Most of us have seen those American print ads with famous celebrities sporting a white “milky” moustache praising the goodness of dairy. The famous refrain is “Milk, it does a body good”. Milk is the most popular food product of today’s topic – calcium. From birth, we are nourished with our mother’s breast milk. Other sources of calcium are found in foods such as yoghurt, cheese, spinach, broccoli, sardines, oranges and fortified soya milk, the latter is great for those who are lactose intolerant.

Calcium does indeed make the body good as it promotes strong teeth and bones. We need a daily intake of 1,000-1,300mg calcium because our bodies do not produce calcium, according to the Agricultural Handbook from the US Department of Agriculture. Calcium is more essential for women as it helps to prevent osteoporosis later in life. This disease causes bone fragments as well as wear and tear of our bones which makes fractures easy.

Today we will focus on cheese, a foodie favourite, which is just as popular, or moreso than milk.