Dairy through life

Older Adults

The rich mix of nutrients in milk and dairy foods make them a valuable part of the diets of older people. For calcium:

Calcium needs mg/d 700

Portion suggestion providing about 740mg of calcium

• 200ml whole milk
• 150g pot of yogurt
• 30g of cheese

Benefits of dairy foods for older people

• Dairy is tasty, convenient and affordable
• Dairy foods provide high–quality protein which, along with physical activity, contributes to maintaining muscle as we get older. Protein contributes to maintaining bone health too
• Milk and dairy foods are good calcium–providers for helping to maintain bones
• Calcium can help to reduce loss of bone mineral in postmenopausal women; for women over 50 years an extra 500mg is suggested so 1,200mg calcium per day in total. The recommendation for men is 700mg calcium per day
• In Northern Ireland, over 40% of the calcium intake of the over 65s comes from milk, cheese and yogurt making dairy the biggest contributor
• Foods from the dairy group contain other important nutrients for older people too – for example, yogurt and milk have riboflavin (also known as vitamin B2), which contributes to the normal functioning of the nervous system, and vitamin B12 for normal red blood cell formation and the immune system.

 

Find out more about the nutrients in milk, cheese and yogurt here

Nutrition and health professionals can find out more about the role of the dairy matrix for muscle and bone health here