News Taffy

Is milk a healthy drink or not? You may be wondering why I’d ask such a question. Unless you’ve been watching the brewing milk controversy in recent years or you simply don’t drink milk, you probably have some in your refrigerator right now. My family drinks a couple of gallons of milk each week and my daughter often has a small, low fat chocolate milk after swim practice as a recovery drink. We also consume other dairy products like cheese, cottage cheese and yogurt.

I’ve been following the ever changing opinions on milk and other dairy products for several years. Awhile back the idea was promoted that those who ate low fat dairy regularly were better able to maintain a healthy weight. Recently, I’ve seen articles and books which lambast the idea that milk is an essential part of a healthy diet, stating that it adds too much sugar and fat to our diet in exchange for any nutritional value. Then there is the criticism that the U.S. government subsidizes milk production, costing American consumers billions per year in tax money, instead of allowing dairy farmers to compete in a free market with imported dairy products.

Humans originally could not tolerate milk beyond infancy but thousands of years ago, some of our ancestors experienced a mutation which enabled them to keep producing lactase, the enzyme needed to digest milk, into adulthood. This added a whole new food source to our diet. Those who tolerated milk thrived while other groups struggled during harsh conditions when little food was available.

Since the 1930’s, the government has promoted milk as a part of a healthy diet and paid dairy farmers to produce more; often more than could be consumed which led to a boom in cheese production and a huge rise in cheese consumption. In his book, Salt Sugar Fat, Michael Moss writes that the explosion of cheese in American diets is partly responsible for the obesity epidemic. So what is the right choice, to drink or not to drink milk? Milk is an excellent source of calcium, potassium and vitamin D which all help regulate bone health and blood pressure.

Milk is also a great source of protein, necessary for building muscles, which is the reason it is promoted as a recovery drink for athletes. You can get these nutrients from other sources such as fruits and vegetables. There are other “milk” options such as almond milk or soy milk but these don’t contain the same amount of nutrients so read the label carefully. Whole milk does contain 8 grams of fat per cup, mostly saturated. Two percent is a misleading name, making you think that 98% of the fat has been removed but it still contains 5 grams of fat per cup. The bottom line is that skim milk can be part of a healthy diet taken in moderation like anything else. To be our healthiest, we need to get our nutrition from a variety of sources to make sure we aren’t missing anything or getting too much of one thing.