Milk is every person’s first food - all babies spend at least the first four to six months of their life drinking just milk, and with reason. Milk is probably the most complete of foods with regards to nutritional value, because it contains a mixture of the 3 major nutrients, that is, carbohydrates, fats and proteins, as well as a good proportion of water.
Milk is normally made from cows’ milk and is therefore consumed after the first year of life as babies under one year of age are not able to digest cows’ milk.
There are different types of milks, and the labelling of milk is strictly controlled according to how the milk is preserved and packed, and also depending on its fat content, that is, whether it is whole milk, semi skimmed or fully skimmed milk.
Milk is normally pasteurised, which means it undergoes a heat process to kill any potentially harmful micro organisms that could be present in the raw milk. In this way the consumer is protected from the possibility of any food illness occurring after drinking raw milk.
The milk is then is also classified according to its fat content - whole milk contains a minimum fat content of 3.5%, semi skimmed milk would contain a fat content of 1.5-2.0% and skimmed milk has a fat content between 0.1-0.3%.
The Nutritional value of milk and milk products
The unique blend of carbohydrates, fats and proteins in milk, together with some important vitamins and minerals, imparts important health benefits such as bone and teeth health, rehydration and possibly even the prevention of certain chronic conditions.
Milk is a good source of calcium, which is essential for building healthy bones and teeth in babies and children, and slowing the loss of bone density and thus preventing osteoporosis in later years.
Milk also contains water and so may be also considered an important drink for rehydration. Children can drink nutritious milk instead of soft drinks for energy and hydration, thus preventing the intake of useless calories and non milk sugars which are considered more harmful and may cause more tooth decay.
Milk contains a low percentage of fat, and so can form part of a calorie controlled diet for weight loss.
Milk’s protein value means that it remains an important food for young children, especially in the 1-5 year age group, where the body is growing at a fast rate and bone growth is therefore also taking place at a fast rate.
Milk also contains other important nutrients such as Vitamin A and D, magnesium, zinc and protein
Daily intake requirements of milk and milk products
Dietary recommendations are guidelines for day to day intakes of all the nutrients our body needs. In fact they describe the amounts of food each person needs to remain healthy. The food guide pyramid guidelines describe how many servings we require from each of the 5 major food groups (grain foods, fruits and vegetables group, meat and alternates group, milk and milk products group and fats and oils group): milk and milk products form one food group which is required in our daily diet.
Recommendations vary according to the age, weight, height, sex and level of physical activity for each person. The recommended daily intake for milk and milk products is normally 2-3 servings daily, where one serving means a slice of cheese, a glass of milk or 1 standard cup of yogurt.