Nutrient Rich Foods

Crystal Wilson is a Registered Dietician working for the United Dairymen of Idaho. One of her greatest interest is nutrient rich foods. “As the cost of food rises families need to get the most nutritional bang for their buck and as a registered dietitian I worry about the economy, the recession and how that can lead to a nutrition recession. You hear about obesity rates but we also have under nourished individuals which means that we are not getting enough of the nutrients that we need such as calcium, protein, essential vitamins and minerals. So nutrient rich foods is really focused on making each calorie count and making sure that we do not have those gaps in nutrients that we need. Look at the dairy farmers in Idaho and the Idaho Dairy Council and there is a huge focus on nutrition and wellness. So from a nutrition standpoint, milk and dairy products are naturally nutrient rich and penny for penny dairy offers one of the best nutritional values of any food group. When you look at milk, cheese and yogurt, they provide nine essential nutrients so that is a very powerful nutrition package delivered in a very cost efficient manner. The dietary guidelines recommend that those who are nine years of age and older consume three servings of dairy products each day.