Foods of a lifetime
The Child
Milk is the first food of childhood. During the first five months of his life, a baby only lives on his mother’s milk or on first-years milk. As from the 5th month, and until the end of the first year, the toddler starts to eat but milk stays essential (a minimum of ½ litre of milk/day). Afterwards, milk and dairy products must continue to have an utmost importance in a child’s diet at a rate of 3 dairy products par day in order to form the skeleton and build up the body.
The teenager
Teen years are a period of high nutritional requirements. This growing up process requires an increase in the intake of protein and calcium so as to build up and strengthen the body. The bone structure is built up during adolescence and the consumption of calcium at that time has a great importance and must be equivalent to 1200mg/day. This represents a minimum of 4 dairy products daily.
Women
Women undergo, during their lifetime, periods of greater nutritional requirements. When pregnant, while breastfeeding, during menopause and even during weight loss cures, a woman’s nutrition must be balanced and varied, with a sustained intake of minerals and proteins of good nutritional values. Milk and dairy products are essential for this nutritional balance at a rate of 3 to 4 times per day. Whether full-creamed, semi-skimmed or skimmed, all dairy products have the same protein and calcium rates.
Seniors
Aging people are subject to becoming fragile ; their level of activity and dependence is starting to change and can lead them to a malnutrition state. Lack of appetite, difficulty to masticate and fatigue can make them eat less, in a lesser variety of food! In order to remedy to this loss of muscles, of bone structure and a generalised fragility, it is important to help them maintain a balanced diet. Dairy products and milk provide them with proteins, calcium, vitamins and water in a particularly well absorbed way and with no effort of mastication. Seniors are therefore advised to have one dairy product at each meal.
