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Eunice Kennedy Shriver
National Institute of Child Health & Human Development
      
 
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Milk and Calcium

Low-fat or fat-free milk is a great source of calcium because:

  • Milk contains a lot of calcium in a form that the body can easily absorb.

  • Milk has other important nutrients that are good for bones and teeth. One especially important nutrient is vitamin D, which helps the body absorb more calcium.

  • Milk is widely available and is already a part of many people's diets.
The amount of calories in eight fluid ounces (1 cup) of fat-free, low-fat, whole, or lactose-free milk varies, but each has 300 milligrams of calcium.

Is one type of milk better than the other?

Today, tweens and teens have more milk choices than ever before.

Most types of milk have approximately 300 mg of calcium per 8 fluid ounces (1 cup) – about 25 percent of the calcium that children and teenagers need every day.

The best choices are low-fat or fat-free milk and milk products. Because these items contain little or no fat, it’s easy to get enough calcium without adding extra fat to the diet.

Low-fat or fat-free milk is best for tweens and teens.
Eight fluid ounces (1 cup) of whole milk has 8 grams of fat.  Eight fluid ounces (1 cup) of low-fat milk has 2.5 grams of fat.  Eight fluid ounces (1 cup) of fat-free milk has 0 grams of fat.
Children one to two years old should drink whole milk.  After age two, low-fat or fat-free milk should become their regular drink. (Source: Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2005) 
 
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