Should I drink whole milk?

gkaffen338

No not at all. With all the conflicting info on the web I thought a little personal experience with the subject may give an additional datapoint for anyone deciding if they should or shouldn't drink milk and how much.

Greg

jennk5309

Since when is it processed and bleached?? Maybe rbst is given to the cows, so just get milk that says it is from cows not treated with rbst. There's no freaking bleach in milk! Also, prior to homogenization became standard, infection from bacteria in milk used to be much more common. I'm all for natural eating, but don't forget that the organic health movement has become quite the money maker and thus spreader of BS information by some in that industry who are just out to sell you their latest and greatest "all natural" product. Be skeptical!

trinatrina1984

Go for almond milk instead! No need for Cow's milk.

But doesn't that defeat the point of avoiding "processed" food? I imagine those almonds are incredibly "processed" to get them into milk. You don't just squeeze them and get it, after all.

No, you blend them. It's really not hard to make your own almond milk/pistacio milk etc. At all.

how is blended nuts milk, using the same logic you could blend anything white and call it milk. Parsnips or cooked chicken maybe?

Showcase_Brodown

If the reason you want to switch to whole milk is just because of "processing," you probably don't have much to worry about. Allow for some extra calories if you switch to whole.

Everything is processed. Not to mention, everything you eat is processed through the chemical acid bath known as your stomach.

pinkraynedropjacki

No need to drink cows milk at all. If you knew how they make sure you have it in the 1st place..... but then I can not remember the last time I was a cow.

nicsflyingcircus

I grew up on 2% and we keep 1% in the house these days, I can't handle the texture of whole milk, heh. I barely drink any milk at all anymore actually. The whole eating my calories vs drinking them thing,

LAT1963

I've read studies showing people who drink whole milk lose weight faster than people who drink skim milk, but I don't have links, so consider that apocryphal.

Whole milk contains milkfat. Skim milk does not. As a result, by volume, there is less water per cup of whole milk than there is in skim milk (because some of that cup is fat). Since lactose is far more soluble in water than fat, whole milk has less carbohydrate than skim milk. Depending on your metabolism, trading fat calories for carbohydrate calories is either a good or a bad thing.

In addition, the fat occurring in milk is in micelles--droplets bounded by a membrane (sic: chemically it is half a membrane but that's quibbling detail). Research has also shown that fat bounded by micelles is an appetite suppressant, and companies are now researching how to synthesize fat in micelles to sell as an appetite suppressant (which to me is bizarre since cream already exists and is exactly that. I guess they want something they can patent.)

You have to decide for yourself if whole milk offers benefits over skim for your specific situation.

I use cream in my beverages. 50 cals/TBSP. How much milk do you use in your coffee and tea? If it's more than 50 calories worth then cream is a viable alternate and may give you a better mouth-feel. (buy brands without stabilizers though--although derived from seaweed and not unhealthy, cream stabilizers give a funny texture to beverages. They are added because they help whipped cream stand firmer.)

eomuno215in541

I drank half a gallon of milk a night before I mfp'd. oops. now I put coconut milk in smoothies, but use skim milk in my coffee. is 1% or 2% processed? I guess so. If the processing is your worry, budget for whole milk. If calories are your concern, remember: milk is LOTS of carbs too, evil, nasty carbs that I SO LOVE!

butterbear1980

Oh man there are a lot of crazy comments here! So why not chime in with my own "quackery". Whole milk is absolutely one of the most wonderful foods you can eat if you tolerate it well. And man, if you can find some fresh farm milk you could be drinking jersey or Guernsey or brown swiss as opposed to Holstein to get the truly whole milk--- up to 15% milk fat. Did you know milk breaks down to a perfect 40-30-30 for macros?!? And fresh milk from grass fed cows is full of
Fat soluble vitamins and micro nutrients. We have a beautiful family milk cow and I've seen many health benefits from switching to fresh real full fat milk.
As for almond milk it really should be called almond water 'nuf said.
And as for the whole 'milk is for baby cows' that both the paleo and the vegans love to chime in about...I'm not even really sure were to start...so I won't even go there...you can get together and enjoy your almond milk latte...I'll be here eating a quart a day of beautiful vitamin rich full fat grass fed jersey milk and yogurt....mmmm...the privledge of amazing food!

levitateme

ITT: "I don't eat processed foods! But I process my own foods and eat them."

Derp derp derp

If what you want to eat fits your calories, eat it. If you don't want to count calories, then don't, but I don't think anyone here can help you.

losingforgood120

Then you'd have to buy it raw and unpasteurized.

EDIT: Sorry, *if you want milk which is unprocessed

This

You could still drink whole milk, not count calories and not gain weight. What are you relying on to maintain? Intuitive eating? The fat in whole milk could help you feel more full. Structure? Just drink a little less than skim since it has more calories. Skim milk is 80 calories a cup and whole milk is 150 calories a cup. So have a little more than half what you were drinking before- about the same calories, different macros.

weightliftingdiva

This thread is full of fail.

OP - eat what tastes good to you that allows you to stay within your healthy weight range.

Don't worry about what anyone else thinks or doesn't think about milk.

W31RD0

I'm at a healthy weight. All I want to do it is cut out the processed foods in my diet.

I probably consume a cup to two cups of milk a day, whether I stir it in tea, drink it by itself, or use it in scrambles and oatmeal. I've been drinking skim milk for the past three years, but I know it's processed and bleached and filled with additives. Still, I'm afraid that the extra calories and fat from whole milk would make me gain weight since milk is a staple in my diet.

A half pint of whole milk is about 150 cals, the same amount of 2% is 130 cals; not really that big of a difference. The difference is that whole milk tends to have much more saturated fats. Even though I am bulking I try to get more 2% than whole.

melimomTARDIS

I don't think skim milk is a "processed food". I am aware of no powders or lighteners added.

I buy 1% milk for the lower saturated fats than whole milk, but overall same taste and mouthfeel.

When I was losing weight I used almond milk, the 30 calories a glass variety, but in maintaining I don't buy any "special" foods. I drink what the family drinks!

nymtber

I personally drink skim milk. I got used to it, and its all I can stomach. Even 2% is too creamy for me. I can tell a difference when I run out of skim and have to use the family's 2%...

Whole milk is fine if you are otherwise eating healthy. I see no issue! I use half n half in my iced coffee Skim milk doesn't cut it there.

Life is all about moderation.

calattalamance

Best! Moderation is *key*

__freckles__

I use whole milk, whole (full-fatted) cottage cheese and other diary products. Hasn't stopped me from losing about 3lbs/week. Besides, diary is a good source of protein and calcium. If you can fit it into your daily calories, there is no reason to cut diary from your diet, unless at the advice of your medical professional.

Therein lies the problem. OP isn't counting, so it really doesn't matter what OP wants to try or test or do. It'll all be guess work.

The differential between drinking 1 cup of whole milk vs 1 cup of skim milk is 70 calories. Easily countered by a very small increase in daily activity.

? If that were the only thing not being measured, but 70 calories here and there adds up when you're just guessing. Unknown variable =/= 70. I just don't get why people come here then complain tracking when the site is literally designed for logging.

Oh the horror! Using MFP for something other than counting calories! It's called myFITNESSpal, not myCALORIECOUNTINGpal. This is seriously the most annoying thing I see on the forums. Not everyone on MFP counts calories. Most of us do, but not all. When I initially joined I didn't. I used the site to track my weight loss and then discovered the awesomeness of the forums. I'm only tracking during cutting/bulking cycles. On the off seasons I'll still be using MFP and not counting calories. Gaaaaaaaaasp!

Also, agree that the 70 calorie difference is nothing. Drink the whole milk. It's delicious.

McNatali

I'm at a healthy weight. All I want to do it is cut out the processed foods in my diet.

I probably consume a cup to two cups of milk a day, whether I stir it in tea, drink it by itself, or use it in scrambles and oatmeal. I've been drinking skim milk for the past three years, but I know it's processed and bleached and filled with additives. Still, I'm afraid that the extra calories and fat from whole milk would make me gain weight since milk is a staple in my diet.

Can you please source the bleached and additive claims?

I thought the milk fat was just extracted with a centrifuge prior to homogenization. That's pretty minimal 'processing'

This is what I thought, too ... actually, I didn't even think of a centrifuge. People have been skimming the cream off of milk for centuries (how do you think they made butter?) and would sell the skimmed milk for cheaper than regular milk, so it was common fare for the poor. The cream actually floats to the top, so it's not hard to just skim most of it off.

I've never seen or heard any claims of bleaching (it's just a slightly different color because the cream is removed) or additives until I starting running into processed food and dairy alarmists on sites like this, TBH.

I work for a dairy. There is no bleach or additives added to skim milk, unless you count vitamins as an additive, but those are also added to whole milk.

Raw milk is brought into the dairy, heated, separated into cream and skim milk, recombined into the desired butterfat, homogenized (which just helps keep it from separating), has vitamins added, and pasteurized (which is what kills the bacteria that's present), and then cooled and packaged. Skim milk is not made from adding water to milk. Adding water, or anything for that matter to milk is considered adulteration and is illegal. The only exception to what can be added is the vitamins, and they have to be labeled if they're added (there are still a few places that don't add them).

Most of the time even whole milk goes through this same process, unless the dairy is producing unstandardized milk, which isn't too common in the US because the fat level in raw milk changes based on breed, time of year, what the cow ate, etc. and in some cases the difference is enough that customers would notice the difference (and then complain).

__freckles__

Guys seriously. Yes no one wants to eat over processed food. We get that it's bad for you. But man people have to stop getting sand in their v*ginas over the slightest human interference in their food.

It's pretty god damn amazing that we even live to 60 tbh. We should count ourselves blessed to live in an age of advanced medicine and tasty processed foods. I would bet anyone a million quid that if we somehow got a caveman brought him here and said look here's all this tasty food. If you pig out on it you will probably live to be 50. If you can show restraint and exercise regularly you will probably make 70. If you are lucky you could even make 100. What would his response be? Probably along the lines of this.

WOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!

This post makes me happy, except I disagree with the bolded. I loooooove me some processed foodz and don't believe it's bad for me. Moderation my friends. Moderation.

Other than that, this post wins the internet for the day.

ervlenzy

I agree with almost everyone else here. When it comes to weight loss its not what you eat that counts, its the total amount of fuel you take in. It is all a numbers game. Eat less than you burn, lose weight. Simple. Drink whole milk for a while and see how you do. If it becomes an issue, switch back. Good luck.