What you Want, Find Here ↓
Is Whole Milk Better Than Low-Fat and Skim Milk?
Milk is one of the most nutritious drinks. Regular consumption of milk had a great influence on mortality and overall health of a person than butter and cheese. For decades, health guidelines recommended only low fat dairy for everyone over 2 aged. But in recent years, researchers suggested that, skim milk might not be the healthier option why we should only focus on 1 ‘nutrient’ . Milk also contain other nutrients.
Now, let’s discuss which milk is better
Why whole milk considered unhealthy in the past?
“In the 1990’s, people was fat phobic many health agencies & health professionals recommend diet which was fat-free including whole milk which is full fat milk” said by Frances Largeman –Roth, RDN, nutrition expert.
There is a reason behind it for which health agencies avoid to drink full fat milk, that it contains saturated fat. Some researchers made assumptions that saturated fat raises blood cholesterol levels which mainly linked with heart diseases. But there is no such experimental evidence which prove this.
But recently, plenty of experiment has been done to prove that saturated fat can’t cause heart diseases. In return, it increases your HDL levels in blood which act as a protective barrier against many diseases.
Now, I don’t think so that you will avoid saturated fat. I am not saying to consume it in large amount. Excess of everything is bad. You can consume it in a recommended amount. The daily recommended amount of saturated fat is 22g but if u has cholesterol issues than you can limit its intake to 7g.
As more people opted for items like fat-free or low-fat yogurts, manufacturers started pumping their products with sugar and artificial ingredients to make them taste better. The result? We could consume nearly a day’s worth of sugar in a single serving of strawberry yogurt.
Skim milk and fat-free, flavored yogurts aren’t just unsatisfying and, in the case of fat-free yogurt, often full of added sugars, though—they also deprive us of the health benefits of full-fat dairy, Largeman-Roth says
Difference between whole milk, low-fat milk and skim milk:
The fat contents are in them are different. The whole milk is full fat milk while skim & low fat milk contains less amount of fat as their fat contents are removed.
Here the fat content of these popular milk:
- Whole milk 25% milk fat
- Low fat milk 1% milk fat
- Skim milk less than 0.5% milk fat
According to American Dietary guidelines, one cup (237) of milk contains:
| Whole-fat milk | Low-fat milk | Skim milk | |
| Calories | 146g | 102 | 83 |
| Carbs | 12.8g | 12.7 | 12.5 |
| Protein | 7.9 | 8.2 | 8.3 |
| Fat | 7.9g | 2.4 | 0.2 |
| Saturated fat | 4.6g | 1.5 | 0.1 |
| Omega 3s | 183mg | 9.8mg | 2.5mg |
| Calcium | 276mg | 290mg | 306mg |
| Vitamin D | 97.6IU | 127IU | 100IU |
Consuming whole milk may assist in weight management:
As you know whole milk is full fat milk. For this reason, many people assume that extra fat and calorie will cause weight gain. But you don’t need to assume wrong about it. Because, it in return may prevent weight gain.
One research study shows that women with higher consumption of high-fat dairy products may less likely to weight gain over time. Another research shows that men with low intake of high fat dairy products had a 53% higher risk of abdominal obesity.
A study of nearly 20 thousand women found that women with consumption of more than one serving of whole milk a day were 15% less likely to gain weight over a period of 9 years compared to those who didn’t drank milk or drank low-fat milk.
Whole milk can also lower risk of chronic diseases:
Chronic diseases include metabolic syndrome. Metabolic syndrome includes a group of risk factors, including insulin resistance, abdominal obesity, low HDL levels and high triglyceride levels.
When these risk factors are present together, your risk of diabetes and heart disease increases. A 2016 research study of nearly 10,000 adults shown that high fat dairy products are associated with less chances of having metabolic syndrome.
The fatty acids in whole milk are high responsible for its health benefits. One study shows that, people with highest amount of fat derived fatty acids in their blood are having 44% lower rate of diabetes than those with lowest amount. Whole milk also reduces infertility and lower the risk of infertility.
Skim milk sometimes might be the best option:
Skim milk is ‘nutrient dense’. It is sometimes considered the best option due to its less fat content. There is another reason, according to dash diet hypertensive patient can’t consume full fat dairy. Obese patients also can’t consume full fat dairy. If you are following a low calorie diet, then you cut whole milk from your diet. Because it provides low calorie protein
But the rest of you can consume full fat dairy on a daily basis. A nutritionist largeman-Roth says, milk from organic cows is higher in PUFA, omega-3 fats, vitamin E,iron and CLA’s than farmed milk.
Conclusion:
The nutrition agencies gave recommendations to drink fat free milk which is not supported by current research. But their may be some circumstances in which a person have to consume skim milk. Drink whole milk daily increases your age, lower the risk of CVD disease and metabolic syndrome.
