Dairy MyPlate

Before you eat, think about what and how much food goes on your plate or in your cup or bowl. 

Over the day, include a variety of foods from all 5 food groups using MyPlate as your guide to make sure you get the nutrients you need.

The dairy group includes milk, yogurt, cheese, lactose-free milk and fortified soy milk and yogurt. It does NOT include foods that have been made from milk but don’t have very much calcium and have a lot of fat: cream cheese, sour cream, cream, and butter.

How Much Do I Need?

The amount of dairy you should eat or drink in a day will depend on your age and gender. Check out the chart below from MyPlate:

Health Benefits of Dairy Products

• Stronger bones which is especially important during childhood when bones are being built.
• Lower risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes.
• Lower blood pressure in adults.

Foods in the dairy group provide nutrients that are important for health and maintenance of your body. These nutrients include:

• Calcium is used for building bones and teeth and in maintaining bone mass.
  • Dairy products are the primary source of calcium in American diets.
  • Diets that provide 3 cups or the equivalent of dairy products per day can improve bone mass.
• Diets rich in potassium may help to maintain healthy blood pressure.
  • Dairy products, especially yogurt, fluid milk, and soy milk have potassium.
• Vitamin D functions in the body to keep proper levels of calcium and phosphorous, so helping to build and maintain bones.
  • Milk and soy milk that are fortified with vitamin D are good sources of this nutrient.
  • Other sources include vitamin D-fortified yogurt and vitamin D-fortified ready-to-eat breakfast cereals.
• So many more!

Milk Allergy vs. Lactose Intolerance

If your child has been diagnosed with an allergy or intolerance that can be scary. It is important to know that there is a difference between the two.

Food Allergy 

A food allergy starts the body’s disease-fighting (immune) system, creating unpleasant, sometimes serious, symptoms in response to a food part, usually a protein. Some severe reactions can be potentially fatal. The immune system starts to work even though the person isn’t sick. That’s why symptoms appear. If the immune system isn’t the cause of a food reaction, it isn’t an allergy.

Lactose Intolerance

Lactose is a sugar found in dairy foods. During digestion, an intestinal enzyme called lactase breaks down lactose into smaller sugars. When lactose is not fully digested, it is fermented by healthy bacteria in the colon. This fermentation may produce uncomfortable symptoms like abdominal cramps or pain, diarrhea, and/or nausea.

If you or your child has lactose intolerance, there are many other options, and your child may be able to handle some dairy items better than others. Oftentimes fluid milk is the hardest to digest. Try lactose-free milk or soy milk in place of regular cow’s milk!

Lactose-free milk is regular cow’s milk with the lactose removed. The vitamins and minerals in lactose-free milk are the same as regular cow’s milk that contains lactose. The price for lactose free-milk is higher than regular cow’s milk due to the processing that occurs to remove the lactose.

Milk vs. Milk Alternatives

If you drink cow’s milk without any bad side effects, there’s really no reason to switch to a plant-based option. Cow’s milk is a good source of important vitamins and minerals. A serving of cow’s milk contains calcium, vitamin D, vitamin A, and a lot of micronutrients that you need in your diet.

If you or someone in your family is diagnosed with a dairy allergy, you will have to remove all forms of dairy (yogurt, milk, cheese) from your diet.

Plant-based milks include soy milk, almond milk, cashew milk, rice, oat, or pea milk. If you are going to switch to a plant-based milk, be sure to read the label and find a “milk” that has good amounts of protein, vitamin D, iron, and calcium. Ideally, aim for a “milk” that has at least 8 or 9 grams of protein per serving. You will also want to make sure you choose a milk low in added sugar. Check out our page on calcium to make sure you’re getting enough!

The infographic below from the National Dairy Council shows the major differences in types of milk. Cow’s milk has a lot of protein and the highest amounts of vitamins and minerals at the lowest cost.

If you need an alternative, WIC can provide lactose-free or soy milk.

Why choose fat-free or low-fat?

Choosing foods from the dairy group that are high in saturated fats and cholesterol can be bad for your health. Diets high in saturated fats raise “bad” cholesterol levels in the blood. The “bad” cholesterol is called LDL (low-density lipoprotein) cholesterol. High LDL cholesterol, in turn, increases the risk for coronary heart disease.

• They have the same amount of calcium and other important nutrients as whole milk, but less fat and calories.
• Many cheeses, whole milk, and products made from them are high in saturated fat. To help keep blood cholesterol levels healthy, limit the amount of these foods you eat. 

• A high intake of fats makes it hard to avoid eating more calories than you need which can cause weight gain. 
• The one exception to this rule is children aged 12-24 months who are recommended to consume whole milk for proper brain growth and development.

Tips About Dairy:

1. Boost potassium and vitamin D and cut sodium: Choose fat-free or low-fat milk or yogurt more often than cheese. Milk and yogurt have more potassium and less sodium than most cheeses. Also, almost all milk and many yogurts are fortified with vitamin D.
2. Top off your meals: Use fat-free or low-fat milk on cereal and oatmeal. Top fruit salads and baked potatoes with low-fat yogurt instead of higher fat toppings such as sour cream.
3. Choose cheeses with less fat: Many cheeses are high in saturated fat. Look for “reduced-fat” or “low-fat” on the label. Try different brands or types to find the one that you like.
4. What about cream cheese?: Cream cheese, cream, and butter are not part of the dairy food group. They are high in saturated fat and have little or no calcium.
5. Switch ingredients: When recipes such as dips call for sour cream, substitute plain yogurt. Use fat-free evaporated milk instead of cream and try low-fat or fat-free ricotta cheese as a substitute for cream cheese.
6. Limit added sugars: Flavored milks and yogurts, frozen yogurt, and puddings can contain a lot of added sugars. Get your nutrients from dairy foods with fewer or no added sugars.
7. Caffeinating?: If so, get your calcium along with your morning caffeine boost. Make or order coffee, latte, or cappuccino with fat-free or low-fat milk.
8. Can’t drink milk?: If you are lactose intolerant, try yogurt, lactose-free milk, or soy milk to get your calcium. Calcium in some leafy greens is well absorbed, but eating several cups each day to meet calcium needs may be unrealistic.
9. Take care of yourself and your family: Caregivers who drink milk and eat dairy foods show their kids that it is important for their health.

Source: ChooseMyPlate.gov

Yogurt

Yogurt is available on WIC! Check the WIC Approved Food Guide for brands, sizes and flavors allowed.

Use this substitute guide to add plain (not sweetened or flavored) yogurt into your everyday cooking and baking.

• 1 cup butter = 1/2 cup plain yogurt + 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup oil = 3/4 cup plain yogurt
• 1 cup sour cream = 1 cup plain yogurt
• 1 cup mayonnaise = 1 cup plain yogurt
• 1 cup cream cheese = 1 cup plain yogurt
• 1 cup heavy cream = 1 cup plain yogurt
• 1 cup milk = 1/2 cup plain yogurt + 1/2 cup milk
• 1 cup buttermilk = 2/3 cup plain yogurt + 1/3 cup milk

Sources: Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics – Complete Food and Nutrition Guide 5th edition & Harvard Medical School – Plant milk or cow’s milk: Which is better for you