July 2011     Dairy Australia is calling on teens to ‘wake up their bones with breakfast’ during National Healthy Bones Week this August, by hosting a dairy-delicious breakfast. Whether it’s a chilled out weekend brunch, a school breakfast with friends or cooking up a storm at home, National Healthy Bones Week is the perfect excuse to make a calcium-rich breakfast a morning priority!

The focus on breakfast follows a new Australian study which showed participants who skipped breakfast were less likely to meet the dietary recommendations for dairy foods such as milk, cheese and yogurt, which are the major contributors of calcium to the diet.

Glenys Zucco dietitian Dairy Australia said if your intake of calcium is low, your body will take calcium from the bones to use for other important functions. “This is why it is so crucial to have a daily supply of calcium-rich dairy foods. Breakfast is an ideal opportunity to kick off your calcium quota by ensuring you have at least one of the recommended three daily serves of dairy foods. However, almost 40 per cent of Australian teenagers do not have breakfast every day,” she said.

“National Healthy Bones Week is the perfect time to make dairy and breakfast a habit. Whether it’s milk and yogurt in a smoothie or on cereal, or reduced-fat cheese melted on an English muffin or an omlette, start the day with dairy and get the first of the three recommended serves of dairy every day,” she added.

Dr Sandra Iuliano-Burns, a bone researcher from the University of Melbourne said for bones to last into old age we need to nourish them early in life.  “Most of the adult skeleton is formed by the age of 18, with the amount of calcium in bones peaking in our mid 20s.  From about the age of 35 years, bones start to lose calcium faster than they store it — so they gradually lose their strength. The more calcium that’s deposited in the bones during childhood and adolescence, the stronger bones will be in later life” she said.

“Dairy products such as cheese, milk and yogurt are the greatest providers of calcium. Better still, thanks to their unique combination of nutrients, the calcium in dairy products is easily absorbed and used by the body," said Ms Zucco.

Three serves of dairy foods every day will provide most Australians with the calcium they need to build and maintain strong bones. A serve is equal to 250ml milk, 1 tub yogurt or 40g of cheese.

This year Dairy Australia is making it easy for Australians to meet their daily recommended calcium intake, with online calcium planners for download at www.healthybones.com.au

NATIONAL HEALTHY BONES WEEK, 1 - 7 AUGUST 2011

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