Whole and skimmed milk: what do they differ in?

1998/06/01 Lorenzo, Arantza | Uranga, Ane Miren Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Dietetika/Elikagaiak

As we did in the previous section on the types of milk, today we will talk about its ingredients. The main ingredients of whole milk are: 37% water; 3.5% protein; 4.8% lactose; 3.1% fat; 0.7% vitamins and 700 mg mineral salts, among which calcium stands out.

Although the whole milk contains all this, eliminating some ingredients and adding others, new types of milk are obtained with the aim of maintaining health.

Semi-skimmed and skimmed milk is obtained by eliminating fats on average or completely. Although they want to make us believe that the rest of the ingredients of these milks do not change, this is not at all true, since by eliminating fats also the solvent vitamins of the fats found inside, including vitamin D, which carries out an essential work for the absorption of calcium. Consequently, although whole, skimmed milk has the same amount of calcium, the latter's calcium is not used as much as in the other.

Therefore, in cases where there are no problems of cholesterol and fat, we would recommend whole or semi-skimmed milk. If they suffer from the aforementioned diseases it will be necessary to drink skimmed milk, but fix it, since in this case it will be better to enrich it in vitamin D.

Another substance that prevents the absorption of calcium is caffeine, so we do not convert milk into our only milk source.

To adequately cover a person's calcium needs throughout the day, taking 2-3 dairy products will be mandatory in adults and 3-4 in children and adolescents. We consider dairy a glass of milk, yogurt or a piece of cheese of 30 g.

In short, if you want to maintain your calcium level properly and healthily, we recommend that you take whole milk, semi-skimmed or skimmed enriched in vitamin D (only when there are fat problems). The milk would be taken empty, with decaffeinated coffee or some cola. Moderate consumption of coffee with milk has no harmful effects, but it is known that it has no milk value.

BRIEF NOTES At the end of September 1997, on the order of the United States, these two drugs aimed at reducing the appetite for the treatment of obesity were removed from the market, suspecting that they caused problems in the heart valves. In the United States, unlike Europe, these products were sold without a medical prescription, so their consumption was relatively high and, therefore, the decision has been made out of fear of specific research in this area. In Europe, consumption is controlled by physicians, so a direct relationship with heart valve diseases has not been detected. Therefore, it will be necessary to promote more rigorous research if you want to know well the reactions and real consequences of these substances.