Nutrition benefits/content of milk?

No need to give up milk. I have at least 300ml in my cups of tea everyday. I go low fat only because I need to save my calories. But if that's not an issue, definitely go the full fat route.

Dietary guidelines recommend 3 servings of dairy a day, so having milk every day is just fine. Also, the fat free milk helps you avoid saturated fat, which is a plus.

mccindy72 wrote: »

LyraVega02 wrote: »

Dietary guidelines recommend 3 servings of dairy a day, so having milk every day is just fine. Also, the fat free milk helps you avoid saturated fat, which is a plus.

Saturated fat is not bad for you, in moderation. Your body needs it. In fact, your body will lose weight more easily if you are eating a balanced amount of fats, protein and carbs.

I am aware of the need for fat in a balanced diet. OP eats eggs, and surely other foods that contain saturated fats. I was simply saying that the fat free milk is an easy way to keep from going overboard. I'll be more clear next time.

There's actually some research out there that says milk isn't all that good for you (not saying it's bad for you either though) and it's relatively agreed upon that you absorb more calcium from things like leafy greens ounce per ounce.
I gave up milk a few months ago and still meet my macros and vitamins/calcium/whatevers

I think the topic of milk can be a controversial topic depending on the crowd. I tend to hear people say that the only milk you should drink is vitamin d because all others are stripped of nutrition. I never did because it was higher in fat and The only time I consumed it was with other fattening items (cake,cookies). I now use unsweetened almond milk and don't drink the other stuff at all.

I would think since you're to avoid certain food groups drinking milk causes no harm. Maybe it causes no harm regardless, I just don't need the calories/fat/protein from milk to help me in my day.

Do you also eat Greek yogurt? I buy plain chobani and add a touch of honey and pistachios. Great snack!

bkate24 wrote: »

Thanks guys! I don't have any medical condition requiring me to restrict sugar. And I actually prefer the taste of fat free to full fat milk . . . it's almost as refreshing as water to me (lol, it's true though).

I think people often tend to like what they grew up with. I like 2%, personally, but fat free is fine. ;-)

More reasons to buy organic milk, where cows are not treated like this:

Dairy's Dark Side - the Sour Truth Behind Milk

Far from leading the carefree lives portrayed in the dairy industry's "happy cow" commercials, the vast majority of cows used for dairy production today lead lives of deprivation, confinement, painful mutilations and cruel handling. These curious and intelligent animals are denied access to open pasture and treated as mere milk-producing machines — forced to live on manure-coated concrete floors in overcrowded sheds.

A new Mercy For Animals investigation is pulling back the curtains on the largest dairy factory farm in New York State — Willet Dairy in Locke. In early 2009 an MFA undercover investigator worked at the mega-dairy, secretly documenting egregious acts of animal cruelty, including neglect, with a hidden camera.

Evidence gathered during the investigation reveals:

• Cows with bloody open wounds, prolapsed uteruses, pus-filled infections, and swollen joints, apparently left to suffer without veterinary care
• "Downed" cows — those too sick or injured to even stand — left to suffer for weeks before dying or being killed
• Workers hitting, kicking, punching, and electric-shocking cows and calves
• Calves having their horns burned off without painkillers, as a worker shoved his fingers into the calves' eyes to restrain them
• Calves having their tails cut off — a painful practice opposed by the American Veterinary Medical Association
• Newborn calves forcibly dragged away from their mothers by their legs, causing emotional distress to both mother and calf
• Cows living in overcrowded sheds on manure-coated concrete flooring
• Workers injecting cows with a controversial bovine growth hormone, used to increase milk production

In a joint statement, internationally renowned experts, including Dr. Bernard Rollin, an expert witness on animal welfare issues in the U.S. and abroad, and Dr. Temple Grandin, a world-renowned cattle welfare expert and advisor to the USDA, compared the conditions documented at Willet to the infamous Hallmark slaughterhouse, where undercover video exposing abuse of downed cows resulted in the largest beef recall in US history. They state, "This dairy presents at least as bad a picture of the industry as does Hallmark."

New York veterinarian Dr. Holly Cheever bluntly stated, "It is my professional opinion that the environment that this dairy provides as well as its cattle-handling techniques are improper, unhygienic, dangerous, and inhumane."

Despite the overwhelming evidence that the dairy operation repeatedly violated New York's animal cruelty laws, which was meticulously compiled by Mercy For Animals and presented to the Cayuga County District Attorney, the law enforcement agency refuses to uphold the state's laws to protect animals — allowing abuse to continue at Willet, unchecked.

Sadly, the inhumane conditions uncovered at this factory farm are not isolated. Whether raised for meat, dairy or eggs, animals used in food production are frequently subjected to appalling confinement, mutilations, brutal handling and slaughter. Because agribusiness values profit over ethical principles, cruelty to animals continues to run rampant on factory farms.