Is cow's milk good for you?
Cow's milk contains more than 10 essential nutrients and provides a number of health benefits for all ages and life stages.
Last updated 17/01/2024
Cow’s milk is one of the core dairy foods that the Australian Dietary Guidelines recommend you eat as part of your everyday diet.1 These guidelines use the best available scientific evidence to provide information on the types and amounts of food that promote good health and reduce the risk of disease.
They state that dairy foods such as cow’s milk offer a number health benefits. Cow’s milk is a good source of many nutrients including calcium in an easy to absorb form, and contains many other important nutrients such as vitamins A, B12 and riboflavin, potassium, magnesium, zinc, phosphorous, carbohydrate and protein. Read more about the role of these different nutrients in our bodies.
Recent scientific investigation has revealed milk also contains other beneficial components including whey protein, sphingomyelin and conjugated linoleic acid.
According to the Australian Dietary Guidelines, these nutrients and beneficial components help reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome and colorectal cancer. These are some of the main causes of death in Australia.
Milk consumption is also associated with maintaining a healthy weight, and can play an important role in preparation and recovery from sport and exercise.
References
- 1. National Health and Medical Research Council. Australian Dietary Guidelines Canberra: Commonwealth of Australia; 2013.
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