When many of us go to the market or grocery stores to buy our Milk, we buy based on the brands that we like and do not take nutrition into consideration most times.
Many of us have the impression that milk is milk and do not know that different manufacturers pack different types of milk for sale.
Maybe if we understand that the different milks are not the same in composition and hence have different effect on our health, you would consider looking at that milk container when next you hit the grocery store.
If you have ever bothered to check the containers/labels of milk, I am sure you would have come across terms such as skim or skimmed milk and full cream milk or simply cream milk. They mean different thing and thus have slightly different taste (if you can sense that) and different health benefits.
The Differences Between Skimmed Milk & Full Cream Milk
Okay, let me start by giving a short description of milk. It is a whitish nutritious liquid secreted by the mammary gland of mammals and has a lot of health benefits. All mammals produce milk; however, the most common milk sold commercially is that of the cow. In some parts of the world, milk from sheep and goats are consumed and sold.
Full Cream Milk vs Skimmed Milk
1. Major Difference Between Skimmed Milk & Cream Milk
The full cream milk, also known as whole milk is the milk in the form we get them from animals while skimmed milk is whole milk from dairy cows that has had most of or all of its fat removed. So, if you are looking to burn down fat, you may not want to add to it by consuming more of whole milk.
2. Saturated Fat Contained In Skimmed Milk and Cream Milk
A typical full cream milk would normally contain around 5 grammes of saturated fat per one-cup serving. This is 20 percent of the daily limit. Now consider that you may also eat other fatty foods such as cheese, butter, coconut oil and other foods rich in saturated fat in a single day. This makes it easy for you to overshoot 25 grams per day.
3. Nutritional Composition of roughly 236ml serving of milk
Full cream milk;
Protein: 7.9 g
Carbohydrates: 11 g
Calcium: 276.1 mg
Potassium: 349 mg
Cholesterol: 24 mg
Sodium: 98 mg
Carbohydrates: 11 g
Calcium: 276.1 mg
Potassium: 349 mg
Cholesterol: 24 mg
Sodium: 98 mg
Same volume of skim milk:
Protein: 8.7 g
Carbohydrates: 12.3 g
Calcium: 349 mg
Potassium: 419 mg
Cholesterol: 5 mg
Sodium: 130 mg
Carbohydrates: 12.3 g
Calcium: 349 mg
Potassium: 419 mg
Cholesterol: 5 mg
Sodium: 130 mg
4. Vitamin Composition of the 2 Milks
Some people prefer to take skimmed milk because it does not contain fat but what they don’t know is that, unlike full cream milk which contains both water soluble and fat soluble vitamins, skimmed milk lacks the fat soluble vitamins (A, D, E, K). This is because the Vitamins have been skimmed alongside with the fat during the production process. It’s simple, they are only soluble in fat, so they are dissolved in the fat. What happens when the fat is removed?
The vitamins are removed too.
In conclusion, what you want from milk determines the type of milk that you choose when next you go shopping for milk. By the way, cream milk tastes better than skimmed milk. #JustSaying
