Pound for pound, what is the best?
2% milk sounds like a healthy option right? It means you’re cutting back on the fat. But is it really the healthier and tastier choice? But maybe, just maybe, old time traditions and myths have haunted the milk consuming community. I won’t ask you to open your mind to switch political parties or religions, I just want you to hear me out on why 2% milk may not be the best option on the shelves. Get ready, because I may shock your world with some of the facts below.
What is 2%
2% means that the entire weight of the milk contains 2% milkfat. The dairy processor skims the fat off the top of the vat, and adds it back in, after calculating the weight of fat needed. Excess fat is turned into butter or cream.
What is whole milk
Whole milk means it has 3.5%, generally speaking. The fat is not removed. Some milk brands take the cream and homogenize, so the fat is imperceptible. We don’t homogenize, we try to keep milk as close to it’s natural state as possible.
Homogenization also poses certain health risks, since the process blasts the fat into such tiny particles, which pass through your digestive system and goes straight to your blood stream.
Taste difference
The difference here is huge. Growing up, my mom purchased 2%, she grew up in a time where fat was bad. So I never really drank whole milk until my 20s. But after the first sip of that cold glass of whole milk, I didn’t go back. It’s more rich and savory.
2% tastes like watered down whole milk. Without the full fat, proccessors have to add in vitamins to make up for the lack of nutrients.
Some people may not like the 3.25% milkfat. They might say it’s too rich. I see it as, if you like the taste of milk, why skip out on that flavor?
Texture difference
The texture is different too. 2% homogenized milk feels and tastes like watered down milk. It’s thin and bland. Whole milk is creamier, a little thicker, more natural. The percentage difference between the two milks really is flavor and nutritional. When you remove the fat, you are taking what makes that milk milk.
What’s the diff??
Not much! Really, the difference is very little. 2% milk contains about 124 carbs a cup, with 9.8 grams of fat, and Calories: 122
Fat: 4.8g Sodium: 115mg Carbohydrates: 12g Fiber: 0g Sugars: 12g Protein: 8g
Whole milk fat:10 grams, sodium:89mg, Carbs:12g, Fiber: 0g, sugars:11g, protein: 9g,
Health benefits
If you’re looking to cut back on fat, switching to 2% won’t help much. The nutritional value is not as great as whole, and the percentage difference is not much. 2% is not much less than 3.25%. If I want to lose weight, I cut out carbs, I’ll stop eating carb loaded snacks and soda.
Plus, fat is seen as evil, ever since WWII, when butter shortages started to happen. Margarine came into play and advertisers used the no fat as a health benefit. The idea at the time, which persists today “if you don’t consume fat, you won’t get fat!” There were diet trends recommending carb heavy foods, replacing fat heavy foods.
Do the Amish die of coronary heart disease? Nope! Do the Tibetans drink yak butter tea and heave healthier heats than the average westerner? Yup!
For more milk nutrient info, click here.
Fatter is better
A man in 1965 went 1 whole year without eating, living off his own body fat and supplemental vitamins.
https://www.sciencealert.com/the-true-story-of-a-man-who-survived-without-any-food-for-382-days
Media trickery. Since margarine positioned itself as a healthier fat free option, it overlooked some of the downsides, such as trans fats. Trans fats are what give people bad LDL. It contributes to heart disease. When margarine and fat free options skyrocketed, so did heart disease. But who got the blame? That’s right, fat.
Fat is great because it can take you further. Eating something higher in fat in the morning means a lower spike in insulin levels, while also providing your body with energy for longer. It also keeps you from feeling as hungry.
This study finds that carbs for breakfast actually make you hungrier! https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4204795/
If your preference is 2%, 1%, skim, or whole milk, there’s no guilt from us at Grace Harbor Farms. We just really really like whole milk and want to share with you why we think whole milk is so great.