You might have heard it before or seen it in a commercial on TV: Milk and dairy products can help you lose weight. Can dairy really help tip the scales in your favor? It seems so. I took a look at the research out there and found a fairly significant number of studies, both in humans and animals, linking increased intake of low-fat dairy products to weight loss.

With an increased intake of dairy, you'll also get the bonus of increased levels of calcium, which can also help you lose weight. How does calcium accomplish this? The general consensus among the studies I reviewed suggests that higher levels of calcium intake, particularly from low-fat sources, help to prevent fat storage, as well as to raise metabolism (the rate at which our bodies burn calories).

Calcium has also been linked to these other benefits:

• Increased levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol—the good kind
• Improved skeletal calcium, both during growth and among women in late menopause
• Reduced recurrence of kidney stones
• Improved symptoms of premenstrual syndrome (PMS)

It's been estimated that human adults during the Stone Age ingested from 2,000 mg to 3,000 mg of calcium per day, 3 to 5 times the median calcium intake of present-day U.S. adults. Just how much calcium do we need today?  

One study found significantly more weight loss in those people who consumed 1,200 mg of calcium per day, along with a low-calorie meal plan, than in those who consumed less calcium. This study suggested that the minimum intake from low- or non-fat dairy foods per day should be 1,000 mg.

Of course, some people, like my patients who have had weight-loss surgery, may need up to 2,500 mg of calcium a day. So it's always a good idea to check with your doctor or a registered dietitian, especially since calcium can interfere with the action of certain medications.

Below are general calcium recommendations based on the Dietary Reference Intake (DRI):

Follow these tips to increase the calcium in your diet:

• Use skim or 1-percent milk instead of water when cooking your oatmeal.
• Try string cheese (part-skim milk mozzarella) as a snack.
• Use Greek yogurt (non-fat or low fat), either with fresh fruit or added to skim or 1-percent milk and fruit, to make a yummy milk shake.
• If you are lactose-intolerant, try Lactaid milk or calcium-fortified low-fat soy milk, or use the Lactaid pill when eating dairy to break down the indigestible milk sugar.
• Also available is Lactaid low-fat cottage cheese.
• Try low-fat ricotta cheese with artificial sweetener and cinnamon for a guilt-free treat that's similar to the filling inside cannoli!
• If your doctor recommends a calcium supplement, such as calcium citrate, remember to look at the amount of elemental calcium rather than calcium citrate in the bottle.
• If you have kidney issues, calcium acetate is preferred over calcium citrate.
• Keep your maximum dosage of calcium for one sitting to approximately 600 mg, since our bodies can't absorb much more than this at one time.
• Avoid taking calcium with your multivitamin or iron supplement because they compete for absorption.

Bone up on calcium in your diet and you just might lose weight in the process!