Challenge for industry to make milk cool
"Teenage girls should drink more milk" was one of the key messages at a recent conference in London entitled Dairy Makes A Difference, writes John Sumner.
Research work is under way at Reading University looking at the impact of dairy foods in the UK diet on human health and the environment. There were some encouraging outcomes for the dairy industry, but some areas of concern.
Despite the fact that milk is one of the most nutritionally complete foods available, there are many myths that blame milk and dairy foods for a variety of ailments.
This large-scale Reading study has been investigating the effect fat and saturated fats in milk have on cholesterol and cardiovascular disease. CVD is one of the leading causes of death in humans with treatment costs amounting to over £9.5bn, or six per cent of total UK healthcare expenditure.
Encouragingly, the project has shown that while milk and dairy products do contribute to the nation's overall intake of saturated fat, milk can actually reduce the risk of CVD because it contains more unsaturated fat. Saturated fats can be detrimental to cholesterol and the heart, whereas unsaturated fats can be beneficial.
There was considerable concern amongst researchers and medics over the trend in children and young adults, especially women, to drink less milk, often in an attempt to lose weight. There is a strong link between the amount of milk drunk during childhood and the risk of bone fracture in women in later life.
Today milk consumption in females is lowest between the ages of 11 and 18 years, while the need for calcium increases between the ages of seven and 20 years.
While young adults are clearly not persuaded of the value milk of and dairy foods, according to recent surveys, the majority of consumers believe milk is a natural product, and that dairy farming is good for the countryside and a good use of resources.
Worryingly, the consumption of soft drinks has overtaken that of milk, raising the concern that sucrose-sweetened beverages increase fat storage in the liver, muscle, and visceral fat. So, it seems that the soft drinks industry with its pots of advertising cash, is getting its message over better than the dairy industry.
Therein lies the challenge, not just for the dairy industry, but for all of us to let our young people know what's good for them. For health's sake, drink more milk.
* John Sumner is secretary of Shropshire Chamber of Agriculture
