How important is Milk?

Since I started having Oatmeal for breakfast (made with water- I prefer it that way) instead of Cereal, the only time I have milk during the week is with a bowl of cereal on Saturday morning. I have four slices of cheese a day in my sandwiches; is that enough Dairy, or should I be drinking milk more?

The issue isn't really dairy, it's calcium. Four slices of cheese per day (depending on the size of the slice) probably isn't giving you enough calcium. If you don't like milk, there's always yogurt, cottage cheese or sour cream. If you want to avoid dairy, you can eat canned salmon with the bones, kale, broccoli, some tofu and beans. You might find more suggestions over in the Vegetarian area, too, since I think there are a number of vegans there who probably know more about non-dairy sources of calcium.

And as for the answer to the title of your post, if you substitute calcium for milk, the answer is very important. More important for women than men, but even for men, getting enough calcium is important for bone health, among other things.

I don't have anything against milk! I was just wondering how important it is vs. the amount of calories it has.

Not very, there are tons of other ways to get calcium.  Just because the dairy lobby runs ads all the time doesn't mean that it's actually necessary.

why don't you include it in your other cooking if you're worried?  Add some to a sauce, or put fat free sour cream on your veggies.

Other Calcium Sources Other Than Milk:

- Mackerel (with bones)

- Sardines (with bones)

- Sesame Seeds

- Broccoli

- Figs

- Leafy Greens

- Salmon (with bones)

- Nuts & Seeds

*If you eat enough of these foods, milk really isn't important in your diet: you drink it for calories, protein & calcium, right? Well all of the above have those three things... so no need to worry about not drinking milk... plus EATING is a lot more satisfying than DRINKING.

I agree - it's not so much the dairy you need but the calcium. Milk is just one easy way to obtain certain nutrients that most people find cheap and palatable. If you eat the foods Giasbash listed, and/or take a calcium supplement, there's nothing special about dairy that would do a better job!