Low fat milk vs whole milk page

[Gadsie]

I see a lot of people saying low fat milk is "bad" compared to whole milk, whole milk has fat but..whatever, I get enough already. Is there something else about low fat milk?

[Forgotmylastusername]

It's just milk without the fat, nothing inherently bad about it. In fact if it's milk from a CAFO cow you would be better off with low fat. I like a bit of low-fat yogurt which is basically just low-fat milk fermented. The yogurt tastes pretty good mixed with regular yogurt, though I find low fat milk on it's own is kind of tasteless and watery.

[NextSteps]

I make my kefir with non-fat milk from the supermarket and have it with fat and fiber from other sources to slow down metabolism of the lactose, which does raise my blood sugar. Since I don't have a raw milk source locally, I feel that pasteurized non-fat is a better choice than the pasteurized, homogenized whole milk because at least I've avoided the the homogenization. Plus, if you aren't buying organic (horrors) it is reasonable to assume that many of the impurities you would like to avoid are fat-soluble and would be present in higher concentrations in the full-fat milk than in non-fat. If I had a raw dairy source I'd give full-fat milk (fermented) a chance making sure I kept my other macros in balance.

[Lewis]

I see a lot of people saying low fat milk is "bad" compared to whole milk, whole milk has fat but..whatever, I get enough already. Is there something else about low fat milk?

Well, that's enough, isn't it?

There have been studies out for quite awhile that indicate it ought to be, including one where one group of teenage girls was given skimmed milk and one whole milk. You won't be surprised to find that the former put on more weight. You could probably track some of this down through pubmed if it mattered enough to you.

(But milk even when not interfered with by skimming is pretty isulinogenic anyway. Loren Cordain often quotes a Swedish study where a group of boys was divided in two, half being given their protein requirement in the form of milk, half in the form of meat. The boys on milk became insulin resistant within a worryingly short length of time. Of course, few people would get their total protein requirement from milk ... but maybe worth noticing.)

However ... if you want an answer to "is there something else?" -- yes, there is. The "mouth-feel" of skimmed milk is not appealing to most people. The dairy companies know that, so they add back extra spray-dried skimmed milk to thicken it up a bit. The process of spray-drying overheats the milk and degrades the proteins in it, making it at the very least less than ideal. Google: "denatured proteins toxicity".

If you really want to drink milk, the best strategy would be to buy whole milk direct from a farm where you know the cows are grazing on organic pasture and that the farmer cares about something more than whatever lowest standard will do.

But high-quality cheese, specially goat's milk or ewe's milk, would be better.

[NextSteps]

You could probably track some of this down through pubmed if it mattered enough to you.

Something like "original source probably accessible through pubmed" would suffice, if you didn't have a link handy. Let's keep it supportive. I spent a little time looking and did not find the study that you are speaking about, though I'm sure it exists. Of the articles I found, the link below leads to something I found interesting. I haven't checked if this showed up in TheDailyApple so please refrain from negative commentary if it did. Thanks.

Milk and That New Diet Study - Ideas Market - WSJ

[paleo-bunny]

I don't believe that low-fat milk would be better for you Gadsie.

Low-fat milk is lower in fat-soluble vitamins and cholesterol - both of which are very supportive for building muscle.

As forgetmylastusername indicates, it's the hormones that come with higher fat dairy that may be of concern to you. If so in your case, then go for organic.

[Gadsie]

Thanks everyone, I will keep going for the whole milk

[Gadsie]

I don't believe that low-fat milk would be better for you Gadsie.

Low-fat milk is lower in fat-soluble vitamins and cholesterol - both of which are very supportive for building muscle.

As forgetmylastusername indicates, it's the hormones that come with higher fat dairy that may be of concern to you. If so in your case, then go for organic.

I get organic milk straight from a farm, they do pasteurize it there though. The actual reason I started this thread because I wanted to make ice cream and we only had 2% milk. So I wondered if I could just do it with that. And I wanted to know it for a long time anyway. To be sure I eventually just went to the farm for some whole milk. The custard is now in the fridge

[paleo-bunny]

I get organic milk straight from a farm, they do pasteurize it there though. The actual reason I started this thread because I wanted to make ice cream and we only had 2% milk. So I wondered if I could just do it with that. And I wanted to know it for a long time anyway. To be sure I eventually just went to the farm for some whole milk. The custard is now in the fridge

I don't see pasteurization as such a problem as low fat.

Whole milk custard - sounds yummy. Enjoy.

[BennettC]

Low fat milk has less fat to balance out the carbs. Perhaps if some of you are unfamiliar with the dangers of milk pasteurization you should read some of Weston Prices work. Also I get raw milk straight from the farm and all that is available is whole milk. Why would he waste his time making low fat milk lol