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Three Serves of Dairy Every Day is as Easy as 1, 2, 3!
It is recommended that children consume three serves of dairy every day to reach the Recommended Dietary Intake (RDI) of calcium.
The RDI is the suggested amount of particular minerals, vitamins and other nutrients required each day for good health. RDIs are used to help work out the Australian Dietary Guidelines, which tell us how much of various foods we need each day to keep us healthy.
As well as calcium, three serves of dairy also give you other essential nutrients that are important for building unbeatable bones.
Milk, cheese and yogurt provide you with the essential nutrients needed to grow and to maximize your peak bone mass and bone strength.
Three serves of dairy supply approximately 900 milligrams (mg) of calcium. The RDI of calcium for children aged 4 - 8 is 700 mg, and for ages 9 - 11 is 1000 mg, so three serves is a good goal!
Remember that milk, cheese and yogurt are the richest and best sources of calcium in the Australian diet. The easiest way for you to ensure that you are reaching your daily calcium goal is to eat and drink three serves of dairy every day.
Milk - One of the Best Drinks for You!
The Australian Dietary Guidelines for Children and Adolescents say that milk and water are the best ways to conquer your thirst. Milk contains water for rehydrating you and also supplies you with nutrients to give you energy for your busy day.
Fruit juice is okay, but it can contain a lot of sugar. Soft drinks also contain sugar, which might mean more trips to the dentist and unnecessary calories if you drink too much. Make the best drink choices for your health by choosing milk and water.
More Information - Drinks in Schools Fact Sheet (PDF, 231 kb)
Dairy - Unbeatable Bones, Unbeatable Taste!
Dairy foods are important for building strong, healthy, unbeatable bones, and they are great tasting and refreshing too. Dairy is also super flexible - you can have milk on your cereal, a strawberry milkshake, a toasted cheese sandwich, a tub of fruity yogurt - the possibilities are endless.
Dairy is a great on-the-go snack for active kids. It's easy, tastes delicious and is really good for you - truly unbeatable! And when it comes to dairy, well you know it's cool - it does live in the fridge after all!
Tips to Help You and Your Friends Have Three Serves of Dairy Every Day
- Speak to your teacher or principal about adopting a healthy canteen policy that includes plenty of milk, cheese and yogurt on the menu.
- Include cheese in your sandwiches. Ask if you can have toasted cheese sandwiches at school.
- Organise a Mad Milkshake Day or Milkshake Monday. Try different flavours of milkshakes, and rate them with your friends. Which flavour is the most popular?
- Track your dairy intake using the Dairy Diary (PDF, 737 kb) - have you had three serves of dairy today?
- Tell your friends all about unbeatable bones and lead by example. They will be slurping yogurt, slicing cheese, and sipping milk right along with you before you know it. You are well on your way to having unbeatable bones! Keep up the yummy fun!
More Information - Three Serves Fact Sheet (PDF, 910 kb)