The USDA recommends about three cups of milk a day for adults and children age 9 and older to help meet daily dietary needs for nutrients such as bone-strengthening calcium and vitamin D. But what type of cow's milk is best for you? It depends on what you want and need in your diet. Nearly every store carries whole, reduced-fat and skim milk, but some might not know what those terms really mean. When milk is processed, different levels of fat can be taken out or skimmed.
Reduced-fat and skim milk lose nutritional benefits when processed. Most producers then fortify their milk with solids to restore vitamins and thickness, although fortification is controversial. In addition, the practice of giving cows added growth hormones rBST to aid in milk production is also contentious.
Some milk producers have started offering rBST-free milk that comes from grass-fed, free-range cows to address these concerns. According to the Cleveland Clinic , not only do grass-fed cows make milk with significantly more beneficial omega-3 fatty acids, but because they are less stressed than conventionally raised cows, they also tend to produce more milk and richer milk. Milk provides several key dietary requirements, but the levels of nutrients in each milk type can vary slightly.
Reduced-fat and skim milk retain roughly the same amount of protein as whole milk but lose some of their vitamin content during processing and fat removal. Vitamins A and D, which are fat-soluble, are added back through fortification. Here is a breakdown of the amount of protein, potassium and calcium found in a single serving one cup of each type of milk.
Here is a breakdown of the amount of vitamin A and vitamin D found in a single serving one cup of each type of milk. Reduced-fat milk and skim milk have fewer calories and higher amounts of vitamins than whole milk thanks to fortification. They also have less saturated fat, which has been shown in studies to raise your "bad" cholesterol and put you at a higher risk for heart disease.
There is a misperception that skim milk contains water to reduce the fat content—but that is not the case. The 13 essential nutrients, including 8 grams of high-quality protein, remain intact. Strict farming practices, defined by the United States Department of Agriculture, set the standards for organic dairy farms to produce organic milk. From what cows eat to how farmers care for their cows governs the production of organic milk. All cows, whether they live on an organic or conventional dairy farm, receive the best care by dairy farmers.
All varieties of milk—regular or organic, flavored or white—are safe and wholesome. Strict standards and government regulations established over the past century in the United States ensure that all milk you buy at the store is safe for you and your family to drink. The natural sugar in milk, called lactose, has been broken down. This makes it great option for people who are lactose intolerant. It still contains the same essential nutrients, including calcium, protein and vitamin D, as the other types of milk.
Chocolate milk, or other flavored milk, is also a tasty protein food for kids. Flavored milk counts as a serving of dairy and provides the same 13 essential nutrients in each serving.
Raw milk—milk straight from the cow—is not pasteurized. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
Either way, no one should be drinking enough milk for the type of that milk to make much of a difference on his or her health overall. Everything in moderation. This article is more than 6 years old. The Body by Milk campaign was created to encourage teens to grab low-fat milk instead of sugary sodas. But should we have been drinking full-fat milk all along? Photograph: AP. One of the most significant nutritional differences between the milk varieties is their omega-3 content.
Omega-3 fatty acids have been linked to many health benefits , including improved heart and brain health and a lower risk of cancer. The more fat a cup of milk has in it, the higher its omega-3 content 5 , 6 , 7.
Additionally, studies have shown that organic whole milk contains an even higher amount of omega-3s than regular whole milk 7. The major difference between the types of milk available is their fat content. Whole milk contains more fat and calories than skim milk. For years, nutrition guidelines have been instructing people to avoid whole milk, mainly due to its saturated fat content.
Mainstream nutrition recommendations advise limiting saturated fat due to its supposed connection to heart disease. Some studies have shown that saturated fat raises cholesterol levels, and researchers know that high cholesterol levels are associated with an increased risk of heart disease.
Based on this information, experts made the assumption that saturated fat must increase the risk of heart disease. However, there was no experimental evidence to prove that this was true 8 , 9. In the s, public policy was adopted based on this assumed connection between saturated fat and heart disease.
As a result, official guidelines instructed people to reduce their saturated fat intake. A cup mL of whole milk contains 4. For this reason, the guidelines recommend consuming only low fat or skim milk 1 , 2. In recent years, this recommendation has been called into question.
There is now plenty of experimental data to indicate that eating saturated fat does not cause heart disease 9. In the past, whole milk was considered unhealthy because of its saturated fat content, but recent research does not support this recommendation.
There is very little scientific evidence that suggests you should be avoiding saturated fat in your diet. In fact, a review of 21 studies concluded that there is no significant evidence that saturated fat increases the risk of heart disease. Another study found that saturated fat intake was not associated with heart disease, stroke, heart attack, or heart-disease related death 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , The old hypothesis is that saturated fat increases cholesterol levels and high cholesterol levels increase the risk of heart disease.
However, the relationship between saturated fat and cholesterol is more complicated than that. HDL has a protective effect against heart disease 15 , Additionally, not all LDL is dangerous. Interestingly, saturated fat actually changes LDL from the small, dense particles to the large, less harmful particles 23 ,
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