The science behind the benefits of milk and dairy foods for bone health.
The role of calcium in building and maintaining healthy bones is well established, and dairy foods are recognised as important sources of calcium, supplying up to two thirds of intake in our diet.
However, milk and dairy foods also contain other nutrients needed for bone health including high quality protein, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, zinc and vitamin K2 (and vitamin D in the case of fortified dairy).
The beneficial effects of dairy foods on bone may be greater than can be explained by any single nutrient they contain or even the sum of the nutrients, suggesting a synergistic or ‘matrix effect’. Increasingly, the science indicates that the nutrients and other components of the dairy matrix work together to help maintain bone health.
On the health and nutritional impact of dairy foods on bone
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The European Milk Forum is a non-profit organisation which plays a vital role in driving the strategic development, management, and exchange of integrated information initiatives on milk and dairy across Europe.
Today, nine organisations have joined the EMF: Austria: www.ama.at, Belgium: www.vlam.be, Denmark: www.danishdairyboard.dk, France: www.cniel.com, Germany: www.initiative-milch.de , Ireland: www.ndc.ie, Northern Ireland: www.dairycouncil.co.uk, Norway: www.melk.no and Switzerland: www.swissmilk.ch
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