3 Reasons Dairy Can Help You Lose Weight

Are you resolved to lose weight in 2017? If so, a diet rich in Clover dairy products may be the key to success. According to Dr. David L. Katz, associate professor of public health at Yale University, eating lots of dairy helps slow down the growth of fat cells when combined with a weight-loss diet.

Science supports this finding. Researchers reviewed 14 randomized controlled clinical trials which examined the link between weight, body fat mass, and dairy consumption. The results showed that people who ate the most dairy, while on a calorie-restricted diet, experienced a greater reduction in fat mass and an increase in muscle mass compared to people who ate less dairy (*increasing dairy consumption without a calorie-restricted diet did not affect weight loss.)

Three primary factors were attributed to dairy’s role in weight loss:

1. Vitamin D

Medical evidence suggests that low levels of Vitamin D in the body have been associated with weight gain. “Raising Vitamin D is looking more and more like it is able to help with weight loss,” says Vincent Pera, MD, director of the Miriam Hospital Weight Management Program in Providence, R.I.

Vitamin D also optimizes your body’s ability to absorb other important weight-loss nutrients, especially calcium, and helps receptors in the brain keep hunger and cravings in check. While the body makes this vitamin naturally with exposure to sunlight, one study from the Archives of Internal Medicine reported that 77% of Americans are still Vitamin-D deficient.

Drinking wholesome Clover Organic Milk fortified with Vitamin D is a great way to help meet your body’s daily requirement of this important vitamin.

2. Protein

In addition to building healthy bone and maintain muscle tissue, protein-rich dairy products help keep you feeling satiated longer. People who switched out their morning glass of OJ for skim milk ate fewer calories throughout the day and reported feeling fuller than those who started their day with fruit juice, according to a study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Both Clover Organic Milk and Cottage Cheese as well as our udderly delicious flavors of Organic Greek Yogurt are protein rich options that can help you achieve and maintain a healthy weight.

3. Calcium

Studies show the natural calcium found in milk decreases the level of a certain vitamin (25-hydroxy D3) that spurs the growth of fat cells in the body. This helps accelerate weight loss according to a study published in Obesity Research. Michael Zemel, PhD, professor of nutrition and medicine at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, says the study also showed that “eating three to four servings of dairy products a day is more effective at enhancing weight loss efforts than calcium supplementation alone.”

Clover Organic Farms gives you lots of nutritious ways to meet your daily calcium requirements. In addition to our wholesome milk, try our probiotic-packed Clover Organic Kefir, which can also help promote a balanced immune system, or our creamy small curd cottage cheese. All are excellent sources of this vital mineral!

So go ahead–enjoy your favorite Clover Organic dairy products in good conscience to help optimize your weight loss efforts and achieve a healthier you.

Sources:

Prevention Magazine: http://www.prevention.com/weight-loss/weight-loss-tips/dairy-can-assist-weight-loss-burn-fat

WebMD: http://www.webmd.com/diet/news/20040416/dairy-foods-fat-weight-loss#1

Women’s Health Magazine: http://www.womenshealthmag.com/weight-loss/vitamin-d-weight-loss