What Kind Of Milk Should I Drink?

Amy Goodson, a registered dietitian and nutrition specialist, says, “When looking for vitamins, minerals, protein, and a lower cost, cow’s milk is your best option. Cow’s milk contains 1 gram of protein per ounce, or 8 grams for 1 cup. The other milks don’t measure up, protein-wise, with 0-1 grams for 1 cup (8 ounces).”

Cow’s milk is the most commonly consumed dairy milk and a good source of high-quality protein (8). It’s naturally rich in calcium, B vitamins, and many minerals.

The 7 Healthiest Milk Options

1. Hemp milk. Hemp milk is made from ground, soaked hemp seeds, which do not contain the psychoactive component of the Cannabis sativa plant.
2. Oat milk. Though drinking milk made by soaking whole oats doesn’t offer quite the same health benefits as eating a bowl of whole grain oats, it is very nutritious.
3. Almond milk.
4. Coconut milk.
5. Cow’s milk.
6. A2 milk.

How Your Bones And Health Will Benefit When You Avoid Milk

1. You Will Bring Your Hormones Back Into Balance Many people assume that if a milk carton claims “no artificial hormones added”, then the milk is hormone-free.
2. You Will Not Ingest Pus Cells And Antibiotics Your glass of milk contains an alarming amount of pus, and here’s why.
3. You Will Reduce Your Pesticide Exposure

Fortified soy milk’s nutritional profile nearly mimics that of low-fat milk and is the only nondairy alternative with the same 8 grams of complete protein per cup.

Top 5 Healthiest Milk Alternatives

1. Almond Milk. Since almonds are a great plant-based dietary source of calcium, they make an ideal healthy milk alternative.
2. Coconut Milk. Coconut is what I refer to as a “clean and lean” fat because it’s from a plant-based source, and is rich in essential fatty acids.
3. Hemp Milk.
4. Rice Milk.
5. Cashew Milk.

Who should drink whole milk?

Who should drink it: Babies between 1 and 2 years old, whose growing brains need a higher-fat diet, and adults who could use more calories. If you just love the taste of whole milk, it’s OK to indulge. Pair it with a high-fiber cereal and then watch your saturated fats for the rest of the day. Swipe to advance.

All four types of cow’s milk (skim, 1%, 2%, and whole) have the same amount of protein, calcium, and vitamins. The difference is in calories and fat. A cup of 1% lowfat milk has 102 calories and 1.5 grams of saturated fat. A cup of 2% reduced fat milk has 3.1 grams of saturated fat. Both have some of the creaminess that skim milk lacks. If you’re trying to switch to non-fat milk, you might start with these to adjust to the taste difference. They can also be good options for kids who need to drink less juice or soda.

With 36 grams of fat per cup, it’s the nondairy equal of heavy cream. It’s a great substitute in soups, puddings, and vegan ice cream. “Coconut milk beverage,” found in the refrigerated section, is unsweetened and watered down to lower the calories and fat. One cup has 45 calories and 3.5 grams of saturated fat.

Close in texture to whole milk, it has fewer calories than skim. One cup of fortified unsweetened cashew milk has 25 calories per serving , zero sugar, and also has 32% more calcium than dairy milk. Swipe to advance.

A cup of 2% reduced fat milk has 3.1 grams of saturated fat. Both have some of the creaminess that skim milk lacks. If you’re trying to switch to non-fat milk, you might start with these to adjust to the taste difference. They can also be good options for kids who need to drink less juice or soda. Swipe to advance.

Goat’s Milk. In the plus column, a cup of this drink has tons of protein — 9 grams per cup, the most of any milk. It’s also richer in calcium than skim, with 33% of what you need each day. The cons: It has 168 calories and 6.5 grams of saturated fat per cup, far more than whole cow’s milk.

Basic nut and seed milks are fairly easy to make: Simply soak, blend, and drain. Commercially manufactured nut milks are typically fortified with vitamin D, calcium, and other nutrients to put them on par with dairy milk. On the other hand, manufacturers also add sweeteners, preservatives, and stabilizers you may not want.

How much protein is in cow’s milk?

One cup of cow’s milk provides around 8 grams of protein in addition to high amounts of calcium and vitamin D . But, of course, it also contains lactose, so if you’re sensitive to it, it’s best to look for an alternative.

Almond milk is generally low in fat. Unsweetened almond milk is a great choice for anyone following a low-carb or ketogenic (keto) diet, according to Smith. It’s usually low in calories, sugar, and fat, and it’s fortified with antioxidants. However, almond milk is also low in protein.

It’s one of the more expensive nondairy milk varieties. If you’re looking for a nondairy milk that tastes like cow’s milk, macadamia-nut milk could be your best option — as long as you’re not allergic to tree nuts. Though it’s a bit pricier than most other varieties, it has a subtle buttery, nutty flavor.

Hemp milk is higher in calories than other nondairy alternatives, but it’s rich in nutrients. It’s high in protein, vitamins, and minerals, as well as omega-3 fatty acids, which aid in brain and heart health.

But coconut milk lacks protein and is high in fat and simple carbs.

Pea milk has just as much protein as cow’s milk, and it has a creamy texture that other nondairy options often lack. It is also typically fairly high in potassium, and some brands have as much protein as cow’s milk (8 grams per cup).

It is also typically fairly high in potassium, and some brands have as much protein as cow’s milk (8 grams per cup). But whether or not you choose pea milk might have something to do with your taste buds. As registered dietitian Matthew Ruscigno wrote for Today’s Dietitian, it sometimes has “a beany or grassy flavor.”.

What happens to milk before it gets to you?

To start, it’s combined with milk from hundreds or thousands of other cows. Then it’s spun in a centrifuge to remove the fat. Next, the fat is added back into the milk to the desired percentage, and the fat is homogenized [good description, though from an obviously biased source] to keep it from floating back up to the top. Then it’s pasteurized and finally packaged up and sent on its way to the store.

Unfortunately, tracking down grass-fed, raw milk can be difficult, if not impossible ( oh yeah, and it may be illegal ). Even if you can find a good source, it’s probably quite expensive compared to just going to the supermarket.

The nutritional profile of the fats in the milk is going to be different (worse) from those cows. Additionally, by drinking non-fat milk, it reduces the overall calories — and the fewer calories we drink (rather than chew) the better.

In choosing your milk’s fat content, though, I wouldn’t stress too much about those few added calories. Drinking water instead of milk will make a bigger difference than choosing 1% instead of 2% milk — unless you drink a lot of milk.

So this type of “whole milk” is not really whole anymore. It’s been split apart, put back together, and heavily processed. If it’s going to be pasteurized-homogenized milk, especially if it’s from cows that are eating corn and not grass, we may be better off avoiding the fats altogether.

Although I don’t have first-hand experience (I’m a little lactose-intolerant), I purport that drinking raw, whole milk from healthy, well-treated cows that eat grass in the pasture is probably the best way to go. That’s because the nutritional profile of milk from cows that eat grass — rather than corn — is better for you. It’s also better for the environment … And for the cows. (Here’s a good discussion of grass-fed vs. grain-fed cows ).

Why is milk so bad for you?

For this reason, and because of pasteurization, the body produces excess mucus and antibodies, creating respiratory and other health issues.

Dairy alternatives to pasteurized cow’s milk include: raw, unpasteurized cow’s milk; conventional goat and sheep’s milk; and raw goat and sheep’s milk. Of all of these options, raw goat and sheep milk are ideal because you avoid the negatives of pasteurization, as well as some of the protein and acid-related issues associated with drinking cow’s milk.

To counteract the acidity produced by consuming cow dairy, the body will often pull calcium—which is highly alkalinizing—from the bones and teeth to keep everything in balance. Ironically, too much of this activity leads to weakened and brittle bones. That’s why it’s essential to eat a diet high in alkaline-forming foods.

All animals (except for one species in the reptile family), stop producing the enzyme to digest lactose in infancy and never drink milk after being weaned.

Cow’s milk, like most protein-rich dairy and animal products, is inherently acid-forming. When the body metabolizes milk, the end result is a more acidic overall pH. To neutralize its own pH, the body will naturally process the acid through organs like the kidneys and pull on alkaline reserves from tissue and bones. This means running the risk of excessive buildup of acid in the body, or acidosis.