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Educate your patients on the importance of 3-A-Day of Dairy: Here's
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Developed in conjunction with The American Academy of Family
Physicians, The American Academy of Pediatrics, The American Dietetic
Association, and The National Medical Association.
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Dairy Council Digest Archives
Health Benefits of Dairy Foods for Minorities
Summary
Minorities - African Americans, Hispanics, American Indians, Alaska Natives, Asians, Native Hawaiians, and other Pacific Islanders - are expected to increase from about 25% of the U.S. population to nearly 50% by 2050. Growth in this segment of the population is raising awareness of disparities in health between minorities and Whites and is presenting new challenges for health professionals.
Many minorities are at higher risk for major chronic diseases (e.g., hypertension, stroke, obesity) than Whites. Consumption of dairy foods and dairy food nutrients (e.g., calcium) may help to reduce the risk for some of the chronic diseases disproportionately affecting minority groups. Unfortunately, dairy food intake is low for many minorities. Because milk and other dairy products are the major source of calcium, low intake of these foods among minorities compromises their calcium status.
A variety of factors likely contribute to minorities' low intake of dairy foods. Lactose intolerance is cited most often as the reason minorities avoid or limit intake of dairy foods. Although many minorities are lactose maldigesters (i.e., have low levels of the enzyme, lactase, necessary to digest lactose or milk's sugar), scientific studies indicate that most lactose maldigesters can comfortably consume recom-mended intakes of dairy foods. In fact, consuming lactose improves lactose digestion.
For minorities (and non-minorities) who are lactose intolerant, smaller servings of milk consumed with meals, yogurts with live active cultures, aged hard cheeses, and lactose-free or -reduced dairy products are generally well tolerated.
Considering dairy's beneficial roles in health, it is important for minorities to include recommended servings of these foods in their diet. The blood pressure-reducing effect of the low fat DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet, which is rich in lowfat dairy foods, fruits, and vegetables, is twice as beneficial for African Americans as for Whites. Intake of dairy foods is also associated with reduced risk for stroke, a disease prevalent among African Americans and Hispanics.
Although African American women may be at lower risk for osteoporosis than other minority populations, their risk increases with aging of the population. Further, the consequences of osteoporotic-related fractures are more serious for African American women than for White women. Consuming calcium-rich foods such as dairy products, adequate intake of vitamin D (e.g., as found in vitamin D-fortified milk), and regular physical activity are lifestyle strategies to help prevent osteoporosis in minorities and non-minorities alike. New research indicates that calcium, especially from dairy foods, may help to control body fat, thereby reducing risk for obesity, a disease prevalent among many minorities.
The development of effective dietary interventions to improve minorities' calcium and overall nutritional status requires health professionals to become sensitive to the ethnic and cultural-specific dietary behavioral patterns of diverse minority groups.
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