What’s the new 1% milk? Is it healthier?

In some shops you might have seen milk with 1% on the label. It's called '1% milk' because it contains 1% fat and it’s a healthier option if you currently use whole or semi-skimmed milk. It tastes similar to semi-skimmed milk and has just as much calcium and B vitamins as higher fat versions, but contains almost half the fat of semi-skimmed milk.

Traditionally in the UK, milk labelled as 'whole milk' contains 3.5% fat or more, 'semi-skimmed' between 1.5% and 1.8% and 'skimmed' milk 0.5% fat or less. So if you want a healthier choice for your cereal but don’t like skimmed milk, then 1% might be the milk for you.

Is the new 1% milk OK to give my 3-year-old daughter?

You shouldn’t give 1% fat or skimmed milk as a main drink to children under 5 years old because they don’t have enough vitamin A and skimmed milk doesn't contain enough calories for growing children. Reduced-fat milks contain less vitamin A and research has shown that around half of pre-school age children don’t get enough vitamin A from their diet.

Children under 2 years should drink full-fat milk because it contains more calories to help them grow. Children between 2 and 5 years can have semi-skimmed milk, as long as they’re eating a balanced and varied diet and are growing well. You can find out more about food for toddlers at the links below.

How does margarine compare to butter?

Generally, margarine tends to have the same fat content as butter, about 81g fat per 100g. The difference between butter and margarine is the type of fat they contain.

Margarine tends to contain unsaturated fat, which is generally better for us than the saturated fat found in butter. Saturated fats are usually solid at room temperature, while unsaturated ones are mainly liquid.

By law, margarine can't be labelled 'low fat'. Many of the products sold alongside butter and margarine are low-fat spreads. These can contain up to half the fat of butter or margarine.

Both margarine and low-fat spreads are usually fortified with vitamin D, which, among other things, is important for healthy bones.

Whether you choose to eat butter, margarine or low-fat spread depends on your taste and personal preference. But bear in mind that we should get no more than 35% of our total daily energy (calories) from fat, and no more than 11% from saturated fat. This means we should eat high-fat foods in small amounts.

So, it's OK to eat a small amount of butter as part of a healthy balanced diet, but you might find that using low-fat spreads will help you reduce the amount of fat in your diet, and contribute to an overall healthy diet.

What is the difference between pasteurised and UHT milk?

Most milk we buy in the UK is pasteurised. Milk is pasteurised by heating it, usually to 71.7°C for 15 seconds. This gets rid of any food poisoning bacteria in the milk and reduces the bacteria that make milk go off. So pasteurising milk makes it safer to drink and makes it last longer.

UHT stands for 'ultra heat treated'. UHT milk, also called long-life milk, has been heated to at least 135°C for at least one second. This destroys all bacteria in the milk and makes it last much longer than ordinary pasteurised milk. UHT tastes different to other milk because of the high temperatures used when it's treated.

You can buy unpasteurised milk in some places. Because it hasn't been heat-treated, unpasteurised milk can contain bacteria that could cause food poisoning. Young children, elderly people, pregnant women and people who are ill should avoid unpasteurised milk.

Remember to follow the storage instructions on all types of milk.

Does what I eat affect the health of my bones?

Diet is very important for keeping our bones healthy, and so is doing enough physical activity. Weight-bearing exercise is particularly important for keeping our bones strong, for example, walking, climbing stairs, running and playing football.

Bones are complicated living organs that are constantly changing and repairing. Most people know that bones need calcium. Milk and milk products are the best source of calcium. Soya beans, tofu and fish where you eat the bones (such as sardines, whitebait and pilchards) are other good sources. But we also need vitamin D for the calcium to be absorbed into the bones to make them strong.

We get most of our vitamin D from the action of sunlight on our skin. So it's important to spend some time outdoors (taking care not to get sunburnt). We get the rest of our vitamin D from food. It's found in oily fish such as salmon, mackerel and sardines, and in eggs, some breakfast cereals and margarines.

Some research suggests that having more than an average of 1.5mg per day of vitamin A over many years may affect our bones and make them more likely to fracture when we're older. If you eat liver (which is a very rich source of vitamin A) or liver products such as pâtè every week, you are likely to be having, on average, 1.5mg of vitamin A per day.

If you aren't getting enough vitamin D, you might be more at risk of the harmful effects of too much vitamin A. People who may be particularly short of vitamin D include women of Asian origin, if you always cover up all your skin when you're outside and older people who rarely get outdoors, or people who eat no meat or oily fish. So if you're short of vitamin D it might be a good idea to boost the amount you're getting. You might want to think about taking a 10 microgram supplement of vitamin D each day.

There are also many other nutrients that are thought to be important for healthy bones. Lots of these are found in fruit and vegetables.

So, to keep your bones healthy, the best advice is to get active outdoors and eat a balanced diet, including at least five portions of a variety of fruit and vegetables every day, a moderate amount of milk and dairy products, and at least two portions of fish (one of which should be oily fish) every week.

Do I need to eat dairy products to get enough calcium? Aren't they high in fat?

It's a good idea to have some milk or other dairy products every day, because they are the richest sources of calcium. They also contain other valuable vitamins and minerals, as well as protein. Some dairy products can be high in fat, but there are plenty of lower fat options you can choose, or you could have just a small amount of the high-fat varieties. To cut down on fat, try using:

• skimmed, 1% fat or semi-skimmed milk
• low-fat spread instead of butter
• cottage cheese, low-fat cream cheese and reduced-fat versions of hard cheeses such as Cheddar, Cheshire and Edam
• low-fat yoghurt or fromage frais
• yoghurt instead of cream in cooking, or less of a stronger-tasting cheese

Calcium is especially important for growing children and young people, to help build healthy bones and teeth. Two glasses (300ml) of milk will provide enough calcium for children aged one to three.

Remember children need full-fat milk until they're at least two. After this age, you can gradually start giving them semi-skimmed milk, as long as they're eating a varied and balanced diet and growing well. But fully skimmed milk and 1% fat mlik aren't suitable for children under five.

Adults also need plenty of calcium. If you have one glass (200ml) of semi-skimmed milk, a small pot (150g) of low-fat fruit yoghurt and 40g hard cheese, that would provide roughly the amount of calcium an adult needs in one day.

Canned sardines, and other fish where we eat the bones, are good sources of calcium. If you eat canned sardines in tomato sauce, two slices of toast, an orange and a small pot of fruit fromage frais, that would also give an adult enough calcium for the day.

Other sources of calcium include fortified breakfast cereal, soya beans, tofu, soya drinks with added calcium, dried figs, okra, curly kale, rice pudding and baked beans.

To find out how much fat and saturated fat is in a food, look at the nutrition information on the label.

I'm lactose intolerant. What foods contain calcium, apart from milk and dairy products?

There are a number of foods you can eat, apart from milk and dairy products, to help you get enough calcium. Canned sardines, and other fish where we eat the bones, are good sources of calcium.

Other foods that contain calcium include:

• soya beans and tofu
• bread
• pulses such as chickpeas
• green vegetables, especially watercress and okra (but not spinach)
• other vegetables, such as cabbage and onions
• dried fruit, especially dried figs
• nuts, such as almonds, and seeds, such as sesame seeds

To help our bodies absorb the calcium from the foods we eat, it's important to get enough vitamin D. We get vitamin D from sunlight on our skin and from foods such as margarines and spreads, breakfast cereals and oily fish.

If you use soya, rice or oat drinks as a substitute for milk, try to choose those with added calcium.

People with lactose intolerance often find that they can eat cheese and yoghurt without any problems. Cheese contains much less lactose than milk. Yoghurt contains a similar amount of lactose to milk, but it still seems to be easier to digest for people with lactose intolerance. This might be something to do with the bacteria used to make it. Yoghurt and cheese are both excellent sources of calcium. Try to choose lower-fat types, or eat just a small amount of the high-fat options.

However, if you have a milk allergy, rather than lactose intolerance, you should avoid all milk products, including those made with milk from sheep and goats.