11 myths spread about milk that must be disproved

Since childhood, we all heard a lot of information about the benefits of milk. But the human being has a questioning personality by nature. So, after growing up, many people become skeptical about the benefits of this food. To make matters worse, many end up believing myths about milk that circulate by word of mouth.

O incredible.club decided to research the subject and, once and for all, disprove the most common and troubling myths about milk.

An adult needs to ingest between 800 mg and 1,200 mg of calcium per day. A glass of whole milk contains up to 315 mg of calcium. Therefore, to get the daily dose from milk alone, you need to drink 3 to 5 glasses a day. In theory this is possible, but in practice it is unlikely.

It is also believed that, after 3 years of age, our body loses its ability to break down milk proteins (casein), which prevents the absorption of calcium present in this food. And for the absorption of calcium, it is necessary that the body receives the ideal amount of vitamin D. That is, it is very difficult to replenish the amount of calcium needed only with milk.

There is an opinion that healthy milk is what quickly spoils. The product begins to sour due to bacteria that arise during milking the cow, transport, filtering, etc. Pasteurized milk can be stored in the refrigerator for between 3 days and 2 weeks. In that case, given that the heat treatment method was the same, milk with different shelf life would be equally healthy. Storage time depends on the quality of raw materials, modern equipment and packaging. Therefore, the better the final product, the less bacteria it will have and therefore its shelf life will be longer.

It is recommended that young children drink 2 glasses of milk a day. Children between 4 and 8 years old should drink 2.5 cups. And teenagers need 3 glasses a day. But keep in mind that a glass of milk is equivalent to a glass of yogurt or 42.5 g of cheese. Therefore, it is not necessary for children to drink only milk throughout the day. Your diet can be more varied.

Milk is considered raw (unpasteurized) up to 4 hours after milking. This state is valuable and healthy. Its undoubted advantage is a protein called lactoferrin contained in it. It has a beneficial effect on the immune system. This protein is not found in industrialized milk, as it is destroyed during processing.

You can drink fresh milk, but with some precautions. The cow must be completely healthy and storage conditions and hygiene standards must be at the highest levels. If you are not sure that these conditions have been meticulously adhered to, do not drink the milk as it may contain harmful bacteria.

Soy milk is the most similar to cow’s milk due to its composition. It contains the same amount of protein. But other varieties of the product contain little or no protein.

Therefore, 250ml of almond milk and coconut milk contain 4g of protein (while cow’s milk contains around 9g). The percentage of vitamins and minerals is also different: 100 g of whole milk contains approximately 120 mg of calcium, and in coconut milk the amount is only 16 mg. And rice milk has a very low potassium content compared to cow’s milk.

On the other hand, the different varieties of vegetable milk also contain nutritious substances, with a predominance of some in each of them. Therefore, for good nutrition it is worth alternating between different types of drink.

This myth arose from the belief that milk is not digested by the gastrointestinal tract of adults. However, research shows that only a portion of the world’s population has problems digesting dairy products. For example, between 10% and 30% of Europeans, 90% of Southeast Asians, and nearly 100% of African Americans are lactose intolerant. The cause is the reduced activity of lactase, which precisely causes lactose intolerance. For these people, lactose-free milk is produced, enriched with vitamins and minerals.

Dairy products are important for people of any age: they contain substances necessary for the body (proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals). Rejecting such foods can lead to insufficient calcium intake, with a consequent risk of developing osteoporosis.

It is believed that during cooking, not only bacteria, but all nutrients are destroyed. In fact, it’s not like that. When milk is boiled, harmful bacteria are killed, as well as some types of enzymes, immunoglobulins and unstable vitamins, such as C, which is present in milk in small amounts.

But after boiling, macronutrients, other vitamins, calcium, milk proteins and fats remain. Only farm milk should be boiled. Industrially processed milk can be consumed without boiling.

Milk contains lactose, which can be called “milk sugar”, a natural carbohydrate. Lactose is often compared to regular sugar or chocolate milk, which contains sucrose. But this is an incorrect comparison, since the lactose in whole milk is a natural carbohydrate and in chocolate it is an additive. For example: 100 g of whole milk contains 3 to 4 g of lactose, while in chocolate milk there is twice as much sucrose.

This fear is mainly due to the fact that when cows are sick, they are treated with antibiotics, which accumulate in the milk. True, only that milk is collected and discarded. Dairy factories test for the presence of antibiotics in their products. If they are detected, the milk is also discarded.

Well, the problem is not with the milk itself, but with the quantity and fat content. Of course, if you drink whole milk (approximately 6% fat content) with whipped cream and cottage cheese every day, you will likely gain weight. But a glass of milk a day with a fat content between 2.5% or 3.2% will not do any harm to your body.

You will gain extra weight only if you consume more calories than you burn. Therefore, if you lead an active lifestyle, then you can take milk of any fat content. Just check the consumed calories.

Every 100 g of chocolate milk contains approximately 9 g of sugar, while the same amount of soda contains 11 g. But there’s one big difference between the drinks: Due to carbon dioxide (the gas), the sugar in soda is immediately absorbed into the blood.

Chocolate milk is recommended for those who spend a lot of energy. If you are also a fan of this drink, but you are not a very active person, then it is better to prepare it yourself, to be sure of the amount of sugar.

Well, what do you think? Have we managed to disprove the myths about milk or do you still believe some of them?