Milk and Calcium

Hello everyone,
Here is a subject that should go in the same category with religion and politics-things not to be discussed- because they get folks so riled-up. Here is something I received from the National Institutes of Health:

"MILK MATTERS" ONLINE LESSON RESOURCES AVAILABLE FOR TEACHERS

New online resources stressing the importance of calcium for bone health are now available for middle and high school teachers. The resources are available through the Milk Matters calcium education campaign, sponsored by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development of the National Institutes of Health.

The new resources, available at feature fun, hands-on classroom lessons created to teach young people about the importance of calcium for bone health.

The online lessons for teachers are part of the NICHD's "Milk Matters" calcium education campaign, which aims to increase awareness about the importance of calcium in children's and adolescents' diets. The campaign encourages 11-to-15-year-olds in particular to consume sufficient calcium because these are the years of rapid bone growth.

"Teachers play an important role in raising awareness about healthy behaviors," said NICHD Director Duane Alexander, M.D. "The "Milk Matters"' Web resources offer teachers user-friendly tools that focus on the importance of calcium for bone health among tweens and teens, age groups that often don't get enough calcium to meet their needs."

"Milk Matters"' online lesson resources are designed to help students understand the importance of making smart food choices through calcium lessons, fact sheets, take-home assignments, and classroom discussion. In "The Great Calcium Challenge", students learn to read nutrition labels and calculate their calcium intake. The "Calcium Collector" includes a game in which students choose a combination of foods that will provide 1,300 milligrams of calcium -- the daily recommended intake. Both lessons also reinforce students' math skills.

The Smart Snack Cookbook gives students an opportunity to create a recipe book of simple, healthy snacks, such as fruit smoothies. The lesson resources also include a lactose intolerance discussion guide to help teachers discuss the symptoms of lactose intolerance (stomach pain, diarrhea, bloating, and gas) and ways for reducing them. All of the materials are consistent with National Health Education Standards. These Standards were developed by the American Association for Health Education, the American Public Health Association, the American School Health Association, and the Society of State Directors of Health, Physical Education, and Recreation to establish, promote, and support health-enhancing behaviors for students in all grade levels.

In addition to teacher materials, the "Milk Matters" Web site offers a variety of free materials for parents and health care providers that emphasize the importance of calcium in the diets of children and teens, including a booklet, poster, fact sheets, a coloring book, and sticker. Many of these materials are available in English and Spanish.

The "Milk Matters" campaign stresses low-fat or fat-free milk as an excellent source of calcium because:

-- milk has high calcium content in a form the body can easily absorb

-- milk contains other nutrients, including vitamin D, vitamin A, vitamin K, riboflavin, B12, potassium, magnesium, and protein, that are essential to healthy bone and tooth development

-- milk is widely available and is already a part of many people's diets.

To download the classroom activities and other "Milk Matters" materials, or for more information on the "Milk Matters" campaign, visit or contact the NICHD Information Resource Center at 1-800-370-2943; .

O.K. now tell me our Dairy Lobby isn't powerful. Here is some non-biased information on calcium so you can make a good decision about calcium and where to find it.
Calcium is a mineral that the body needs for building and maintaining bones and teeth, blood clotting, the transmission of nerve impulses, and the regulation of the heart's rhythm. Ninety-nine percent of the calcium in the human body is stored in the bones and teeth and the remaining 1 percent is found in the blood and other tissues.
The National Academy of Scieces recommends the following, but keep in mind these are derived from short-term studies and many believe these amounts might be too high (stay tuned for updated information.)
1,000 mg/day for those age 19-50
1,200 mg/day for those age 50 or over
1,000 mg/day for pregnant or lactating adult women

O.K. here comes the milk part. Reasons why milk intake for calcium sources could be a problem.
~Many people are lactose intolerant
~High-saturated fat content
~Possible increased risk of prostate and ovarian cancer

Here is a chart crested by the U.S. Department of Agriculture that you might find useful:

Food Amount Calcium
Yogurt, plain, low fat 8 oz 415
Collards, frozen, boiled 1 cup 357
Skim milk 1 cup 306
Spinach, frozen, boiled 1 cup 291
Yogurt, plain, whole milk 8 oz 275
Cheese food, pasteurized American 1 oz 162
Cottage cheese, 1% milk fat 1 cup 138
Baked beans, canned 1 cup 154
Canned salmon 3 oz 181
Oranges 1 cup 72
Trail mix (nuts, seeds, chocolate chips) 1 cup 159
Almonds 1 oz (24 nuts) 24 nuts 70
Blackeye peas, boiled 1 cup 211
Green peas, boiled 1 cup 94

Whew...this was a long one, but I hope it helped.
In good health,
Patty