Dairy foods are associated with the mineral calcium, but the relationship is positive, not negative. Your body needs the calcium that you get from foods to create mineral stores in your bones and teeth. Calcium is then drawn from them to form new bone cells when old ones die off. Replenishing your calcium stores daily from dairy and other food sources enhances rather than depletes your body’s available calcium supply, with positive health consequences for bone strength.
Your Use of Calcium
Your bones, including your jawbone, which stabilizes your teeth, require calcium to grow and maintain their density. In adolescence, the calcium that you get from dairy foods helps you develop normal bone size and strength, called peak bone mass. Some calcium also facilitates muscle and nerve conduction, and the rest is used to remodel -- or replace -- old cells with new ones throughout your life. If you don’t provide more dietary calcium for metabolic use every day, your body must take what it needs from healthy bone cells, diminishing their density and strength.
Dairy Sources
A dairy food such as fortified milk promotes the proper use of calcium, as it also supplies vitamin D, a nutrient that enables calcium absorption. Yogurt and cheese typically do not contain vitamin D, but your body makes some vitamin D through photosynthesis. Other sources of vitamin D are ocean fish. Yogurt provides the most calcium per serving, followed by milk and then cheeses. Among cheeses, cottage, mozzarella and Swiss have high calcium content, while cream cheese varieties have low content.
Additional Considerations
If you consume dairy products but still suffer from bone pain or experience fractures, your intake or your adult bone mass may be insufficient. The U.S. Department of Agriculture recommends daily intakes of 1,000 to 1,200 mg of calcium and 15 mcg of vitamin D for most adults. Your body loses the ability to fully absorb dietary calcium as you age. This is especially true for women after menopause. Bone remodeling also increases with age, a process that depletes the calcium stores in your bones if you do not provide enough minerals from dairy and other dietary sources.
Health Significance
A loss of bone density makes fractures more likely. Don’t allow a calcium imbalance to take hold. Low-fat and nonfat milk, yogurt and cheese are healthy sources of nutrition at any age. If you are lactose intolerant, achieve your daily values of calcium from fortified soy milk and orange juice, sardines and leafy green vegetables. Osteoporosis, a disease in which your body loses bone density because your calcium stores are inadequate, can be managed but not reversed.
References
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Calcium and Bone Health; April 2011
- U.S. Department of Agriculture: Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2010
- Office of Dietary Supplements: Calcium
- National Osteoporosis Foundation; Clinician’s Guide to Prevention and Treatment of Osteoporosis; January 2010
- National Osteoporosis Foundation: Osteoporosis Medicines, What You Need to Know
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