What is the best kind of milk?

beautifulsparkles

I'm not talking about brands, but where milk comes from.

I usually drink skim milk. I am wondering if it is not as good as regular, full fat milk, because it is a watered down version and our body needs calcium and stuff. I've read that you should drink full fat milk because your body needs the fat and the milk has really good stuff in it, while skim milk tends to have added sugars. Full fat milk is supposed to be more satisfying and I believe you would end up drinking a smaller amount. I am not used to the taste of full fat milk, it always tastes weird to me. It also used to give me a horrendous stomach ache when I was a child. I seem to have outgrown that, as I can have the milkshakes from McDonalds, and I obviously drink tea with milk when I go out or am at other peoples houses.

Then there are cow milk alternatives. Stuff like almond milk, soy milk or goats milk. To my knowledge I have never tasted these. I think they are more expensive. I am not sure whether they would get stored in the fridge or not, if they can be used in all the same ways cow milk can be (in tea, in baking etc) and what the expiration dates are like. Also do they have the same health benefits as regular milk, like calcium? I would need a milk alternative that meets my nutritional needs.

What is best when it comes to animals well being and the environment?

What kind of milk do you think is best? do you use more than one type of milk?

Disasterology919

I love soy milk as it contains less fat, more calcium and vitamins. Even a little bit of fibre. And it also doesn't come from a cow.

beautifulsparkles

I guess I shouldn't have mentioned the price- I'm from New Zealand, so stuff that is more expensive here, might not be in the rest of the world. I don't even know if you can buy alternative milk at the supermarket or if you have to go to the health food store!

pdxwine

I do not drink milk (I have never liked it) but I use it for cooking/baking and such. I have used almond milk and coconut milk. I prefer coconut milk, as it is richer in flavor.

One thing to look at, when selecting a milk, it protein. Cows milk will have more protein (almond milk has very little).

beautifulsparkles

I tend to add a lot of milk to my tea, like 150g. When I had a nutritionist look at my food plan, she said to only have like 2 cups of tea a day, with 2 tea/tablespoons of milk. I wasn't able to stick with that. However, I have started filling my cup to where I want it with hot water, then filling half of the space that used to be milk with cold water, and the rest with milk, and it pretty much tastes the same.

I was using more calories than I wanted on milk, and it was skim milk to start with. I brought a jug in the New Years sales to fill with milk at the start of the day, and once I was finished with that, I was not going to drink any more that day. I haven't used it yet. I was going to weigh what was in it at the start of the day so I would only have to track it once.

vingogly

I drink almond, coconut, and soy milk. I try to include more soy in my diet because I have prostate cancer, and it may help with the outlook.

http://www.webmd.com/prostate-cancer/news/20040924/soy-improves-prostate-cancer-outlook

mjwarbeck

Don't drink milk...at most a tbsp if I have a coffee.

In the end drink milk you enjoy...there isn't any reason to drink it otherwise...and for some of us, it causes significant internal distress (not the lactose, but the cow milk protein)

veggiecanner

we switched from skim to 1% ,there is a difference. I am watching my colesteral, so no full fat milk.

diannethegeek

The kind you like that best fits into your goals.

kimny72

There really isn't one good answer to this. It depends on your goals, your personal opinions, and as you mentioned your location.

It's probably a safe bet that cow's milk will be the least expensive, though I' not sure that's the case everywhere.
Do you need more protein in your diet? Then you should probably go with dairy milk or soy milk. Almond, rice, and coconut milk don't have much protein.
Do you need more fat in your diet? Then 2% or full fat dairy is probably your best bet, followed by coconut milk. Skim, soy, almond, and rice milk are low fat.
Are you a vegetarian? Or are you concerned about how cows are treated at dairies in your area? Then you should either avoid dairy milk or do some research on your local dairies.
Are you lactose intolerant? Then obviously don't drink dairy milk.

I tend to fluctuate between 2% milk and almond milk, depending on what I'm using it for, based on what tastes good to me. I don't drink any milk straight in a glass (blech!), and I use a flavored creamer in my coffee.

malibu927

diannethegeek wrote: »

The kind you like that best fits into your goals.

This. If I need milk for cereal or scrambled eggs, I use 2%, but otherwise I don't drink it.

rileysowner

beautifulsparkles wrote: »

I'm not talking about brands, but where milk comes from.

I usually drink skim milk. I am wondering if it is not as good as regular, full fat milk, because it is a watered down version and our body needs calcium and stuff. I've read that you should drink full fat milk because your body needs the fat and the milk has really good stuff in it, while skim milk tends to have added sugars. Full fat milk is supposed to be more satisfying and I believe you would end up drinking a smaller amount. I am not used to the taste of full fat milk, it always tastes weird to me. It also used to give me a horrendous stomach ache when I was a child. I seem to have outgrown that, as I can have the milkshakes from McDonalds, and I obviously drink tea with milk when I go out or am at other peoples houses.

Then there are cow milk alternatives. Stuff like almond milk, soy milk or goats milk. To my knowledge I have never tasted these. I think they are more expensive. I am not sure whether they would get stored in the fridge or not, if they can be used in all the same ways cow milk can be (in tea, in baking etc) and what the expiration dates are like. Also do they have the same health benefits as regular milk, like calcium? I would need a milk alternative that meets my nutritional needs.

What is best when it comes to animals well being and the environment?

What kind of milk do you think is best? do you use more than one type of milk?

Skim milk is not watered down, rather the fats in it are skimmed off. Nor do they add sugars, instead the removal of fat increases the proportion of the sugars that are naturally in milk.

While I don't mind almond milk, I much prefer cow or goat milk.

When it comes down to it, best is a very obscure qualification, and frankly, there is so much misinformation put out by the animal rights groups that it would take far more than a simple post to cover all the options.

If you like milk, drink it. If you don't, don't. If you like Almond milk all power to you. Choose what you want, I personally don't think there is a best kind in an absolute sense.

Tofuli

Cow's milk in general is not needed, and skimmed milk is one of the most ridiculous food products out there (I don't mean it in a rude way, most people buy into it because it is so heavily marketed).

We do not 'need' anything from cows, cows milk is the product of a cow that has just given birth to a baby and is producing milk to feed its young. It is (in my opinion) the most unethical animal product out there because it involves the artificial insemination (basically rape) of a cow, the slavery of that cow whilst it is milked, then the murder of its baby for veal and then the murder of the dairy cow after a couple of years when it no longer produces enough milk to be profitable.

As for the environment all animal products are worse for the planet by a huge extent because it involves inefficient use of energy because we grow plants to feed to animals but get less calories out of such because the animals waste a lot of energy through respiration. This means much larger quantities of plants need to be grown than if we ate the plants directly, and is fuelling huge deforestation to grow crops and to graze cattle (animal agriculture is the biggest cause of rainforest deforestation).

I say skim milk is even worse because to cause all this and then to just get rid of the vast majority of the product and just drink what is basically water filtered through a cow is insane.

Try some plant milks and see what you like. They don't taste like cows milk but you adjust to the taste and its great because it gives you a range of different flavours for different dishes. Soy is best for protein and richness, almond is best for its neutral flavour and low calories. I like soy for protein smoothies and creamy sauces, and I like almond for cereal and for drinking on its own as a refreshing drink. Oat, hemp and rice are all great too.

beautifulsparkles

@kimny72 What is a creamer? I don't think they sell those here

beautifulsparkles

Wow, I didn't know there were so many types of milk! I thought there was 5, but it sounds like there are at least double that!

earlnabby

beautifulsparkles wrote: »

I'm not talking about brands, but where milk comes from.

I usually drink skim milk. I am wondering if it is not as good as regular, full fat milk, because it is a watered down version and our body needs calcium and stuff. I've read that you should drink full fat milk because your body needs the fat and the milk has really good stuff in it, while skim milk tends to have added sugars. Full fat milk is supposed to be more satisfying and I believe you would end up drinking a smaller amount. I am not used to the taste of full fat milk, it always tastes weird to me. It also used to give me a horrendous stomach ache when I was a child. I seem to have outgrown that, as I can have the milkshakes from McDonalds, and I obviously drink tea with milk when I go out or am at other peoples houses.

Then there are cow milk alternatives. Stuff like almond milk, soy milk or goats milk. To my knowledge I have never tasted these. I think they are more expensive. I am not sure whether they would get stored in the fridge or not, if they can be used in all the same ways cow milk can be (in tea, in baking etc) and what the expiration dates are like. Also do they have the same health benefits as regular milk, like calcium? I would need a milk alternative that meets my nutritional needs.

What is best when it comes to animals well being and the environment?

What kind of milk do you think is best? do you use more than one type of milk?

Skim is not watered down, it just has the fat removed. Everything else in milk remains, including the calcium. If you get your fat elsewhere, drink skim. If you aren't reaching your fat macro, go with 1%, 2% or whole milk (4% milkfat). Personally, I drink skim because I prefer the taste.

rainbowbow

depends on what i'm going to have it in. But i really like coconut/rice milk and almond milk.

9/10 I don't use cows milk simply because of the calories. Also, certain milks like almond or coconut can add good flavor to sweeter dishes.

eldamiano

Chocolate milk....

Hornsby

Jersey cow milk straight out of the udder is the best imo.

rileysowner

Tofuli wrote: »

Cow's milk in general is not needed, and skimmed milk is one of the most ridiculous food products out there (I don't mean it in a rude way, most people buy into it because it is so heavily marketed).

We do not 'need' anything from cows, cows milk is the product of a cow that has just given birth to a baby and is producing milk to feed its young. It is (in my opinion) the most unethical animal product out there because it involves the artificial insemination (basically rape) of a cow, the slavery of that cow whilst it is milked, then the murder of its baby for veal and then the murder of the dairy cow after a couple of years when it no longer produces enough milk to be profitable.

As for the environment all animal products are worse for the planet by a huge extent because it involves inefficient use of energy because we grow plants to feed to animals but get less calories out of such because the animals waste a lot of energy through respiration. This means much larger quantities of plants need to be grown than if we ate the plants directly, and is fuelling huge deforestation to grow crops and to graze cattle (animal agriculture is the biggest cause of rainforest deforestation).

I say skim milk is even worse because to cause all this and then to just get rid of the vast majority of the product and just drink what is basically water filtered through a cow is insane.

Try some plant milks and see what you like. They don't taste like cows milk but you adjust to the taste and its great because it gives you a range of different flavours for different dishes. Soy is best for protein and richness, almond is best for its neutral flavour and low calories. I like soy for protein smoothies and creamy sauces, and I like almond for cereal and for drinking on its own as a refreshing drink. Oat, hemp and rice are all great too.

A good example of the mis-information that is rampant in this area.

beautifulsparkles

earlnabby wrote: »

Personally, I drink skim because I prefer the taste.

Haha. Me too. It would feel like having dessert drinking creamy milk. It doesn't seem like the kind of thing you should drink regulary.