The Truth About Milk
By David Zinczenko
Health Experts Main
Milk: Healthy and nutritious drink, or fattening, contaminant-filled menace?
You might expect an organization called the Dairy Education Board to promote milk as a good thing. But instead, this advocacy group claims that “Milk is a deadly poison.” Oops. And as Americans have grown more wary of saturated fat, and more concerned about hormones and other substances fed to—and injected into—dairy cows, milk consumption has fallen dramatically. In the post-war days of 1945, the average American was consuming 45 gallons of milk a year. By 2001, per capita consumption was down to just 23 gallons.
But
here’s the thing: Plenty of new research says that we should be drinking more
milk, not less. In fact, swapping soda, juice, sweetened iced teas, and other
beverages for milk might be one major reason why Americans are gaining weight
at such a rapid pace. Milk not only helps boost protein intake and cut down on
sugar, but consuming calcium through dairy foods such as milk may actually
reduce the fat absorption from other foods. Who wouldn’t want that? (Hungry for
more hard-hitting nutrition facts and findings every day? Follow me on Twitter or subscribe to our daily Eat This, Not That! newsletter.)
Here are four milk myths you might have heard, and why you should consider
answering the cowbell more often.
Claim #1:
“Milk is a fat-burning food.”
The Truth:
Maybe. In a 6-month study, University of
Tennessee researchers found that overweight people who downed three servings a
day of calcium-rich dairy lost more belly fat than those who followed a similar
diet minus two or more of the dairy servings. In addition, the researchers
discovered that calcium supplements didn’t work as well as milk. Why? They
believe that while calcium may increase the rate at which your body burns fat,
other active compounds in dairy (such as milk proteins) provide an additional
fat-burning effect.
Bonus tip:
For more surefire ways to eat healthier and slim down, check
out our list of the 25 Best Nutrition
Secrets!
Claim #2:
“Drinking milk builds muscle.”
The Truth:
Absolutely. In fact, milk is one of the best
muscle foods on the planet. Milk is full of high-quality protein: about 80
percent casein and 20 percent whey. Whey is known as a “fast protein” because
it’s quickly broken down into amino acids and absorbed into the
bloodstream—perfect for post-workout consumption. Casein, on the other hand, is
digested
more slowly—ideal for providing your body with a steady supply of smaller amounts
of protein for a longer period of time, such as between meals or while you
sleep.
Bonus Tip: Remember the old saying "Milk: not just for breakfast anymore." Well, here are 20 foods that shouldn'tCheck out our shocking list of the Worst Breakfasts in America! be for breakfast, period.
Claim #3: “Cows are given antibiotics. Doesn’t that make their milk
unhealthy?”
The Truth:
No one really knows. Some scientists argue
that milk from cows given antibiotics leads to antibiotic resistance in humans,
making these types of drugs less effective when you take them for an infection.
But this has never been proven.
It is true that hormones and antibiotics have never been part of a cow’s
natural diet, and they have been shown to have adverse effects on the animals.
Canadian researchers, for example, discovered that cows given hormones are more
likely to contract an udder infection called mastitis. If you’re uneasy, you
can purchase antibiotic-free (and typically hormone-free, as well) milk from
producers like Horizon and Organic Valley at most major supermarkets. The cows
will certainly thank you.
Bonus tip:
While you're at the supermarket, add these foods to your
list: the 125 best supermarket foods.
Remember: You don't have to sacrifice flavor
to eat healthier.
Claim #4:
“Fat-free milk is much healthier than whole.”
The Truth:
Nope. While you’ve probably always been told
to drink reduced-fat milk, the majority of scientific studies show that
drinking whole milk actually improves cholesterol levels—just not as much as
drinking fat-free does. One recent exception: Danish researchers found that men
who consumed a diet rich in whole milk experienced a slight increase in LDL
cholesterol (six points). However, it’s worth noting that these men drank six
8-ounce glasses a day, an unusually high amount. Even so, their
triglycerides—another marker of heart-disease risk—decreased by 22 percent. The bottom
line: Drinking two to three glasses of milk a day, whether it’s fat-free, 2%,
or whole, lowers the likelihood of both heart attack and stroke—a finding confirmed by British
scientists.
Bonus tip:
For more useful tips and top food swaps, check out the completely updated Eat This, Not That! 2011—you
could lose 10, 20, even 30 pounds while still eating the foods you love.
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(Source: health.news.net)