“Milk: It does a body good,” as the industry’s slogan goes. Health conscious individuals are more informed than ever. Today we see an ever growing number of people reading labels and trying to make educated decisions about what they should put in their bodies. I have talked to many people who cut milk out of their diets due to concerns about cholesterol and fat content. However, while whole milk is loaded with fat and can be very detrimental to your health (the jury is still out), reduced fat milk can actually play a key role in keeping your bones strong and assisting in overall loss of body fat.
After much scientific study, the evidence indicates that the mix of nutrients found in milk and other dairy products (mainly Calcium) are responsible for helping the body break down and burn fat. Dr. Oz, who has appeared on the Oprah Show, conducted a study for “Obesity Research” in 2004 to measure how much fat participants absorbed and how much fat was being eliminated. Results from the samples showed that the participants on a high calcium diet doubled their fat secretion. This study, along with the many studies by Dr. Zemel MB of the “International Journal of Obesity” suggest that adequate amounts of calcium in your diet can actually help increase fat metabolism by up to 200%.
Now that we’ve discussed the benefits of adding calcium back into diet, we need to discuss the proper amount you should add to your diet. The consensus among experts seems to be 3 servings of low fat dairy per day. The FDA suggests 1200mg of calcium per day mixed with 600-800mg of magnesium to offset the side effects of a high calcium diet. Keep in mind that the same studies mentioned above saw reduced benefits from increasing calcium intake via supplements. Therefore I would suggest adding a few calcium rich, low-fat foods to your diet. Foods rich in Calcium are of course milk but also deep green vegetables such as spinach and broccoli and even tofu.
Milk…. It does do a body good.
Monday, March 17, 2008
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