Whole Milk is Not a Bad Thing

Whole milk, full-fat cream cheese, cheese, and yogurt may sound like a once in awhile indulgence but guess what, they shouldn’t be an indulgence; they should be the norm.

My family was once a low fat milk drinking family. I went along with what the doctors said and once my kids hit age 2 we switched them from whole milk to the family’s 1% milk. I figured fat was bad and if we could live with lower fat milk then that was a good thing.

I was wrong. It turns out there is a reason why milk has the amount of fat it does. I mean think about it, if it were healthier at 1% fat then why wouldn’t it come as 1%? (Go ahead and think about that for awhile. I’m sure we all have different opinions of the origin of things but if you are crunchy you usually believe that things are best in their natural, simplest form.)

Why are full fat dairy products better than their low-fat versions?

Here are some reasons why:

Without the fat in milk, the human body cannot digest the protein properly.

Without the fat in milk, the human body cannot absorb calcium. Perhaps that is just a part of the reason why we see more osteoporosis in people who drink more milk, perhaps it’s because they are drinking low-fat or even skim milk!

Vitamins A and D are both fat-soluble. This means that you can’t absorb them without fat. So that fortified skim milk you buy, is nothing but a joke. You aren’t getting any of those vitamins.

Diets that are low in fat do not help prevent heart disease. In fact, diets that are full of good saturated fat actually raise the good cholesterol (yes there’s a good cholesterol).

Foods work best when they are in their natural state. Vitamins, minerals, the way food is digested all work best when you have everything together. Take away one part of the food (in this case the fat) and you mess up the whole system.

Eating fat does not make you fat. I know that seems odd and against what most of use have been brought up to believe but it is true. Good, natural, healthy fats do not make you fat. In fact, they help you maintain your weight and keep your blood sugar and insulin levels stable. Also interesting to note: if you eat more fat, your body will crave sugar and carbs (generally grains) less and those do make you fat.

Whole milk is the way to go. I know that this concept is completely foreign to us. We’ve been brought up to believe that fats are evil and therefore we are told to avoid them at all costs. The thing is, nobody tells you what the cost is! Drinking low fat or skim milk instead of whole milk is not doing your body any favors. Switch to whole milk and both your taste buds and your body will thank you.