Milk
Milk — a beverage of choice!
Naturally refreshing, milk provides 16 essential nutrients that contribute to the quality of our every day diet. Chocolate or flavoured milk is as nutritious and provides the same amount of protein, vitamins and minerals than white milk.
Vitamin D: an added bonus for milk
Milk is fortified with vitamin D. However, some brands of yogurt made with fortified milk can also provide vitamin D. This vitamin improves the absorption of calcium and phosphorous, two of the important nutrients found in milk that promote strong bones and healthy teeth.
Did you know that Canadians consumed an average of 1.3 servings of milk products every day in 2008?2
In fact, on average they consumed about 160 mL of milk, 15 mL of yogurt and 28 g of cheese.
For healthy, strong bones
Milk provides vitamin D, phosphorous, magnesium, vitamin A and protein, plus of course calcium, which all contribute to building and maintaining healthy bones and teeth.
Healthy bones mean strong bones. And strong bones can better withstand the threat of osteoporosis, a disease that is characterized by low bone mass, which increases the risk of fractures.
To prevent osteoporosis, it is important to build strong bones during childhood and reduce bone loss during adulthood. The nutrients provided by milk and milk products are therefore key to osteoporosis prevention.
Good for your health... and your weight
The health benefits of milk and other milk products are not widely known except for bone health. But, according to many scientific studies,8-10 milk and other milk products could also play an important role in shedding excess pounds and maintaining a healthy weight.
It appears that calcium, especially when found in milk products, could act on the body to make it use fat as an energy source more efficiently, which then would reduce its storage of body fat.11
Other studies show that weight loss diets containing enough milk products help promote increased weight loss. This is particularly true for people who usually consume few milk products.8
To help manage your weight more easily, reach for milk products as part of a balanced diet. Eating healthy never tasted so good!
Did you know that chocolate milk contains no more sugar than the same quantity of unsweetened apple juice?
And it contains the same 16 essential nutrients as white milk. A healthy treat for the whole family!
Where does chocolate milk fit in?
In addition to having a high water content, chocolate milk also provides a combination of carbohydrates and protein that maximizes recovery and rehydration following exercise.12 The sodium and potassium found in milk also help replenish the loss of electrolytes that result from sweating while exercising.
Chocolate milk would be a better recovery beverage following exercise than commercial sports drinks.13 It is therefore recommended to drink chocolate milk 30 minutes after intense physical activity to replenish energy reserves.14
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