Ask the doctor: Why should I limit my dairy intake to one to two servings a day?
The Healthy Eating Plate also recommends less dairy than MyPlate—one to two servings a day of milk or the equivalent rather than milk at every meal. One to two servings is enough to satisfy much of our requirement for calcium, and the rest can be obtained from sources such as dark green leafy vegetables and beans (calcium is more highly absorbed from these foods than from milk), tofu, and fortified orange juice and cereals. For example, 500 to 600 mg per day could come from two dairy servings and the rest from these other foods. Dairy can be high in fat and a source of extra calories (even when low-fat milk is used), and if we rely on it to supply most or all of our calcium, we displace healthy plant foods that, unlike dairy, are high in fiber and antioxidants. Dark green leafy vegetables, in particular, are a good source of vitamin K, which is important in bone formation.
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