By KAREN INGE, leading Australian Dietitian & Nutritionist

We all know that calcium counts.  When it comes to bone health it is one of the key essential nutrients.  But did you know that there are new calcium counts for Australians that are raising the bar on this vital mineral?  And when you choose Jalna Yoghourts you have so many versatile ways to boost your daily calcium intake.  Let’s take a closer look at these new calcium counts and how you can get enough each day.

Change with the times  

After working on the review for several years, the National Health and Medical Research Council has published new recommendations for the level of intake of various nutrients in the Australian diet. This is the first time in over 15 years that we have had a review and the new figures are now known as the Nutrient Reference Values.  In keeping with the times, the new figures take into account the latest and greatest nutrition research and our understanding of the best bet diet for maximum well-being.   

Going up

For calcium, the recommended dietary intake has increased for all Australians over the age of nine years. The new calcium guidelines for adolescents and adults are between 1,000 and 1,300mg calcium per day, depending on age and gender – about 300mg per day higher than the old (1991) values.  (see below)

The new figures unfortunately mean that the gap between adequate calcium and actual intake for millions of Australian children and adults has widened.

We know from past surveys that one in two Australian children and women fell short of the old recommendation for calcium. In addition almost four in five women over 65 years failed to meet their calcium requirement at the lower, previously recommended level.

Yoghourt to the rescue

Most people know that it’s 3-a-day for dairy serves, but this is set to change. In order to reach daily requirements for calcium, many people will really need to be getting more like four or more serves of dairy. To reach the 1300mg target you’d need to drink the equivalent of over 1litre of milk a day.  One of the best ways to boost your dairy serves is to have Jalna Yoghourt or Yoghourt On The Go or Vitalize on hand in the fridge and go for an extra serve every day.  Yoghourt works equally well in sweet and savoury dishes. Plus it can be enjoyed as a snack or with breakfast, lunch or dinner too. 

By adding a little Yoghourt or Yoghourt On The Go to snacks and meals throughout your day, you will easily add up another 200g serve.  So what are you waiting for?  Get set to boost your calcium intake with Jalna Yoghourt:

• Dollop Jalna Strawberry Low Fat Creamy Yoghourt or Vitalize Vitamin+ on your breakfast cereal or whip up in a fruit smoothie or refresh with Jalna Wildberry or Strawberry Yoghourt On the Go.  Layer a fruit based dessert with Jalna Blueberry Yoghourt made with Organic ingredients and slivered pistachios, or switch from cream to a Jalna Creamy Yoghourt. 
• Stir up a raita or yoghourt dip, mix up a spicy yoghourt marinade for chicken, or make a creamy yoghourt salad dressing with Jalna Natural Fat Free Yoghourt.
  

New Recommended Dietary Intakes for calcium
(mg/day)

 
Children 1-3:  500
 4-8: 700
 
Boys 9-11: 1000
  12-18:  1300
 
Girls 9-11: 1000
 12-18: 1300
 
Men 19-70: 1000
  >70: 1300
 
Women 19-50: 1000
 >50:  1300
 

Source: NHMRC Nutrient Reference Values for Australia and New Zealand.  2006.