Milk, the Big Debate

By Alyssa Katz

Dairy cows milk.  Is it good or bad?  Should I drink 3 classes a day or avoid it all together?  I feel like I see strong opinions about this topic all the time.  Growing up I have always loved dairy in all forms.  I was told that non-fat dairy is better than full-fat, however in recent years I have heard the opposite from different people saying that full fat dairy is in fact much better than fat free.  I knew after all of these comments I had to do some research, so much so that I decided to write my undergraduate 35 page thesis on it!  I wrote about cow’s milk and its nutrition, along with the nutrition of other non-dairy milks and the perception’s people have on this topic.  Within this post I will give you some insight into my research.  To find out more on this topic my full thesis can be found here: https://scholarsarchive.jwu.edu/student_scholarship/29/  

            To discuss the  benefit of cow’s milk it is specially formulated to nourish a baby calf, meaning that milk is full of nutrients including lipids, protein, amino acids, vitamins and minerals.  Protein is one reason many consumers drink cow’s milk.  Not only is it high in protein, but the protein is easily digestible.  80% of the protein is casein.  Not only is it a protein, but it is a very good source of natural calcium.  Calcium plays a very important role in the body, it helps your heart, muscles, blood clotting and nerves.  In the United States milk consumptions provides for more than half the calcium in the typical diet. 

            Other nutrients that are found naturally in cow’s milk include selenium which plays an important role in your immune system, iodine that helps your thyroid hormones, magnesium that does many things for you including regulation of blood pressure, zinc which aids in protein digestion among many other things, vitamin A, B2, B12 are also naturally occurring in cow’s milk.  Throughout my research on cow’s milk, these small not so obvious benefits are what I found most shocking.  I have always understood that cow’s milk had protein and carbohydrates, but did not know about all of these extra nutrients.

 

                                       

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               Now to reasons milk may not be your best option.  An argument I have heard many times is that only babies are designed to drink milk.  This is true in some respects because when you are born there is an abundance of lactase which helps break down the sugar in milk.  As you grow up the level of lactase decreases.  The level of lactase you have varies from person to person, someone with very little lactase usually has trouble consuming cow’s milk products without a stomach ache or diarrhea. 

The fat found in milk is another reason some stay away from cow’s milk (unless you buy fat free).  More than half of the fat found in milk is made of saturated fat which should make up less than 10% of your calories for the day.  High intakes of saturated fat can lead to many health problems including weight gain and heart disease.  The USDA recommends decreasing milk fat as much as possible.  However there have been studies to show that milk fat is less harmful on cholesterol levels than other sources of saturated fat.  The main unsaturated fatty acids found in cow’s milk is oleic acid.  Most people around the world get this fat from dairy products.  This fat has been shown to lower cholesterol and triglycerides.  Omega-6 and omega-3 fats are also found, we need some of both of these fats.  The human ratio is usually 2:1, omega-6:omega-3 and milk fat has exactly that ratio naturally.

What have I learned from all of my research? I think milk is important in a healthy diet.  It give you lots of nutrients that are essential.  Without milk you would have to work hard to include everything in your diet, milk makes it easy.  I would recommend a low fat milk if you are trying to maintain or lose weight.  However if the goal is weight gain, whole fat cow’s milk is a great place to start.  So next time you are at the grocery store looking at the huge milk selection keep this in mind.

 

 

 

 

 

 http://www.rochestermedia.com/food-selection-is-a-gray-area-these-days/

 

Sources:

Katz, A. C. (n.d.). Milk Nutrition and Perceptions. Johnson & Wales University Scholarly Archives. Retrieved April, 2018.