I've noticed that full cream milk gets a lot of bad rap, and I'm just wondering if it really is any worse for you than skimmed, given that you don't have some kind of disease to begin with that makes it bad for you, and not counting calorie differences.

I mean, I really like full cream milk as a beverage - more than juice or soda. I cook and make coffee with skim, because the taste doesn't matter there, but drinking skim milk isn't tasty.

There's nothing wrong with whole milk "not counting calorie differences." It's the calorie differences that can pack on pounds over time. (I'm assuming you're not lactose intolerant, otherwise any milk with lactose in it would make you uncomfortable.)

Personally, I have 1/2 and 1/2 in my morning coffee, and I eat full-fat yogurt. On the rare occasions that I drink milk, I drink 1%, but that's because it's what my family likes and hence what we have in the house. But I keep track of calories, and adjust my portions of dairy -- like everything else -- so that the total calories stay within the day's allotment.

//b. strong,
Kim

I haven't gone back to verify the facts, but I recall reading that during WWII, the doctors noticed that the American GIs that were operated on had noticeably more fatty deposits in their arteries than the other Allies. This was attributed to the fact that Americans drank massive amounts of whole milk. Homogenized milk was even more suspect, as the milkfat had been broken into tiny globules that could more easily attach to smaller artery walls. I love whole milk myself. But when I drink it, it's for the pleasure of it. Like a treat, not a beverage.

There's nothing wrong with it if you don't mind having heart disease. All that fat is good for no one.

The connections between dietary fat and heart disease are more tenuous than scientists once thought they were. Remember in the 80s when all dietary fat was treated as toxic waste? Research on low-carbohydrate eating (and there's a lot more of that than there used to be) suggests that fats--including animal fats such as those found in whole milk and butter--are not the "heart attack on a plate" they were once presented to be. Then there's the whole "French paradox" thing: traditional French cooking is loaded with animal fats in butter, cream sauces, pork fat, sausage, full-fat milk in cafe au lait--yet the French rate of heart disease is demonstrably lower than that in the U.S.

And then there's the Maasai, whose diet is largely made up of meat, milk, blood and grain, yet who have half the blood cholesterol levels of the average American and have virtually no history of heart disease.

With that said, if you're watching your calorie intake, you'll have to choose between larger portions of lower-fat milk or small portions of full-fat milk. It's up to you to decide what you think is worth it. Skim milk tastes like water with a little chalk stirred in to me, so I empathize with your love of full-fat milk--but it does pack a caloric wallop. It's the only thing for proper cafe au lait with chicory, though.

Babies need whole milk for the development of their brain.
Adults need whole milk to keep their nerves healthy.

I was told that if a person had a nerve problem like I developed... sciatica & carpal tunnel...plus Trigeminal Neuralgia - facial, nerve pain, try switching to whole milk.

I had switched from drinking whole milk to skim milk to cut down my calories...a huge mistake... and after a few months developed all sorts of nerve disorders.

I had to go back to drinking almost a quart of whole milk a day. The pain eased quite a bit in a few weeks. After a few months all the pain was gone.

It is the enzymes in the butterfat of whole milk that your nerves need to keep them healthy.

I will NEVER drink anything but whole milk again.

Homogenized milk is a problem but non-homogenized whole milk shouldn't be an issue unless you have a dairy intolerance. I don't buy this idea that natural fats kill us. Not one bit.

I'm not sure that homogenization affects milk, now that you mention it. What would be the mechanism by which fat globules unevenly distributed are okay, but tiny fat globules in suspension are not? Not meaning to be cynical, just unsure of how homogenization would affect milk any more than shaking my salad dressing to form an emulsion makes it less healthy than if I were to leave it in its unmixed oil-and-vinegar form.

There are others who say that pasteurization is also bad for milk, but...well, when I think about where cows have been and where milk comes from, I have a tough time embracing raw, unpasteurized milk. Unprocessed foods are generally a good idea, but not all processing is therefore bad; I'll take washed vegetables and pasteurized milk over an e. coli infection any day of the week.

Unfortunately that isn't true anymore At one time, the French were healthier even though they included full fat cream, etc. But their eating habits were much different than ours. They ate much smaller portions. They also ate plenty of fresh fruit etc and didn't fill up on fats. And they were more active. Meal portions have been on the rise in France including more fast food and processed foods. Activity levels have also changed. In other words, their diets and habits are closer to ours now than they used to be, and their rate of heart disease and diabetes is increasing accordingly.

Sadly, that's a trend all over the world.

Cacaphony - The AHA recommends no more than 7% of your daily calories come from saturated fats. If you haven't had a good exam lately, have your doctor do a full blood workup and let her or him advise you how much sat fats are good for you.

hey i usually drink skim milk but made the mistake of swapping the whole milk bottle for skim milk today and I am worried that I would put on weight easily. the bottle label says it has 6.0 gm fat and 120 calories where as the skim has 1.0 gm fat and 75 calories. I do exercise regularly and I weigh 53 kg and im 5'4''. Please help.

A doctor once told me that technically, we're not supposed to drink any milk; that we are the only mammals that do not wean their young off milk. All others do, and end up drinking only water. Not sure how much truth there is to that. But, I'm not giving up my chocolate milk.

Whole milk has a lot more fat, saturated fat (5g/cup), and cholesterol (35mg/cup)- all of which are hard on your heart in anything more than moderate quantities. That's three times the saturated fat of Mcdonald's fries (small), and as much cholesterol as a hamburger and a half.

Of course, anything is OK in moderation- so if you're willing to take the extra calories, and only drink it in moderation, it's not the end of the world.

Milk is not a natural part of our diet as adults, in fact we have a gene that is made to turn off our ability to digest milk (lactose) as we get to be fully grown. The vast majority of the world is largely lactose intolerant because of this (less so in countries like in Europe and the US where we culturally drink a lot of milk- this postpones the gene from turning off). It's possible that some people- like you, for example- reap benefits from milk, either because there is something not found in your diet elsewhere or because of a propensity toward certain diseases.

This is what I have always read from numerous sources. We are the only mammals who give our young milk after the weaning period takes place. MILK is not the best calcium source nor does it appear to absorb and be assimilated in the body as well as plant based food.

Try reading Marion Nestles book, she's got the most rational and comprehensive approach I've seen yet. It's called "WHAT TO EAT"

I'm going to be a little bit of a booger on the comparison of fries, only because of course it would be lower in saturated fat. You're frying potatoes (no saturated fat or cholesterol) and then frying them in veggie oil (which is small amounts of saturated fat). Naturally, these are going to be quite a bit less saturated fat than full fat milk, which comes from an animal so it is going to have cholesterol and saturated fat without question.
Sorry.. I don't mean this in a rude or mean way. Just showing that you're kinda comparing apples to oranges here..

Anyway, drink whatever the heck you want. Make sure you keep a check on your fat levels and your calorie levels. There shouldn't be such things as bad foods. We all are going to eat and drink what we want to.
Everything in moderation!