Less milk, less health?

Published May 6, 2011

Share

London - Teenage girls are often deficient in iodine and it could affect brain development of their future children, according to research. Experts blame the problem on girls drinking less milk.

But girls aren’t the only ones cutting back. Thanks to our obsession with weight and food “intolerances”, our intake of milk has dropped dramatically in the past decade - from a yearly average of 96 litres per person to 82 litres. But are we right to demonise milk? Does the drop in consumption even matter? We asked the experts.

Q: Isn’t milk just for kids?

Avoiding milk means we’re missing a trick nutritionally, says Elisabeth Weichselbaum of the British Nutrition Foundation. One glass provides around half our daily iodine, important for a healthy thyroid and metabolism. It’s also a good source of nutrients such as calcium.

An adult needs three portions of dairy products a day for calcium - one 200ml glass of milk counts as a portion, she adds. “There are other dairy sources, but milk is the richest, providing more on a weight-for-weight basis than cheese or yogurt.”

Milk also supplies vitamins A, C, D, E, K and the B-group, as well as magnesium, zinc and potassium. “Though you can live without it, milk is a really efficient and convenient way of getting a dose of a vast array of nutrients,” adds Anna Raymond of the British Dietetic Association. “So if you don’t drink it you need to source those vitamins and minerals from elsewhere or risk a deficiency. It also provides protein, essential for maintenance and repair of body tissues.”

Q: But isn’t it fattening?

Even whole milk, with 134 calories per 200ml glass, is not as bad for the waistline as people think, says Anna Raymond. “Milk is not a dieter’s enemy,” she says. “A glass contains far fewer calories and less sugar than a chocolate bar and is much better for you. And in skimmed milk, there are only 68 calories per glass.” (Semi-skimmed milk provides 98 calories.)

While these calories are derived largely from the fat, milk isn’t officially a high-fat food (set at five percent fat or higher). Whole milk is around 3.5 percent fat, semi-skimmed milk is 1.7 percent fat, and skimmed milk 0.3 percent.

Q: Should I swap to low-fat milk?

If you want to lose weight, you could, but it won’t make a big difference unless you have several glasses a day. However, you will also reduce your saturated fat intake - one glass of full-fat milk provides more than a third of a woman’s daily allowance, says Anna Raymond. “Too much whole milk is not recommended if you already consume a lot of other saturated fat from butter and red meat.”

The good news is that lower-fat milk contains the same amount of nutrients, she adds. Note that semi-skimmed and skimmed milks are not recommended for children under two, as they need the fat in whole milk to fuel their rapid growth and development.

Q: Is organic or soya milk better?

There’s some evidence that organic milk might be worth the extra expense. Researchers at the University of Newcastle published findings in the Journal Of Dairy Science that showed organic supermarket milk contained higher levels of essential fatty acids (beneficial for infant development and general health).

If you are lactose intolerant and using substitutes such as soya milk, the experts advise you to check whether they have been fortified with minerals and vitamins to make up for those in dairy milk. - Daily Mail

Related Topics: