Whole milk OR skim milk?

Question

What's the difference between whole milk and skim milk? Which is one generally better to consume/digest? Also, i heard milk makes you fat...is there a specific kind..and is that even true???

Answer 1

Skim milk has the cream taken off the top and is watered down. Whole milk has a the nutrients you need. No it can't make you fat unless you drink cartons of it a day and add sugar and butter.
Tell you what. Take a day trip down to a farm where they milk the cows and learn a bit more about it from a farmer. I have a lot of children come to my farm on school trips from the city.
Some people also drink goats milk. They believe it is healthier.
You could give that a try.
Good luck.

Answer 2

There are several types of milk Cow, goat, sheep, even camel milk and the retailed ones come in skim and whole versions.
Starting at the begining... whole milk is just that... milk complete with the natural milk fat (cream). Decades ago before milk was "homogenised" milk left standing for a while would separate and form a layer of cream on top. Skim milk has had the cream removed (farmers used to let the milk stand as previously explained and skim off the cream to sell separately or make into butter and this is where the term skimmed comes from). Skim milk is better for you in that the cream can present a cholesterol problem and possibly contribute to heart problems.

Cows milk has lactose which some people are intolerant of so those people and others use goats milk. Goats milk is said to be much more digestible and better for you than cows milk some babies cant tolerate cows milk and have to have goats milk. I find that the two dont taste any different but I do prefer the goats milk and used to by it from a friend who had dairy goats although I am not so fond of the packed version in our supermarket.
Milk has a high protein content after all it is a food but on its own it cannot make you fat and is actually a good source of calcium so I would suggest a regular milk intake and cutting back on fast food as the way to go.

Answer 3

OK, the difference between skim and full/whole cream milk is in the name. Skim milk is made by skimming the cream off the top (Cream containing most of the fat), whole cream has this cream stirred through. Skim milk is not watered down as people think - it is what's taken out that makes it low fat, not anything being added. Think about it - where else is the word skim associated with low fat????? (and milk based yoghurt - refers to the milk being skim). If you have not reached puberty, stick to full cream. After wards, if you are dieting, go to skim, otherwise there's nothing wrong with full cream. Like all foods not consumed in moderation, it can make you fat, full cream quicker than skim. If it part of a varied balanced diet it won't hurt you, unless you are lactose intolerant or otherwise adversely effected by cows' milk, and then there are substitutes such as goats' milk, and soy milk.

Answer 4

The difference between whole milk and skim milk lies in its fat %. The whole milk obtained from the cow generally has a fat % varying between 3.5 to 5.0% where as that from buffalo milk ranges between 5.0 to 9.0%. Whole milk is good for young people and those adults who do not have higher blood pressure and cholesterol level. Aged persons and those having high cholesterol level, it would be better to go in for skim milk which contains less than 0.5% fat. Even continuous drinking of whole milk alone will not make you fattier unless and otherwise you indulge in other fat rich dairy products like cream, butter, butteroil, ice cream, cheese etc. For more information on milk and milk products visit http://www.dairyforall.com

Answer 5

raw milk nowdays is processed in the fashion that all milkfat is removed (cream) and then reprocessed by adding back the exact amount needed.
Whole milk is 3.25% milkfat while 2% is as stated and then you have 1% after that thru the skim is made and yes with water just less milkfat.

"Switching to skim or 1% milk is an easy way to reduce total fat, saturated fat, can cholesterol in your diet."
--American Heart Association

The dairy industry now uses frucose to sweeten the milk as opposed to the traditional cane sugars.

To the matter of making you fat the chocolate milk is the first one to do that for shure . As a 12 year vetern in this field I have seen millions of gallons produced and still enjoy a nice tall glass of cold moo juice

Answer 6

Let's clear up some of the wrong things people have been saying.
Full-fat milk is only 4% fat, so it is not significantly more than skim milk. My whole milk in the fridge says it has 2.6gm/100ml. The semi-skimmed has 1.4gm/100ml
Milk has far less calories than soft drinks and juices. The sugar in soda is refined sugar (nutritionally empty). The sugar in milk is a natural sugar, and is not bad for you. I have just checked the milk in my fridge and it has 52 calories per 100ml, coke is 180cal/100gm. That means you would need to drink around 3 litres a day to max out your calorie and fat count.
Due to the low fat content of ordinary milk, you will not lose a lot of weight just by switching milk. There was a study done and the average weight loss by people who switched to skim milk was about 2 pounds over a 12 month period.
Whole milk is what is recommended for all people, not just under two's.
Skim milk is not higher in calcium tham whole milk. A lot of milk producer add things like extra calcium, folate and even omega 3 oils to milk.
They don't replace the fat with sugar in skim milk.

Overall it comes down to what you prefer. I like the creamy flavour of proper milk, but boyfriend doesn't, he finds it a bit rich so he has what we call semi-skimmed, probably 2%.

Answer 7

I drink skim milk but I eat products that contain 2% milk

Answer 8

Skim milk has become the nutritionists best choice in the Western world because of the prevalance of obesity. When I was a schoolie in Australia in the 60's we actually got free whole milk at our schools because obesity was almost unknown except for the rich kids...and there weren't many of them around. The nutrition in whole milk should not be snorted at.

Answer 9

whole milk has 4-6% milk fats in it, skim milk has been processed to take out most of the fat, leaving it with 1% or less. Almost all milk you buy is cow's milk, however you can get goat's milk (goat's milk is better for you if you're lactose intolerant, it's also easier to digest than cow's milk). Personally I prefer full cream milk because it tastes better.

Milk doesn't make you fat. Eating more calories than you burn makes you fat.

One more thing - all milk you buy off the shelf (in Australia at least) is homogenised and pasteurised to make sure the cream doesn't separate and to make it last longer by killing all the bacteria in it. Raw milk tastes HEAPS better than shop stuff (I grew up on raw milk).

Answer 10

Skim milk is better for women. Believe it or not, it has more calcium content than regular milk. As for making you fat, while it's not calorie free, drinking milk, especially skim, is a lot better for you than drinking a soda with caffeine and sugar.