Ask the Expert
This month's expert is Gregory D. Miller, Ph.D., M.A.C.N.
- Executive Vice President Science and Innovation for National Dairy Council (NDC).
- Adjunct Associate Professor, Department of Food Science and Nutrition, University of Illinois.
- Expert contributing columnist on dairy foods, BNP Media.
Dr. Greg Miller is our resident health expert on all things dairy. He is a frequent guest lecturer, author and considered an international authority on dairy and nutrition.
Dr. Miller co-authored the Handbook of Dairy Foods and Nutrition, has co-edited three books, and written countless articles and abstracts on diet, nutrition, and toxicology.
He has also made appearances on the NBC Today Show, CNBC, CNN, the CBS Evening News, as well as National Public Radio and is often quoted in the New York Times, USA Today, Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, Financial Times (London), Redbook, and other publications.
Periodically, you will find new Question-and-Answer sessions from him in 3-A-Day’s “Ask the Experts” section, so please feel free to send in your questions any time.
What follows here are insightful questions and in-depth answers about dairy, as excerpted from a recent interview Dr. Miller gave for Gather.com, addressing 3-A-Day members’ questions.
Questions on Cheese
Q: I don't drink milk but I love cheese and yogurts. I could live off of cheese, but the problem I have with that is that there aren't any low fat versions that taste good. Any suggestions? — Moggy K.
A: Well, the industry is working very hard on trying to develop high quality, low fat and fat free cheeses. Unfortunately, we don't have a lot of good technology right now. There is a concept that we call "stealth nutrition" where you introduce nutrient-rich foods into your diet in ways that you don't realize you are consuming them. For example, for people who don't like the taste or texture of milk, you can use it in many different ways as an ingredient in soups and gravies. You can incorporate it in places where you might use water and get the nutritional value of milk. Using milk as an ingredient is a great way to help you get the recommended 3 servings of dairy foods each day.
Q: Help! I am lactose intolerant, but have a soft spot for cheese. I’ve heard that certain types of cheeses can be digested easier than others. Is this true? If so, what are the best cheeses for someone like me to eat? — Mel R.
A: Yes, it is true. The hard aged cheeses are easier to digest if you are lactase non-persistent. You don’t make enough of the enzyme to break down the milk sugar lactose. So you would be able to tolerate hard, aged cheeses better, like Cheddar, Swiss and Edam because they have almost no lactose.
Another approach is by starting out with small amounts of milk and increasing it little by little over time, and you will see that your tolerance will build. Yogurt with live and active cultures seem to be tolerated well, too, because the cultures help the digestive system break down the lactose. If you are going to have milk, have milk with a meal, because again, it helps the emptying of the food into the intestine and helps with the digestion too. There are lactose free milks and enzyme supplements that you can take before consuming dairy foods to get the nutrition and enjoyment from consuming dairy foods.
Questions on Milk
The evidence that milk produced, processed, and stored in unsanitary conditions offers a serious danger of microbiotic contamination by "bugs" we're better off not ingesting. No argument on that point.
But there is growing evidence that many of the changes that occur in milk during pasteurization render it less valuable as a nutrient. In fact it's arguable that a low level of microbial contamination during early childhood is useful in building an effective immune system. Nevertheless, governmental authorities seem to be increasingly zealous in restricting trade in raw milk.
Q: Is your organization encouraging such restrictions? Can you name the last time someone was sickened by raw milk? And how, if a customer knows the risks of drinking raw milk, can any authority justify keeping them from doing so? — Kevin W.
A: I don't know the last time anyone got sick from raw milk but I can tell you that there have been many cases of people getting sick by consuming raw milk. Milk is a very nutrient rich food and organisms grow quite easily. I was recently interviewed by The Washington Post and I told them, "Drinking raw milk is like playing Russian roulette. You just don't know when you are going to get a batch that is contaminated. Pasteurization was put in place to ensure the safety of the milk supply." It doesn't change the nutritional value of milk. Milk is good and wholesome. The raw milk advocates would like to you to believe that there are enzymes in raw milk that are helpful. There is no good strong argument as to why people should consume raw milk. There is a good argument as to why not, which is a food safety issue. I have three kids and I would be concerned about feeding them raw milk with the chance that it might be the batch with the bad bug in it. I am not aware of any argument, based in science, which would support the consumption of raw milk.
Q: I buy mostly organic foods. What is the difference between regular and organic milk? Is organic milk better? — James M.
A: The real difference between organic milk and traditional milk is the on farm practices. The cattle have to be fed all organic food. They have to have a certain amount of exposure to pasture. There are some other rules that the U.S.D.A. has for on farm practices they must use before you can call that milk organic. The nutritional benefit of that product is no different than traditional milk. Animals that graze in pasture sometimes have a little bit higher amounts of Omega-3 fatty acids or the conjugated linoleic acid (CLA). That really relates to feeding practices (grazing). The increases seem large in terms of percentage but it is really on top of a small base. Bottom line, from a nutritional and food safety perspective traditional and organic milk are the same.
Q: I hate the taste of whole milk and can only drink skim. But is it a watered down version of whole milk, and if so, does it not have as much calcium? — Dan H.
A: That's a question that we often hear from consumers. We used to call fat-free milk skim milk. Many consumers thought that when we skimmed off the fat, we skimmed off the other nutrients within the product. The reality is that the only thing we are taking out of the product is the fat. So you get less fat and less calories and if you like the taste, that's great. It's a wholesome and nutritious product. It actually has a little more calcium than whole milk because as you take the fat out, a volume displacement occurs.
Q: I don’t like the taste of milk by itself, but do drink a latte from Starbucks everyday. Can this count as a serving of dairy? — Kerry D.
A: Yes, it can. It's coffee flavored milk. That's a great way to get your nutritional serving of dairy. I encourage you to go ahead and enjoy your latte.
Questions on Yogurt
Q: Recently, I've seen a lot of yogurt ads that talk about "active cultures." What does that mean and are they really important or is it just a marketing tactic? Do other dairy products have active cultures? — Jordan F.
A: For most of the dairy products with the live and active culture label on them, it means that they have a certain amount of micro-organisms in the product. Mainly they are used to manufacture the product. They have some benefits. For example, for people who have difficulty digesting milk sugar lactose, these products are much easier to tolerate as these organisms help digest the lactose in the yogurt. Whether the organisms used to ferment the milk to yogurt are probiotic organisms is still debated. There are companies that are adding specific probiotics to their products and these are good bacteria that provide a health benefit beyond nutrition when added in sufficient quantities. As an example, the Dannon product called Activia has Lactobacillus Regularis organisms, which seem to be beneficial in helping people keep regular. There is a product called Danactive with organisms to help your immune system. These companies must have scientific evidence before they put these claims on their products. And they have to manufacture their products in such a way that they have enough organisms. If you look for those products that are labeled as providing a benefit from probiotics that are added, you are likely to get that benefit.
Questions on Calcium
Q: I have a grandson who will NOT drink milk. He's 2 1/2 and he has NEVER willingly had milk. We have tried to disguise it in every way we can think of. Chocolate, strawberry, adding juice [BAD idea that!], adding sugar, warm, cold, lukewarm, you name it and we have tried to get him to drink milk. For the first year, he was raised on formula but it was Soy Formula. Now, he will at least eat yogurt and cheese but not tons of it. I've been scared about him getting the proper nutrition for his little growing bones. How about if we give him gummy calcium vitamins? Will that be enough dairy then? — Teresa W.
A: Well, certainly gummy vitamins are not the way to a healthy diet and teaching good dietary habits. I would go back to stealth nutrition and use milk in soups and other recipes, getting the nutrition of milk into their diets without them even knowing it. Gummy bears or supplements do just that, supplement a diet, not replace a healthy diet. There are health promoting components in foods that we are just learning about. For example, in dairy products, there are like bio-active substances like conjugated Linoleic acid, or CLA, which has been shown to be an anti-cancer agent. Some of the oligosaccharides or milk sugars may help the good bacteria in our gut grow, so it's really important to get our nutrition from foods first and we just need to be creative in terms of how we incorporate these healthy, nutritious foods into our diet. Giving a multi-mineral and vitamin supplement as you work on these dietary changes is ok.
Q: My husband and I need an argument settled on who needs more calcium. I say that women need more calcium and he says that children need more. — Mary T.
A: Young kids need 1300 mg of calcium a day. For people 51 and over, 1200 mg are recommended. But really in those older populations, emerging data would suggest that they need about 1500 mg. Women are at a greater risk than men of developing low bone mass that leads to osteoporosis – particularly women after menopause because they lose bone mass at a much greater rate, due to the estrogen deficiency caused by menopause. So it's very important for women in this category to practice bone-healthy behavior. Practice alcohol moderation. Don't smoke. Try to get some regular weight bearing exercise. And get at least 3 servings of dairy every day.
Q: I drink three glasses of milk a day, but I'm worried it may not be enough. Should I be taking a calcium supplement in addition to that? Is there such a thing as too much calcium? — Sara D.
A: Yes, there is such a thing as too much calcium and I would be cautious with anything over 2000 mg a day because you increase your risk of kidney stones and there are possible interactions with other nutrients. For example, if you take a lot of calcium supplements, you could reduce the absorption of iron. Nutritionists recommend 3 servings a day to meet your calcium needs. If you're getting 3 a day, you're doing pretty good and you don't need a calcium supplement. But make sure to do some weight bearing exercises, practice moderation in alcohol and don't smoke, and you should have good healthy bones. If you are post menopausal and have a family history of osteoporosis, you may want to consult your physician on the need for a bone scan and to better understand all your prevention and treatment options.
Questions on Dairy
Q: What are some of the common misperceptions that people have about the National Dairy Council? — Casey D.
A: I think that people have misperceptions about dairy. There are many misperceptions that get propagated by some of the animal rights groups and vegan groups that don't want us to consume any animal products whatsoever. However, if you check the web sites of many health professional organizations you will find they recommend 3 servings of dairy foods a day because of the nutrition and health benefits derived by the consumption of dairy foods. The American Academy of Pediatrics, The American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Dietetics Association, the National Medical Association, the American Heart Association, and the U.S. Dietary guidelines all recommend dairy foods as part of a healthy diet.
In terms of the National Dairy Council, we have a long history and tradition of nutrition science. We've been funding research since 1915. E. V. McCullum, the discoverer of vitamin A and vitamin D, was the first one to come to dairy farmers and say, “If you want people to increase the consumption of dairy products, you need to promote the nutritional value of it. You should fund nutrition research as well.” And farmers thought that that was a really good idea and The National Dairy Council was created to help us understand the role of dairy foods in a healthy diet and the nutritional benefits of dairy foods.
Q: Margarine vs. Butter. Is one healthier for you than the other? — George L.
A: As a nutrition scientist, I would say "everything in moderation." Both of those can fit into a diet. My personal preference is for butter because butter tastes better and provides better flavor to your cooking and enjoyment of food. And enjoyment of food is a very important aspect as well too. I would be careful of stick margarines or hard margarines because they are going to have a higher level of industrially produced trans-fatty acids and those industrially produced trans-fatty acids can raise the bad cholesterol, or LDL, and reduce the good cholesterol, HDL. Butter fat only has natural trans-fatty acids and there is evidence that these natural trans-fatty acids may actually be heart healthy and have anti-cancer properties.