Unlocking Dairy's Modern Wellness Potential

In recent years, there has been a noticeable shift in attitude toward wellness. Consumers are prioritizing foods that offer holistic health benefits with a “food as medicine” mindset. The concept of holistic health incorporates functional benefits consumers desire from their food with the additional element of mental and emotional wellness benefits that support calming, mindfulness, mental clarity and sharpness. And they expect it all to be backed by research. Factors like taste, affordability and convenience are still important, but now compete with many other considerations on consumers’ minds when deciding what foods to purchase.

Recognizing this changing landscape, the dairy community has embarked on a journey to connect consumers to dairy foods in more modern ways, leading with the benefits they prioritize like digestive and heart health and sharing examples of how dairy foods can also contribute to the holistic lifestyles people are embracing. At the forefront of this effort is the work of the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy’s Health and Well-being (H&W) Committee. Through the Innovation Center, the H&W Committee brings together industry leaders and subject matter experts to chart a course that the industry can use to ensure dairy leads as a contemporary health and wellness solution.

Building a Blueprint to Unlock Dairy’s Wellness Potential

The Committee’s overarching objective is to develop recommendations that advance dairy science, innovation and efforts to help individuals achieve optimal health and well-being. As a registered dietitian leading scientific, regulatory and nutrition affairs for National Dairy Council, I’m thrilled to also be involved in the H&W Committee. There’s so much potential to advance improving public health while also growing new opportunities for dairy.

Most recently, the strategic intelligence team at Dairy Management Inc., the national dairy research and promotion board, commissioned research that identified 37 top health and wellness conditions and benefits that people across generations are actively investing in. These conditions were evaluated based on existing dairy science, market potential and alignment with the Innovation Center's vision, mission and social responsibility focus.

The conditions were narrowed down to the five core benefit and conditions areas that were then aligned with the top consumer demand moments or need states that people associate with those benefits and conditions. Three strategic demand moments were ultimately prioritized for action now, next and future. The demand moments include:

§  Grow and Perform (Now): This focus area will build upon existing research that demonstrates the benefits of dairy in physical, athletic and the bone health. For example, dairy products are unrivaled in providing bone-beneficial nutrients, making them instrumental in ensuring children reach their full potential and maintain healthy bones throughout their lives. Additionally, dairy's role in supporting post-workout recovery and muscle development and how this translates to sustained energy and physical performance will be further validated.

§  Systems Supercharge (Next): Active lifestyles are often enhanced when specific systems in the body are optimized. As such, this area will focus on exploring how dairy can support the digestive system, including gut health and the gut microbiome, as well as the cardiovascular system and cardiometabolic health. This area holds significant promise in helping to shift people away from fad diets and unverified supplements and toward a “food as medicine” approach that emphasizes whole foods, including a variety of milk and dairy products.

§  Mental/Emotional Health and Wellness (Future): The forward-looking dimension of the framework will explore how dairy can contribute to mood enhancement, mental clarity and focus and cognitive well-being. Benefits also include improvements tied to stress and sleep. This area holds immense potential for further research and innovation as the science supporting dairy’s benefits are already emerging in this space.

Navigating the Path Forward

While the framework is a crucial milestone, the work is far from over. The IC H&W Committee is dedicated to working with the U.S. dairy community, leveraging the scientific expertise and investments of National Dairy Council and others, to bring these platforms to life and deliver tangible results for consumers and the dairy community as a whole. The strategy includes developing a dairy-centric research roadmap and science-backed claims that help individuals and families make informed choices and collaborating with trusted authorities all along the way.

Together, we can deliver dairy science and nutrition that meets people’s personalized needs and ultimately, help pave the way for a healthier future.