Question:
High-cal v low-cal dairy

What is the difference and what should we be looking for? I'm assuming things like 1% or skim milk replacing Vit D milk, but what else?    — juliebelle0402 (posted on March 11, 2008)

March 10, 2008
Good Morning! Pretty much, you hit the nail on the head! Dairy is an excellent way to get calcium in, as I'm sure you know. You just need to look for lowfat options, like the skim milk you mentioned, low fat cheese, low fat yogurt, etc. BTW, all milk has Vitamin D added, unless it specifically says it doesn't (I think Health Food Stores might carry milk without Vit D). Vitamin D aids in calcium uptake in the body and I believe it's a federal reg that it has to be in milk, with very few exceptions. I think you were referring to Whole Milk, which is much higher in fat and calories. Good Luck!
   — Shirley D.

March 10, 2008
You need dairy for two reasons, one for protien and the other for Calcium. You want as close to skim as you can get. 1% is good, 2% is fair, any more is out of range. Look for Cottage Cheese with low fat like 1% or fat free and watch the sugar in all dairy to get a minimum. THis is very true in Yougart. Low fat and Low Sugar. You can get sick if you had a RNY on some yougart. Fat Free Sour Cream is hard to find, but you want to watch the fat in all dairy.
   — William (Bill) wmil

March 10, 2008
Just want to add one thing... check the sugar amts. in the milk you use. I couldn't figure out why certain cereals were making me feel the dumping and they didn't have sugar in them. Gee, I finally realized that some brands of milk have more sugar than others.
   — Claudia C.

March 11, 2008
whole, 2%, 1%, or skim - is referring to how much fat they have skimmed off the top while processing it. You would benefit from choosing low cal everything. This will help you get to your goal, but once you get there, have the healthy habits to keep you there.
   — bariatricdivalatina

March 11, 2008
Hello, I do much better with soy milk. It comes in 'no added sugar" with added calcium and D varieties. Read carefully as some have alot of added sugar. Thid stuff is great on cereals and made into protein shakes. Christine
   — Christine M.