Conclusion

The 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (2) recommends 3 cups of low-fat or fat-free milk or equivalent milk products (cheese, yogurt) a day as part of a healthful diet. Unfortunately, many Americans fail to consume recommended intakes of dairy foods and dairy food nutrients such as calcium (14-16). Dairy foods are naturally nutrient-rich foods which can improve the nutrient adequacy of the diet (1-4). Also, new research findings add to the accumulating body of scientific evidence supporting dairy foods’ role in health promotion and disease prevention. For these reasons, milk and other dairy foods are clearly a “food group to encourage.”