Milk and milk products include milk, cheese and yoghurt.
These foods – also called dairy products – are an important source of calcium, helping to give us strong bones and teeth. They also provide protein (for growth and repair), carbohydrate and fat (for energy) as well as many important vitamins (such as vitamins A and B12) and minerals (including zinc).
We need more of these foods when we are growing or during pregnancy. In general, 2-3 serves of milk and milk products each day are recommended for most adults. You can see how many serving a day you are recommended to consume on our Healthy Eating pages.
Dairy serving sizes
If you choose plant-based milk (eg, soy, rice or almond), make sure that it has added calcium (and vitamin B12 if you avoid animal-based foods). Note that most plant-based milks (excluding soy) are also much lower in protein than cow’s milk.
Note that, while butter is considered to be a dairy product, butter does not count towards a serving of milk and milk products. This is because butter is predominately fat and low/minimal in nutrients such as protein, calcium.
Last reviewed: 14 March 2022
Last modified: March 13, 2022