Hispanic style cheese known as Queso Fresco or “fresh cheese” may contribute to preventing and fighting obesity and other related health problems.

Several studies have demonstrated that eating dairy foods while consuming a low-calorie diet can work together to speed up metabolism and as a result help reduce fat and body weight.

According to these studies, adults who consumed the recommended daily intakes of calcium in dairy products while consuming a low-calorie diet tended to lose significantly more body weight and body fat than those who consumed only a balanced, reduced-calorie diet with little or no dairy foods.

Kids and teens, pour yourselves a tall one. Chocolate, vanilla or strawberry milk, that is. New research shows that drinking flavored milk increases overall milk intake and improves nutrition without adding extra weight.

A study of nearly 8,000 children and adolescents published in this month’s Journal of the American Dietetic Association found that those who included flavored milk in their beverage selection actually drank more milk overall — both flavored and plain — when compared to peers who only drank plain milk. Because milk is a good source of calcium and potassium, two “nutrients of concern” lacking in the diets of most Americans, drinking more milk leads to better nutrition.