Milk Diet And Weight Loss: How It Works And What Can Be Achieved?

If losing weight is on your mind and you thought that reducing the intake of dairy products will help, you may need to reconsider your position on this point. A recent study by researchers from the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, showed that intake of calcium-rich dairy products is inversely proportional to the body weight and body fat, i.e. intake of high calcium actually reduces body weight and fat.

Why Dairy Foods Are Good Additions To A Weight Loss Plan

Research studies show that calcium-rich diet can actually prevent regaining weight after losing it. 

There are many studies which proved why we should include calcium-rich or dairy products in our weight loss plan:

1. Nutrition experts suggest that our body needs calcium everyday and if we don’t provide it through our diet, it will start using calcium stored in our bones and muscles so it makes sense to have a calcium rich diet while on weight loss plan.
2. Eating a recommended calcium rich diet i.e. around three servings a day helped the dieters to actually eat more calories without regaining their lost weight. An experiment conducted for 18 months on around 103 overweight or obese women showed that for each 100 mg of calcium ingested everyday they were able to prevent the regain of around 3.5 pounds.
3. Calcium-rich foods help in managing the weight more effectively since they are more filling. People usually tend to opt for foods and drinks that are high in calories and low in nutrition. Researchers of Eat Right Weight Management services at the University of Alabama feel that the reason why eating the low-fat dairy foods works is because such foods help to displace junk food and sodas in the diets.
4. Calcium also helps in regulating the energy intake and decreasing the absorption of fat by our digestive system.

Increase Calcium Intake Enhances Weight Loss

There have been clinical trials and studies which clearly show that calcium-rich food enhances weight loss. In one such study, when a group of obese or overweight adults were given the lower calories per day for weight maintenance, the amount of calcium consumed made a huge difference in their weight loss results. The whole cohort of participants was divided into three smaller groups. The first group was given a low calcium diet, the second was provided with an additional calcium supplement, and the third group was kept on a calcium rich diet.

See Also: Got Milk? Perhaps It's Time To Rethink That!

It was also noticed that the maximum of fat was removed from the abdominal area in the latter group. Abdominal fat is the main cause of onset of various cardiovascular diseases as well as Type 2 diabetes. This study clearly demonstrated that daily high dairy intake is beneficial for the fat loss. Such diet is also more beneficial compared to the taking of the same amount of calcium in the form of supplements.

How To Enrich Diet With Calcium

Calcium Supplementation

Calcium supplements may help to meet your nutritional intake goals to a certain degree. However, weight loss benefits and not regaining the lost weight easier achieved by choosing calcium rich foods over these supplements. 

This could be because the dairy products, apart from calcium, contain many other bio-active components like proteins, linoleic acid and amino acids in it. The studies on the mechanisms behind the benefits of calcium rich diet for the weight loss are still in progress but the fact remains that there is nothing better than a dairy rich diet for controlling those extra kilos. It appears that dietary calcium binds to fatty acids forming insoluble salts that cannot be absorbed by our digestive system. As a result, the fats coming with other foods simply get excreted

Sources Of calcium

Milk, yogurt, cheese and all dairy products are rich sources of calcium. The recommended daily dose of calcium for an adult is around 1000-1200 mg which is equivalent to three servings of a dairy product a day which could be a glass of skimmed milk, 1 small bowl of low-fat yogurt and a small piece of low fat cheese.

There are no specific recommendations for the amount of intake of calcium for the weight loss. Below are approximate amounts of calcium that can be obtained from various sources:

• Low fat dairy products (300-350 mg per bowl of yogurt or a glass of milk)
• Dark leafy vegetables (around 90-100 mg of ½ cup or 1 bowl cooked)
• Tofu (approx 130 mg per ½ cup)
• Broccoli (40-50 mg per cup cooked)
• Cheddar Cheese (300 mg per ½ cup)
• Calcium fortified juices (200-250 mg per glass)
• Whole Wheat Bread (30 mg per slice)
• White Bread (71 mg per slice)
• Regular Cream (14 mg per tablespoon)
• Sardines with bones, canned in oil (325 mg for 3 ounces)
• Pink Salmon, canned with bones (181 mg for 3 ounces)
• Kale raw (100 mg per cup)
• Kale cooked (94 mg per cup)
• Vanilla ice cream (84 mg for ½ cup)
• Ready to eat chocolate pudding (55 mg for 4 ounces)

Obviously, it makes sense to stick to the low fat varieties if the weight loss is your target. Ice cream and chocolate puddings mentioned in the list above are usually not the sources of calcium you would be advised to choose.

For example, if your yogurt portion says it will provide 40 percent of your daily calcium requirement, you know it contains 400 mg of calcium.

See Also: Be Careful With Calcium Pills - They May Harm Your Heart

Increasing calcium intake alone cannot help in substantial loss of fat and should not be considered as the only dietary modification required to reach the sustainable weight reduction. This approach would accounts for only 5-10% of the difference in body fat. It is, however, an easy addition to the range of approaches used by dieters to control their weight. In addition, calcium helps to protect the lean body mass (muscles) and also counteracts the age-related loss of bones, thus contributing to the general well-being.