Adults

Whether we’re in our 20’s, middle years or heading towards retirement, it’s important to have a healthy lifestyle. Eating a nutritious, balanced diet is an essential part of this.

As well as helping to lower our risk of becoming overweight and developing health problems such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure, enjoying healthy meals and snacks means we’re more likely to get all the nutrients we need to stay well. This is even more important at certain times when our lifestyle takes a new pathway, for instance, when we leave home or become parents, and as our bodies change, for example, as we enter midlife or the menopause. Our needs for some nutrients can also alter at different stages of our adult life, for example, during pregnancy or when breastfeeding. And of course, men and women have different needs for calories and some other nutrients.

Yet, many adults have really low intakes of some vitamins and minerals and so are at risk of becoming deficient in them. Dairy products provide a number of nutrients that many of us miss out on – all packaged together in a unique combination.

Chunk of cheese

12% of men and 8% of women have very low intakes of vitamin A

A 30g chunk of cheddar cheese provides 15% of daily needs

Glass of milk

13% of women have very low intakes of vitamin B2

A 200ml glass of semi-skimmed milk provides 35% of daily needs

9% of women have very low intakes of calcium

A 200ml glass of semi-skimmed milk provides 31% of daily needs

Pot of yogurt

10% of men and 24% of women have very low intakes of potassium

A 150g pot of low-fat fruit yogurt provides 15% of daily needs

8% of men and 12% of women have very low intakes of iodine

A 150g pot of low-fat fruit yogurt provides 48% of daily needs

For more information on the nutrition in dairy products click here.