Everyone likes to eat the food that tastes good, but also we need to think about the health aspect of the food we consume and the nutrients and vitamins it gives our body. For the first time since 2007, Canada has updated the healthy nutrition guide and did not include the recommended daily intake of dairy products.
The new document includes general recommendations on nutrition, for example, Canadians were recommended to increase the consumption of fresh vegetables and fruits up to 50% of the daily diet, 25% should take grains, 25% of proteins. Information on the daily rate of consumption of dairy products was not included in the document for the first time since its first release in 1942.
Canadians were also recommended to exclude chocolate milk and juices from the diet and indicated that such foods contribute to the occurrence of obesity in children. Canadian researchers have indicated that most of the sugar consumed by children comes from drinks. There has been a tradition in the country for many years to give children a portion of chocolate milk for lunch at school.
The published document was gladly received by the vegetarian lobby.
“I think we are moving towards plant-based nutrition, it certainly hurts someone’s feelings, but this is the direction in which we should continue to move,” said Dr. David Jenkins, a professor at the University of Toronto.
In the dairy industry, such a statement was viewed with apprehension. The country's dairy farmers association issued an official press release stating that the nutrition guide threatens the existence of an entire industry, which is especially dangerous during difficult negotiations between the governments of Canada, Mexico, and the United States.
"There is no scientific evidence pointing to the need to reduce the role of milk in a healthy human diet," farmers said.
Canada's milk consumption has been declining since 2009, such data are from the official statistics services of Canada, and the popularity of vegetable alternatives to the product, on the contrary, is growing.
After all, we are what we eat, let’s stay healthy!