Hi there this is Monica Reinagel and you're listening to the nutrition

diva quick and dirty tips for eating well and feeling fabulous in today's

episode I'm going to tackle the great dairy

dilemma. Are dairy products good for you or not? And now on with our show. Daniel

writes, I've heard a great deal of contrary opinions about milk. Is it good for you? Is it bad for you? Would it only be good for you if you were a cow? Could you put this debate to rest for me?

Well, Daniel, I seriously doubt that I'll be able to put this debate to rest for me. Well Daniel I seriously doubt that I'll be able to

put this debate to rest in the next five minutes but I'll try to sort through some of the

main arguments for and against eating dairy products. One of the arguments I've

heard against eating dairy products is that it's

unnatural. We humans are, by and large, the only animals to drink the milk of other

species and to drink milk at all past infancy. And to some, this seems like a perversion of our nature.

Others feel strongly that consuming dairy products is simply unfair to cows or that keeping

cows is an irresponsible use of land and other resources.

I admit I actually do have some opinions on these issues,

but I'm afraid you're going to have to invite me to a cocktail party to find out what they are.

For the purposes of this podcast, I think I'd better try to stick to the nutritional issues. They're thorny enough.

Here are a few things Dairy has going for it, nutritionally.

One, it's a good source of high quality protein. Now most Americans get more than enough

protein in their diet, but for those who choose not to eat meat, it can be an important protein

and it's also a relatively inexpensive source of

animal protein and this can be significant for those who are feeding families on

tight budgets. Two, dairy products are rich in calcium. Most Americans do not get the recommended

...