With milk consumption on the decrease, teenage girls have become deficient in iodine, and this could put their future children at risk for developmental problems, reports the Daily Mail.
A study by London’s Royal Free Hospital found that nearly 70 percent of British schoolgirls surveyed were iodine deficient by the World Health Organization’s standards, and that this was largely due to a decrease in milk consumption.
"Iodine deficiency is one of the main preventable causes of mental impairment and studies show that if the mother’s thyroid is under-active, then the baby can be born with an IQ that is 10 to 15 points lower," noted lead author Mark Vanderpump.
Over the past decade in the U.K., milk intake has dropped from an average of 96 liters per person to about 82 liters, due in large part to a growing fixation with weight-loss and dietary intolerances.
As well as providing the body with iodine and calcium, milk is rich in vitamins A, C, D, E, K and the B-group and the minerals magnesium, zinc and potassium.
As far as dieting is concerned, even a glass of whole milk contains only 134 calories – less than a candy bar and much better for you. Skim milk, which contains the same nutrients, has only 68 calories, while partly-skimmed milk comes in at about 98 calories.