When looking at the new food guide, a few big things stick out to most people. One is just the general layout; there is no longer the four colour rainbow. Another is that dairy, meat and alternatives, and grains no longer have their own category, they are intermingled together. This is going to greatly change a few things, especially in elementary schools and nutrition. The reason for this major change is because the developers did not meet with representatives from the food and beverage industry for the 2019 Canadian Food Guide. This is the first year without the blue arch for dairy products and that opens up an important question. Are milk and other dairy products really that important as the past food guides suggested or are they something that should be minimized as this food guide suggests?
Like gluten intolerance, lactose intolerance and lactose-free nutrition options are becoming more and more popular. Unlike gluten, lactose intolerance is caused by the body unable to produce enough or an enzyme called lactase. Lactase is what helps to body break down and digest lactose (or dairy sugar) products. Lactose intolerance is surprisingly common, around 30 million Americans will develop it by age 20 and the statistics are higher in Asia, Africa, and North and West Europe. Human developmental wise, that seems to make sense. We are fully weaned off breast milk by the time we are 2 years old if mothers decide to breastfeed and, until recently in human evolution, that would be the last time we consumed dairy for the rest of our lives. So, if that’s the case, then why did food guides in the past have such an emphasis on dairy? There are a few possible reasons and some counter-arguments.
Food variety: The human evolutionary development of lactose tolerance allowed for early humans to have a variety of foods to get nutrients from that wasn’t as affected by drought or other weather like plants. The ability to make products like milk, cheeses, butter, and yogurt allowed for a ‘food group’ to be favored in evolution. Products like cheese were being developed 7,200 years ago in southern Europe and around 6,000 years ago in other European regions.
Prevention of disease: When humans started to keep their own livestock, there was a risk of farmers contracting a disease from the animals they are tending to. Like human breast milk, animal milk would allow farmers to develop antibodies to some diseases that were common. This is why breastfeeding is highly recommended in the first 6 months of a child’s development. The first week, newborns are simply developing immunity to possible pathogens with the antibodies the mother is providing. However, the counter-argument to this is that most of the population no longer looks after livestock anymore, so there is no point to consume animal milk anymore.
Nutrients: Animal milk is a very high source of fat, calcium, protein, and vitamin D. This is very beneficial in development and general health but there are counter-arguments as well. There are other great food sources that offer those nutrients individually or collectively. Similarly, researchers still are not sure how to answer the question of why animal milk took such a priority in human eating evolution and are looking into the idea of nutrient availability. If that is the case, animal milk would not be the only food in contention something with high nutrient availability.
What about animal welfare? Organizations and documentaries have shown that the dairy and meat industries can have controversial methods to provide supply to maintain demand. This is something that needs to be greatly considered when deciding to continue to consume animal dairy. Milk alternatives, like almond milk, can be a great option for those who are worried about animal welfare but do not want to stop drinking the product that has been pushed by the previous food guides.
Should you stop consuming dairy?
If you are lactose intolerant, yes. Dairy should be something you are seriously considering taking out of your nutrition plan and learn what foods you could be eating that can replace the calcium and vitamin D source that comes in dairy products.
If you are lactose tolerant, then there is no reason for you to stop consuming dairy. However, lowering the amount of dairy you consume may be something you want to consider if you are trying to make some changes to your eating lifestyle.
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