Milk consumption needs to rise for better health, experts say

With Healthy Bones Week underway from August 21 to 27, data from Dairy Australia revealed only nine per cent of women over the age of 50 know what their recommended daily dairy intake is.

The Australian Dietary Guidelines recommend varying dairy intakes based on age, and suggest every day women over 50 should consume four serves of dairy, men over 70 should have 3.5 and adults between 19 to 50 should have 2.5 servings.

One serve of dairy is classified as the equivalent to a 250 millilitre glass of milk, two 40 gram slices of cheese, or 200 grams of yogurt.

Dairy Australia nutrition expert Glenys Zucco said that although dairy was important throughout all stages of life, there were periods that needed additional attention.

"In adulthood we can't build anymore bone mass, we can only maintain what we have," Ms Zucco said.

"Women over 50 experience a drop in oestrogen meaning their bone mass decreases at a faster rate than men and are more likely to get osteoporosis."

Being in the midst of Healthy Bones Action week, Ms Zucco said it was a good opportunity to remind people the importance of meeting their recommended dairy intake, which provides essential nutrients like calcium, zinc and protein, which she said often can't be exactly replicated with supplements.

"Supplements can be a great option for some people, but dietary calcium can have a greater impact on building bone than supplements can," Ms Zucco said.

This is because consuming dairy through food means it's a smaller spread out intake across the day means it can be absorbed better and easily slotted into a meal.