Study Shows Americans Need to Consume More Dairy

Study Shows Americans Need to Consume More Dairy

Worries about butter, milk, and cheese have caused many Americans to question their consumption of dairy products. 

But the latest dietary guidelines from USDA say that many of us should be having more, not less, dairy.

Updated every five years, the Dietary Guidelines for Americans are designed to help prevent disease and obesity. The guidelines are used in a variety of ways within the food and nutrition community, from updating food package labels to developing school lunches.  But the core message of the guidelines hasn’t changed over time: Americans should eat more fruits, vegetables and whole grains, and they should limit fat, salt and sugar.

And in a spot of bright news for dairy farmers, Americans also need to eat and drink more dairy to meet the newest recommendations. 

Dietary_Guidelines_Chart

According to USDA research, U.S. consumers ate or drank an average of 1.8 cups of dairy products per day in 2013. That’s only 60% of the recommended 3 cups, but represents an increase from the 1.6 cups of dairy consumed in 1970.

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