe!

Jade Petitat is a Power Living certified yoga teacher, who combines traditional yogic philosophy with a modern-day approach to give participants a challenging, yet nurturing practice. When she is not on her mat, Jade works as an Accredited Practising Dietitian and is mum to a sweet little yogini.