This is the final part of my five-part series on the core food groups. As previously discussed, a balanced diet includes foods from all five groups: grains and breads, fruits, vegetables and legumes/beans, dairy products, and meat or meat alternatives. In today’s post, I will focus on dairy. The Australian dietary guidelines, Eat for Health, refer to this group as the “milk, yoghurt, cheese and/or alternatives group.” For simplicity, I will refer to it as the “dairy” food group, but rest assured, I will also cover dairy alternatives.
Why Is Dairy Important?
Dairy is an excellent source of calcium, making it vital for healthy bone development. This is particularly important for children, especially during adolescence when they go through a period of rapid growth. Dairy is also rich in protein, calcium, and, in its full-fat varieties, provides an essential source of fat and energy for younger children.
While adequate dairy intake helps maintain calcium levels, it is also important to ensure sufficient vitamin D intake for optimal bone health.
What Else is included in this daily food group?
Yoghurt, milk and cheese are all within this food group. Examples of these foods include:
- Yoghurt: all yoghurt, plain, flavoured, and plant-based yoghurt such as soy yoghurt. Plant based yoghurt should ideally be calcium fortified.
- Milk: all cow’s milk, plain or flavoured milk, long life milk, evaporated milk, powdered milk and plant or cereal based milk such as soy milk. Plant or cereal based milk should be calcium fortified.
- Cheese: all types of cheeses, hard, soft, full fat, reduced fat, and plant based cheese. Again, plant based cheese should ideally be calcium fortified.
Tip: if choosing plant or cereal based alternative, always look for one that is fortified with at least 100 mg of calcium per 100ml or grams.
Did You Know?
Dairy is also a good source of vitamin A, vitamin D, some vitamin B, iodine and zinc.
Full Fat or Reduced Fat or Skim Variety?
Do you know what is the differences between full fat milk or regular milk, reduce fat milk, and skim milk? Here is a table breaking down the differences between these three varieties of milk in Australia.
| Type of Milk | Fat Percentage | Energy per 100ml | Calcium | Protein |
| Regular milk | 3.5% | 251 kJ | 116 mg | 3.2 g |
| Reduced-fat milk | ~2.6% | 197 kJ | 121 mg | 3.6 g |
| Skim milk | <0.15% | 151 kJ | 129 mg | 3.6 g |
Young children, especially infants and toddlers, require more energy for growth. Therefore, it is recommended that children under the age of two consume full-fat milk, yoghurt, and cheese.
Infants should not have cow’s milk as their main drink. However, cow’s milk can be used in cooking, such as adding full fat cow’s milk to iron fortified infant cereal. For the first 12 months of life, all infants should be given breastmilk, expressed breastmilk, or infant formula as their primary drink.
What Counts As One Serving of Milk, Yoghurt, Cheese and / or Alternative Group?
According to the Australian Dietary Guidelines, a standard serve from the milk, yoghurt, cheese and / or alternative group is:
- 1 cup (250ml) fresh, UHT long life, reconstituted powdered milk or buttermilk
- ½ cup (120ml) evaporated milk
- 2 slices (40g) or 4 x 3 x 2cm cube (40g) of hard cheese, such as cheddar
- ½ cup (120g) ricotta cheese
- ¾ cup (200g) yoghurt
- 1 cup (250ml) soy, rice or other cereal drink with at least 100mg of added calcium per 100ml
Depending on your child, how much dairy your child needs per day varies. Here is a table on how many servings of dairy your child needs per day:
| Age (years) | Dairy / dairy alternatives |
| 2-3 | 1½ |
| 4-8 | 1½ – 2 |
| 9-11 | 2½ – 3 |
| 12-13 | 3½ |
| 14-18 | 3½ |
What About Dairy Allergy?
Dairy allergy can be serious, and children with a confirmed diagnosis of dairy allergy from a health professional (such as a GP or paediatrician) should avoid dairy. Advice from chiropractors, naturopaths, or even well meaning friends and family should be taken with caution. If you are unsure if your child has a dairy allergy or dairy intolerance, it is essential to consult a healthcare professional, especially for children under 12 months of age as infants need milk (breastmilk or formula) as their main form of nutrition.
There are ways to manage dairy allergy for children of all ages while meeting the required protein, fat, and calcium necessary for optimal growth. If you are unsure about suitable food options, ask for a referral to a paediatric dietitian to help navigate cow’s milk protein allergy (CMPA) or cow’s milk protein intolerance (CMPI).
Tips to Encourage Dairy Intake
Here are five practical ways to incorporate dairy into your child’s diet:
- Offer a glass of milk at breakfast and snack times. For younger children, consider offering a glass of milk before bed.
- Yoghurt (ideally plain with no added sugar) pairs well with fruit as a nutritious snack. If serving yoghurt as a snack, milk can be omitted at that time.
- Cheese, while a great source of calcium, can be high in saturated fat and sodium. If your child is not consuming enough dairy from milk or yoghurt, cheese can be used to supplement their intake.
- If your child is fussy with dairy, try incorporating cheese into meals—such as melting cheese through meals or serving a cheese sauce with milk.
- If your child dislikes milk, consider offering a calcium-fortified plant or cereal-based milk alternative as that they may the new flavour.
I hope you have enjoyed my five-part series on the core food groups. Each food group plays an essential role in a balanced diet, so be sure to include a variety of foods from all five groups daily!
My oldest son eating yoghurt as one of his first solids after going through a month of solid food refusal after contracting hand foot and mouth disease.
