“Drink milk, children, you will be healthy!” – the well-known refrain of a popular children’s song now seems not so unambiguous, because the reputation of milk and dairy products in recent decades has been pretty tarnished. Many people now refuse natural milk in favor of its substitutes – almond, soy, oat “milk”.
These milk protein-free drinks are believed to be not only suitable for vegans and those with lactose intolerance, but also healthier than regular milk.
What should an ordinary consumer do in this situation – drink milk or not? Give up your favorite cheese and yogurt, or is it not worth it? The answer, as always, lies somewhere in between and depends on your individual situation.
Lactose intolerance: what is it?
It is worth noting that, bearing in mind the 300,000-year history of mankind, the custom of drinking animal milk can be considered quite new. About 10 thousand years ago, either no one drank it, or did it extremely rarely and by accident.
The fact is that in order to normally absorb milk sugar, lactose, the body must produce a special enzyme, lactase.
Initially, in all representatives of Homo sapiens, as in other mammals, lactase production ceased after weaning from the mother’s breast. In the absence of lactase, eating milk leads to unpleasant symptoms: diarrhea, flatulence, bloating, and abdominal pain.
However, after people began to domesticate large and small cattle, the situation began to change.
Milk and products made from it became an important part of the human diet, and natural selection came into play – a genetic mutation, due to which the body continues to produce lactase in adulthood, began to spread in the population, as it gave its owners an advantage and helped them survive in the hungry. time.
Whether you have an active lactase gene, that is, whether you are able to digest milk well, depends on your origin. Now lactose intolerance occurs in only about 5% of people whose ancestors lived in southern, central and especially northern Europe, where livestock was especially common. The same is observed in some areas of Africa, Asia, the Near and Middle East.
At the same time, in regions where consumption of milk and dairy products is traditionally very low, such as Japan, China, many African countries, South America, lactose intolerance among the indigenous population is very common.
At the same time, people with an inactive lactase gene may well eat fermented dairy products such as yogurt and kefir, since the bacteria process most of the milk sugar during the fermentation process. In addition, there is little lactose in hard cheeses and butter, so these dairy products may well be included in the diet even with milk intolerance.
Composition of milk: useful substances
Cow’s milk is a complete food containing 18 of the 22 nutrients critical for health. One cup of whole milk (244 grams) contains:
- 276 milligrams of calcium (28% of the recommended daily allowance);
- 24 milligrams of magnesium (7% of the recommended daily allowance);
- 205 milligrams of phosphorus (24% of the recommended daily allowance);
- 322 milligrams of potassium (10% of the recommended daily allowance);
- 7-8 grams of protein (16% of the recommended daily allowance).
As well as folate, iodine, vitamin A, vitamin B12, zinc, iron, vitamin B6, other B vitamins, selenium, vitamins E and K, essential amino acids. Milk proteins and fats are in an accessible form, so they are easily and completely absorbed by the body, quickly giving energy.
That is, the ability to drink milk without any special negative consequences really allows you to get a lot of important, healthy vitamins and minerals, as well as support your strength when necessary.
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calcium in milk
Nutritionists and nutritionists tend to believe that because milk has so much calcium, it helps maintain proper levels of calcium in the bones. It is the high content of calcium that is usually cited as the main argument in favor of drinking milk. However, current studies question the existence of a link between dietary calcium and the risk of fractures, or even show very conflicting results.
Because showed one of the studies, no matter how much calcium you get from food, it does not affect the risk of breaking a leg or arm. Moreover, the results of another study showedthat those who drink more than a glass of milk a day, on the contrary, increase the risk of fractures.
However, it should be borne in mind that all these studies are about adults. While the strength of our bones is laid in childhood and adolescence. If you look at research resultsin which children with an allergy to cow’s milk were taken, it turns out that their bone density is significantly reduced. And after appropriate treatment for allergies allowed milk and dairy products to return to the diet of children, their bones became noticeably stronger.
Moreover, interestingly, although the children received alternative sources of calcium instead of milk, this did not affect the situation with their bone density in any way.
She improved only after the return of milk. This may indicate that calcium is in a particularly well-absorbed form in milk.
Thus, milk is indeed necessary for the normal development of the children’s skeleton, which cannot be said about adults, for whom this product, apparently, is no longer so critical. At the same time, moderate consumption of milk and dairy products may well be part of a balanced diet, supplying the body with the substances it needs.
Not only how show According to some studies, drinking milk helps control appetite, which means it protects against overeating and weight gain. In addition, there datathat milk improves metabolism, reduces the risk of type 2 diabetes, and good for the heart Dairy fats increase the level of “good” cholesterol in the blood, and the high content of potassium helps to regulate blood pressure.
According to the materials of the sites theconversation.com, healthline.com, bbc.com
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