Despite new trends against dairy products, dairy consumption in Spain remains high. 

According to the latest study on consumption ‘ ENALIA 2016′, Spaniards consume approximately 320 grams of dairy products per person per day and, according to the 2017 National Health Survey,  88% of adults take dairy products daily. 

“The average intake of the Spanish approaches even exceeds the current calcium recommendations. However, 82% of women between 45 and 65 years of age have a lower intake than necessary, ”says Laura Gonzalez, head of Health and Nutrition at Nestlé.

Dismantling some myths about milk

“Lactose-free products get less fat and feel better”

The lactose is milk sugar and chemically consists of glucose and galactose. This sugar is present in all cow, goat and sheep kinds of milk, even in human milk. 

Lactose-free milk is an alternative for people who cannot digest milk properly, for example, in case of intolerance or allergy to lactose. 

For the nutritionist, thinking that lactose-free products get less fat is a mistake. 

“What will determine that a product has more or fewer calories, is its content in other nutrients such as the amount of fat, or if it has sugar or other added sweeteners,” he explains.

“Eating only one yogurt is healthy” 

Dairy products are very complete foods, but they lack some important nutrients such as iron; dietary fiber; some complex vitamins and carbohydrates, among others. 

Therefore, according to nutritionist, dairy products alone cannot form a meal or dinner. Instead, it recommends including other food groups at dinner such as fruits and vegetables, eggs, pasta or rice, and thus ensuring a balanced diet. 

“Dairy desserts and yogurts are the same”

Sometimes dairy desserts are grouped into the dairy group, but their nutritional profile is very different from that of yogurt, cheese or milk.

Dairy desserts (custards, custard, rice pudding, shakes or creams),  unlike yogurts, do not suffer from fermentation and have higher values ​​of sugars and fats. 

In addition, they do not count when complying with dairy recommendations and, due to their high content of additives and fat, their consumption is recommended occasionally. 

New trends: the fashion of raw milk 

The recent regulation for the commercialization of raw milk has generated a lot of controversies, especially with regard to food safety. 

The milk we find in the supermarket is heat-treated, which eliminates microorganisms that can cause health problems. 

“Raw milk, not being thermally subjected, poses a food safety risk for the entire population, especially in pregnant women and infants, in the elderly and in children, due to the potential presence of pathogenic microorganisms such as listeria, that can cause serious infections such as listeriosis ”, warns Laura González.

How to consume raw milk without it being dangerous?

The nutritionist recommends measures in case we want to buy and consume raw milk: 

• Milk must be sold before the first 24 hours from milking.
• It has an expiration of 72 hours 
• It must be kept refrigerated, ensuring that it is less than 4ºC

Vegetable drinks, a safe alternative

Due to a greater concern of consumers for the health and the rise of veganism, new vegetable alternatives have appeared that are presented as milk substitutes. 

Vegetable drinks are healthy and safe alternatives and there is more and more variety to choose from. In addition, their absence of lactose and casein makes them useful in the treatment of food intolerances and allergies.

Although it is very common to hear “soy milk”, for example, the truth is that the term ‘milk’ is legally allowed only for milk that comes from mammalian females. Therefore, the most appropriate term would be a vegetable drink.

What to look for when we choose a vegetable drink?

Although they contain a similar amount of energy to milk, the quality of the nutrients provided by vegetable drinks is not always the same as that of dairy products.

For example, according to Laura González, the quality of cow’s milk proteins is higher than those provided by vegetable drinks.

Therefore, before buying these drinks, we must look at their composition, their nutritional table and the list of ingredients.

• Proteins:  Dairy proteins are more complete because they provide us with a high amount of essential amino acids. A good alternative is the soy drink enriched in calcium and vitamin and without added sugars.
• Calcium and vitamin D: It is higher in milk. Therefore, we should ensure that our vegetable drinks are enriched with these nutrients.
• Added sugar and other ingredients:  We must always look at the percentage of the main ingredient. For example, if we are going to buy an almond drink, make sure it has a high percentage of almonds and not other ingredients or added sugars.