In my childhood , I heard this statement day in and day out “Drink your milk, It’s good for you.”
But there are so many campaigns in media, does milk really do good for us? What does it do for us? Experts share the composition of milk and dive into the details that make this drink a dietary staple for millions of Indians.
Milk’s Composition:
Milk is filled with nine essential nutrients that benefit our health:
Calcium: Builds healthy bones and teeth; maintains bone mass
Protein: Serves as a source of energy; builds/repairs muscle tissue
Potassium: Helps maintain a healthy blood pressure
Phosphorus: Helps strengthen bones and generate energy
Vitamin D: Helps maintain bones
Vitamin B12: Maintains healthy red blood cells and nerve tissue
Vitamin A: Maintains the immune system; helps maintain normal vision and skin
Riboflavin (B2): Converts food into energy
Niacin: Metabolises sugars and fatty acids
Can Milk prevent Diseases?
According to research led by professor Peter Elwood of Cardiff University, drinking milk can lessen the chances of dying from illnesses such as coronary heart disease and stroke by up to 15 to 20 percent.
However there are conflicting studies that showcase the contribution of milk to heart disease. What about them? The fact that milk-drinking raises cholesterol is, for many people, proof that milk is a cause of heart disease,” Elwood says. “But cholesterol is only one mechanism in heart disease. Blood pressure is another relevant mechanism, and milk-drinking is associated with a lower blood pressure. It is therefore totally unreasonable to base conclusions about milk and heart disease on the effect on cholesterol alone.”
Elwood says that analysis of large, long-term studies shows that milk and dairy consumption are associated with a small reduction in death from heart disease events, strokes, new cases of type 2 diabetes, colon cancer and possibly bladder cancer.
“As heart disease, stroke, diabetes and cancer are major sources of healthcare expenditure, any measure that is associated with a reduction in these diseases—however small that reduction is—is also bound to have an impact on healthcare costs,” Elwood says.
How much milk per day?
The USDA recommends, consume three servings of milk (or cheese or yogurt) each day.
In simpler words of my mom, Drink a glass of whole milk in the morning and a glass of whole milk in the evening. Or you can even resort to the Punjabi style Lassi couple of times a day ( a dish prepared from curd / yogurt ).