Whole Milk vs Low Fat Milk

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Low Fat Milk vs Whole Milk by Sharon Hopkins

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Milk forms the basis of a child’s diet and is also a very important part of nutrition in adults.

Whole milk is not only a good source of protein, calcium, vitamin D, but is also a very good source of fat. If a person is not overweight, a picky eater and is not taking adequate calories through healthy diet, whole milk is a good option for him.

But keep in mind not to get all the fat though only from whole milk.

Whole milk when compared with low fat milk, a large difference is seen that cannot be ignored.

Let’s have a quick look at the difference –
Whole milk – 8.5 g fat and 155 calories
2% milk – 4.5 g fat and 120 calories
1% milk – 2.5 g fat and 100 calories
Skim milk – 0 g fat and 80 calories

The fat in whole milk is important to young children especially below 2 years for growth and brain development. Whole milk is thus a very good choice for toddlers and people who have trouble in getting the fats and calories from the normal diet.

But people who need to trim that extra fat from the body; skim milk is a healthy option as it contains negligible amounts of fat. Whole milk is also eliminated from many children diet, whose chances for childhood obesity are high.

Making the switch from whole milk to low fat or non fat milk is much easier for a young child than doing it in older years where the child might be more resistant and unwilling to accept the change. This change can be a gradual process, first introduce 2% fat milk for 15 days, then switch to 1% fat milk and then ultimately switch to skim milk.

This early change will help a child to develop healthy eating habits especially in his teens and adulthood where he will tend to choose low fat milk options over whole milk.

Whole milk is the first choice for many people because of its more creamy taste, but about 8.5 g fat and 155 calories is not a good choice for most adults who consume more fats and calories from other food sources also. Higher the level of whole milk intake, higher is the difference as the fat from whole milk is a very good source of saturated fats, which is an undesired component of diet and may pose health risks related to heart diseases and cancer. If a person consumed about 3 eight ounce glasses of whole milk in a day, it will exceed the recommended levels of saturated fatty acids per day just from milk (without taking in to account other sources of saturated fatty acids).