Healthier Substitutions:
Milk
by Tim Cullen
One of the most common consumed products today is the drink,
milk. We were taught at an early age that we have to drink milk each and every
day to keep healthy bones! In this post, I am going to highlight the truth's
about milk and offer a substitution and suggestion for it to help keep a
healthier you.
First thing is first, let us talk about how much milk should
be consumed daily. The Recommended Daily Intake (known as RDI) for calcium is
1000 mg per day. That is the value which is recommended to fit the needs of
about 98% of the individuals of all demographics. Usually when someone
discusses the topic, calcium, the first thing that comes to the mind of the
average person is milk. Many people drink 2% or whole milk each day and think
it is perfectly fine for them, because they are getting their daily source of
calcium. That is great, but there are some unhealthy parts of non-skim milk as
well. Below I am going to show a comparison between a food label from a jug of
2% milk and a jug of skim milk. Be aware that food labels are regulated by the
FDA and it is illegal to put incorrect information on there.
The
two images above show labels of Whole and 2% milk from left to right
respectively. The above are the two choices of milk I would not
recommend
be part of your daily diet. As you can see, circled in red, both milks
have the
same amount of your daily % value of calcium recommended intake in a
serving. However
you can see that in as little as 1 cup per serving of whole and 2% milk,
you
consume 8 and 5g of fat respectively. If you think about how small a cup
of
milk is, it can really add up how much you consume. Now compared to
those two I
will provide a label of skim milk, which I recommend you incorporate
into your
daily diet.
Again, circled in red is a few key points that need to be
discussed. First, like whole and 2%, one serving of skim milk contains 30% of
your daily value for calcium. However, it does not come with the fat and
calories the other two contain. In skim milk we have reduced the total fat
contents down to a healthy ZERO while still maintaining the same amount of
calcium! Calories have also been reduced, but some calories are not bad. Be
mindful that you need calories for energy, so trying to totally eliminate
calories is not the right mindset to have. If you go from whole milk to skim,
you are cutting out 12% of the daily value of fat from your diet, which is
huge!
The conclusion here is that if you are going to consume
milk, it should be skim milk. I understand that the taste may not be as good as
whole milk, but just like any other food, you acquire a taste to it the more
you consume it. Not only can one obtain their calcium from milk, but you can
also get it from other sources that are healthy like
- Low fat Yogurt (my favorite): very low in fat and contains about 415 mg of Calcium per 8 oz serving
-
Collard greens: Very low in fat and contains about 350 mg of Calcium per cup
-
Calcium-set tofu: low in fat and contains about 160 mg of Calcium per cup
-
Green peas: Very low in fat and contains about 100 mg of Calcium per cup
Hi Tim,
ReplyDeleteWhile skim milk does have fewer calories than whole or 2% milk, what would you say about these criticisms of skim milk?
http://www.kitchendaily.com/read/skim-milk-bad-terrible-truly-ugly
Given the fact that there are toxic nitrates in skim milk and also the fact that milk with a little bit of natural fat helps you absorb the vitamins and minerals in milk a lot better, it seems to me 1% is a good compromise and is the superior choice.
Hello Cory, thank you for reading and leaving this comment. I apologize for taking so long to reply, I have been busy.
ReplyDeleteThat article is an interesting one for sure. I will go through and reply to each of the criticisms below.
First, very interesting about the powdered milk additive to skim milk. However, not all skim milk contains powdered milk in it. There are many leading brands that claim they do not add powdered milk into their milk. Whether you believe them or not is another story as they are not required to list it on the label. I believe that if powdered milk is added, it should be labeled, but that is a different topic altogether.
If there is powdered milk added, yes it could contain oxidized cholesterol in it, therefore being detrimental to the human body as it can lead to heart disease. I say do not be afraid of that, because one serving of powdered milk contains a very small amount of oxidized cholesterol to begin with and manufacturers are not adding large amounts of this into skim milk, rather they add a small amount to give it some thickness.
Second, I find it hard to believe that the only milk made from corn-fed cows are skim milk. I had trouble finding some studies on that, but if it's true then I apologize. Regardless, I would suggest looking for 100% grass-fed on labels for milk as they do not contain unhealthy fats from a corn-fed diet.
Third, I understand absorption of vitamins will be difficult consuming a fat free milk. Now with that, I also safely assume that you are eating a balanced meal with your milk and consuming fats from other foods. You will be fine as long as you get your fats from vegetables and use healthy oils in cooking your foods.
Fourth, I am not advocating changing your milk alone is going to make one skinny I am merely suggesting it as one of the building blocks. Changing one's diet in a whole will lead to a healthier lifestyle and one being thinner, in most cases. However, everybody's body is different and some people can still look "unhealthy" while being as healthy as can be.
With that said, it isn't the end of the world if you drink 1% or 2% milk in comparison to skim. I have monitored my parents in their trek to a healthier lifestyle and my step-father has accomplished a 80 pound weight loss drinking 2% milk. It is possible to lose the weight and be a healthy human being drinking milk other than skim.
Me personally, I don't drink milk very often. My view on milk is it is very important in developing healthy bones in children. Feeding them dark, leafy green vegetables and milk is essential. I usually obtain my dairy from a small serving of yogurt and dark, leafy green vegetables.
Thank you again Cory, I wish you the best on your endeavors and if 1% is what you prefer, then go with it! Have a wonderful day.
-Tim
Thanks for the detailed reply! My main concern with skim milk was the additives. I also agree that there's no way they use corn-fed cows for just skim milk - that's got to be all milk that isn't labeled otherwise. And you make a good point about eating fats from other sources to compensate.
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