Research by the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition revealed dieting study participants with the highest calcium intake from dairy foods lost 60% more weight than those with the lowest calcium intake from dairy foods. This is good news for the dairy industry, but also for people who love dairy products as they can continue to enjoy milk, cheese and yogurt and still lose weight if that is their goal.
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Unfortunately, not all media outlets are reporting this positive message for dairy. One of my favorite health magazines reported the good news about calcium intake and weight loss, but then suggested people eat such foods as canned sardines, collard greens, peas and black-eyed peas, almonds, oranges, spinach, canned salmon and canned baked beans. I just have one question for the publication – got milk?
The health magazine article I read listed eight foods containing significant sources of calcium, but did not mention any dairy products at all. Why? I’m just fishing here; but perhaps they were avoiding the fat found in dairy products in favor of the fats found in sardines and salmon – but that is just a guess on my part. If you are concerned about the fat in whole milk, you can cut fat calories by switching to skim milk, and skim milk actually has more calcium content than whole or 2% milk.
According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), many foods contain calcium, but dairy products are the most significant source and contain an efficiently absorbed form of calcium. NIH agrees there are other food sources of calcium besides dairy, but they point out it is difficult to eat adequate quantities of these foods to achieve optimal calcium intake. For example, to get the same amount of calcium as two ounces of Swiss cheese, you would have to eat nearly a pound of turnip greens.
There is certainly nothing wrong with eating sardines, salmon, peas and baked beans to get calcium. The study, however, was based on calcium intake from dairy foods. The magazines recommend only non-dairy food sources for calcium without explanation. Sometimes the media make editorial comments within a "news story" by what is not being reported.
(Denny Banister, of Jefferson City, is the assistant director of public affairs for the Missouri Farm Bureau, the state’s largest farm organization.)