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Dairy Council
back to Nutrition

Dairy through life

Milk and dairy foods can play an important role at every age and stage of life. From childhood, through the teenage years and into adult life, in pregnancy and for older people too, the rich nutrient content of milk and dairy foods together with their versatility, convenience and taste make them valuable part of a healthy, balanced diet.

Children

Teenagers

Adults

Pregnancy

Older People

Contribution to Nutrient Intakes

Milk and dairy foods make an important contribution to the nutritional quality of our diets in Northern Ireland for all age groups. From young children to teenagers through to older adults, they are the main providers of calcium, and dairy also supplies significant amounts of many other nutrients.

In Northern Ireland, the milk and dairy food group makes the largest contribution to the intakes of calcium, iodine, vitamin B2 and vitamin B12

Contribution (%) of dairy foods to nutrient intakes in NI

Nutrients

  • Protein

  • Calcium

  • Potassium

  • Iodine

  • Zinc

  • Vitamin A

  • Vitamin B2

  • Vitamin B12*

4-10 years

  • 21

  • 45

  • 22

  • 55

  • 23

  • 24

  • 43

  • 54

11-18 years

  • 15

  • 37

  • 15

  • 44

  • 16

  • 18

  • 32

  • 40

Reference: National Diet and Nutrition Survey. Results from Years 5–9 (combined) of the Rolling Programme (2012/13–2016/17): Northern Ireland 

* B12 intakes for years 1–4

Nutrients

  • Protein

  • Calcium

  • Potassium

  • Iodine

  • Zinc

  • Vitamin A

  • Vitamin B2

  • Vitamin B12*

19-64 years

  • 13

  • 37

  • 12

  • 35

  • 15

  • 17

  • 29

  • 35

65+ years

  • 16

  • 43

  • 14

  • 39

  • 17

  • 15

  • 36

  • -

Reference: National Diet and Nutrition Survey. Results from Years 5–9 (combined) of the Rolling Programme (2012/13–2016/17): Northern Ireland

* B12 intakes for years 1–4

Health Professionals

This section of our website is specifically for nutrition and health professionals to help keep you up to date with the latest nutrition research, particularly in relation to milk and dairy products. You’ll find summaries and presentations from our conferences and events, together with scientific overviews of dairy and health topics.