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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
Barriers to a Dairy-Rich Diet
Studies of food preferences indicate that dairy foods are not among many minorities' traditional favorite foods (14,34-36). Barriers to consuming dairy foods and improving the calcium status of minorities relate to such factors as culturally determined food preferences, lack of knowledge, unavailability of dairy products, and unfamiliarity with dairy foods (12-15,20,34-36).
Lactose intolerance, real or perceived, is most often given as the reason why minorities avoid or limit intake of dairy foods. Lactose intolerance is the development of gastrointestinal symptoms of varying severity in individuals with lactose maldigestion (i.e., low levels of the enzyme, lactase, necessary to digest lactose or milk's sugar) (8). Lactose maldigestion occurs in about 15% of Whites, 53% of Mexican Americans, 62% to 100% of Native Americans, 80% of African Americans, and 90% of Asian Americans (37). However, lactose maldigestion does not necessarily result in lactose intolerance (symptoms) or prevent minorities from consuming recommended intakes of dairy foods (11,12,38).
Scientific evidence indicates that most minorities can comfortably consume recom-mended servings of milk and other dairy products, especially with meals.
Several studies demonstrate that lactose intolerance is overestimated and that symptoms following milk intake are often due to factors, such as strong beliefs, unrelated to lactose intake (8,11,38). Individuals, including minorities, who have lactase deficiency can consume recommended intakes of calcium from dairy foods (11,12,38). In a recent investigation of African American adolescent females, 82% of whom were lactose maldigesters, intake of 1,200mg calcium/day from dairy foods was consumed without symptoms of intolerance (12).
Gradually increasing intake of lactose-containing foods improves tolerance to lactose (12,38). When African American adolescent girls, most of whom were lactose maldigesters, consumed a dairy-rich diet (i.e., four servings/day, mostly milk) for 21 days, they experienced an overall improvement in lactose digestion as measured by a breath hydrogen test (12).
For lactose intolerant minorities (and non-minorities), the following dietary strategies can be used to improve tolerance to dairy products: adjust the amount of lactose consumed at any one time; drink milk with a meal or snack; try yogurts with live active cultures, many cheeses (especially aged), and lactose-free or lactose-reduced products; and gradually increase daily intake of lactose-containing foods (8,11,38).
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