Dairy products tend to be all or nothing for many people. Either they love milk, yogurt, and cheese or you forget about them and eat very little of them. That doesn’t have to be the case, though. Dairy products come in many shapes and sizes and everybody can find something that works for them. Now, to answer some questions:
How many servings of dairy do I need?
The most recent Dietary Guidelines recommend 2-3 servings of dairy for adults. A serving is a cup of milk or yogurt and 1.5 ounces of cheese.
Are dairy products a bad choice because they contain added sugars?
If you look at the nutrition label of plain milk you will see a few grams of sugar listed but that doesn’t mean you let go of dairy altogether. There is a difference between added sugars and naturally occurring sugars but food labels currently do not differentiate between the two. Plain dairy products have naturally occurring sugars and are still recommended daily.
How do you identify added sugars?
Food labels may not differentiate between added and naturally occurring sugars but the ingredient list can tell us. Added sugars can be listed as any of the following ingredients: sugar, sugar cane, raw sugar, honey, corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, dextrose, fructose.
For more details on dairy products check out the ChooseMyPlate.gov resource available: https://www.choosemyplate.gov/dairy
As always, if you have any questions please do reach out.