Milk 101
Don’t those models look so good with their milk mustaches? Well you should try one! Studies show that drinking 3 glasses of low-fat or fat -ree milk a day can help maintain a healthy weight and have better quality diets, compared to those who didn’t.
Milk provides you with essential nutrients such as:
• Calcium: Which helps build strong bones and teeth.
• Potassium: Which helps maintain normal blood pressure.
• Protein: Which serves as a source of energy.
• Vitamin A: Which helps maintain normal vision and skin
• Vitamin D: Reduces the risk of heart disease and protects against many cancers.
• Vitamin B12: Which is required for normal cell activity. It also protects against the risk of stroke and Alzheimer’s disease.
Today, there are many different varieties of milk, but here are some other alternatives to your typical milk:
Soy Milk:
For people who are vegans or lactose intolerant, soy milk is the perfect drink for you. People who drink soy milk have much to gain because it is made from beans which contain fiber, while dairy milk has none. Soy milk is also a good source of protein, and although it contains more fat than reduced-fat 2 percent milk, it is low in saturated fat and cholesterol free. Although it is not a good natural source of calcium, some brands of soy milk are fortified with calcium and vitamin D. Soy milk is a good source of isoflavones — estrogen compounds that seem to have a myriad of health benefits.
Lactaid Milk:
Approximately 75 percent of the world’s population (including 40 million Americans) is lactose intolerant. Lactaid milk contains the same nutrients as regular milk — the only difference is that lactose has been broken down so that it is easily tolerated by those people who are intolerant to it. Lactose is the predominant sugar in milk products. An enzyme called lactase is produced in the small intestine and breaks down lactose so it can be absorbed into the blood stream. It is not usually serious, but symptoms can be bothersome, so Lactaid milk is the perfect option for a dairy-free diet.
Organic Milk:
Organic milk is the purest and healthiest form of milk. Organic milk means that cows’ feed, such as corn, soy and hay were grown organically. In addition, organic regulations prohibit the use of antibiotics and synthetic growth hormones. Organic regulations also mandate specific humane animal standards including access to fresh air and pasture. However, organic milk can be at least twice the price of regular milk, and there is still a debate over whether this milk is really worth your money.
Don’t worry, you don’t have to force yourself to drink a glass of plain milk! Here are some helpful and tasty ways to receive your three servings of milk a day:
• Use milk instead of water in your oatmeal
• Pour it over a bowl of cereal
• Stir it up into hot chocolate
• Blend it with frozen fruit for a delicious smoothie
• Grab a skim latte or cappuccino
• Substitute cream in soup for milk
Tanya Zuckerbrot, MS, RD is a nutritionist and founder of Skinnyandthecity.com. She is also the creator of The F-Factor Diet™, an innovative nutritional program she has used for more than ten years to provide hundreds of her clients with all the tools they need to achieve easy weight loss and maintenance, improved health and well-being. For more information log onto www.FFactorDiet.com.
Tags: antibiotics, cows, estrogen, F-Factor Diet, fat-free milk, growth hormones, isoflavones, lactaid, lactose intolerant, low-fat milk, milk, organic, saturated fat, skim milk, soy milk, Tanya Zuckerbrot
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Ever since learning about the forced deprecation of our milk suppy by applying heat to kill all the bad, and good organisms, I have fruitlessly tried to locate a source of unhomogenized milk. There is a dairy near us, and they won’t sell me any non. The neighbors have two cows, but they only produce when they have calfs; noone wants to bother to milk them. Neither do I. People drank milk for thousands of years before it’s lethal heat treatment began. Things are supposed to be getting better.
Of course, before the days of pasteurization milk was considered a food, not a drink, and the skim milk was fed to the pigs. Cheese and butter were the main dairy products. Also, today’s dairy employs the fastest pasteurization method which destroys nutrients as well. Could you ask the dairy if they would consider bringing your milk to the required degree slowly rather than quickly? This would retain more of the goodness in the milk but still meet the dairy’s FDA requirements. They could get in legal trouble for selling raw milk. (Homogenization is actually what keeps milk from separating.)
Do you get the same nutritional benefits from cheese or yogurt as drinking glasses of milk? My daughter gets a rash when she drinks milk but is not lactose intolerant, she just has an allergic reaction. I definitely want to make sure she gets full nutritional value from dairy!