Swap Soda for Milk, Says Dairy Science Professor

24 Oct 2016 --- A leading professor of dairy science at Wageningen University and Research has criticized the increased consumption of sodas over milk as part of his outgoing speech from full time academia. 

According to associate professor Toon Van Hooijdonk, from the university’s department of food quality and design, milk consumption has been declining in Western countries for more than half a century at an average rate of more than one liter per year. While at the same time the consumption of soft drinks has increased “enormously”. Professor Van Hooijdonk is concerned what this means for nutrient intake. 

"Milk is the number one supplier of nutrients such as calcium, phosphorus, potassium and vitamins A, B12 and B2. And for the daily intake of magnesium, iodine and zinc condition of milk in the second place,” he says. “A significant source of nutrients is replaced in the category of beverages by a soft drink that is poor in nutrients.”

He was making the remarks during his farewell speech recently as part of the ‘Milk in the diet: a sharp discussion’.

He said soda now makes up a large part of the 750 liters of fluid that the average person drinks each year. "As a result, a significant source of nutrients replaced in the category of beverages by a soft drink that is poor in nutrients," he adds. "Soda gives only energy and contains no high-quality nutrients, while the ecological footprint of soda is now about the same as that of milk. The nutrient supply of many people could rise significantly by resorting to milk instead of soda.”

The professor talked about animal products like meat, eggs and dairy supplying around 35 percent of the proteins in the diet and protein being the most important, and most expensive, macronutrient within the diet and how proteins of animal origin have a different quality compared to vegetable sources. 

"Animal proteins contain so-called essential amino acids such as lysine. These digestible, essential amino acids are not replaceable and cannot be made by the body. They should therefore be supplemented through diet."