Milk and the dairy foods such as cheese and yogurt can delight you with their creamy texture and rich flavors. But they're not just delicious; they're nutritious, too. Dairy products contain vitamins and minerals that your body needs for health. You can turn to dairy products as a significant source of several of those nutrients.
Vitamin B2
Dairy products provide vitamin B-2, also known as riboflavin, reports Cornell University. Vitamin B-2 helps your body break down food. The Mayo Clinic website recommends taking between 1.4 mg to 1.8 mg B-2 for adult males, 1.2 mg and 1.3 mg for adult females who aren't pregnant and 1.6 mg for pregnant women. The Linus Pauling Institute reports that 1 cup of nonfat milk contains about 0.34 mg of vitamin B-2 and 1 oz. of cheddar cheese contains 0.11 mg of vitamin B-2.
Vitamin B12
You can get a significant amount of vitamin B-12 from dairy products, which is especially important if you're a vegetarian who doesn't eat the other richest dietary source of vitamin B-12 -- meat -- reports the National Institutes of Health. Vitamin B-12 helps your body run its nervous system, make red blood cells and synthesize DNA. The recommended daily amount of vitamin B-12 is 2.4 mcg for adults, according to the National Institutes of Health. You can get 0.9 mcg of vitamin B-12 from drinking 1 cup of milk, 1.4 mcg of vitamin B-12 from eating 1 cup of plain yogurt and 0.9 mcg of vitamin B-12 from eating 1 oz. of Swiss cheese, the National Institutes of Health reports.
Calcium
Dairy products provide plenty of the mineral calcium that your body needs, reports Cornell University. Calcium plays a number of important roles in your body, such as maintaining your bones and teeth, transmitting nerve impulses, secreting insulin and regulating how blood vessels constrict and relax, the Linus Pauling Institute states. The recommended daily amount of calcium is 1,000 mg for adults up to age 50 and 1,200 mg for women beyond 50 years old and men beyond 70 years old, reports the Linus Pauling Institute, and an 8-oz. serving of either milk or yogurt provides about 300 mg of calcium.
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