Got Milk? Pour One More
Earlier this week, I had the pleasure of attending an event where the new face of the Got Milk? campaign was revealed — Susan Sarandon is now the proud owner of a milk mustache.
As part of the National Milk Mustache campaign, a new initiative was announced on Tuesday — “Pour One More.” How appropriate that this campaign was announced on 1-11-11! The goal of “Pour One More” is to encourage people to increase their dairy intake by adding one more serving of milk per day in an effort to close the nutrient gap Americans face.
According to a report by the Milk Processor Education Program, “What America’s Missing: A 2011 Report on the Nation’s Nutrient Gap,” 9 out of 10 Americans are missing out on key nutrients. The nutrients we’re lacking the most of? Calcium, vitamin D, potassium, and fiber. Three of these four nutrients are found in the greatest amounts in milk. 85 percent of Americans fall short on the daily milk recommendations, and teenage girls and adult women have the lowest intakes — this is especially concerning since both of these groups really need the calcium.
The daily recommendations for milk intake is three 8-ounce servings of lowfat milk or milk products per day (or 2 servings for children ages 8 and younger). If you’re not consuming the recommended amount then it’s time for you to Pour One More. Use milk instead of water to make oatmeal, whip up a smoothie with fruit and lowfat yogurt, or have a glass of milk with a decadent (well-portioned!) treat after dinner. There are many ways you can increase your dairy intake so that you’re not one of the many people missing out on the key nutrients.
How do you Pour One More milk serving?
What absolute baloney. They say that “The nutrients we’re lacking the most of? Calcium, vitamin D, potassium, and fiber” and then tell us to drink MORE milk than this country already does?
We already ingest more dairy per capita than any other nation on the planet. And yet we still need “Boniva” prescriptions, , Cal-Mag tabs and any number of calcium supplements. If milk actually provided the nutrients they are trying to convince us they do, we’d already be on overload with our dairy consumption. And yet, we are lacking.
The fact that we are both the largest consumers of dairy products AND the largest consumers of calcium supplements in the world suggest that the scientists and doctors who believe animal protein actually LEECHES calcium FROM our bodies might just be on to something. As someone who’s calcium levels went UP after eliminating dairy from my diet, I certainly believe they are on target.
And I am enormously disappointed in Susan Sarandon, a self proclaimed activist, for becoming nothing more than a paid mouthpiece for large agri-business and the largest lobbying group in the country.
No thank Susan. You’ve just lost a fan.
The problem is that milk consumption has decreased substantially in the past 25-30 years. Since the late 70s the percent of individuals reporting any milk has declined in all age groups. And among adolescents, the percent reporting milk was 76% in 1977-1978 but only 48% in 2005-2006. I can tell you firsthand from counseling clients in my private practice that most do not take in the necessary amounts of calcium per day, whether from milk and other dairy products or from vegetables, canned fish with bones, and fruit.