Skimmed v full fat milk

[Annie456]

I've just come back from the supermarket where I overheard a woman saying "I only buy full fat milk for my kids, gets the calcium into em'!" Surely the only difference between the milks is fat content? Are calcium levels the same in skimmed milk and full fat milk?

[woofgang]

well this website says that there is slightly more in fat reduced milk than full fat!! I do remember reading thought hat growing kids need more fat than we adults do as it has something in it (can't remember what) that developing bodies need so maybe she was right for the wrong reason!!

[Scarlett]

A large glass (about 200ml) of whole milk has 130 calories, nearly 8g fat and 230mg of calcium. The same amount of semi-skimmed milk has 70 calories, only 3g of fat and 240mg of calcium whilst a large glass of skimmed milk has 66 calories, a mere 0.2g of fat and 240mg of calcium. Not much difference between semi-skimmed and skimmed in terms of calories and calcium but quite a big difference between skimmed and whole in terms of calories and fat. Also, you�ll notice that both semi-skimmed and skimmed have slightly more calcium than whole milk. Why is that? Well, calcium is found in the watery part of the milk, not the cream part, so when milk is skimmed, all the calcium remains. An adequate amount of calcium in the diet will build strong bone tissue and help to prevent osteoporosis.

[brachiopod]

Great answer, Scarlett.

(Mind you, if I asked for a 'large glass' of scrumpy cider and got 200ml - I would return it to the bar forthwith !! That's not even half a pint ! )

[ratbag66]

Slightly off at a tangent here, but it is recommended that children under two are only given whole (full-fat) milk, children under five may drink semi-skimmed milk if they have an otherwise adequate diet.  Skimmed milk should only be given to children over five as younger children need the extra fat. 

[woofgang]

thank you ratbag, i thought that there was some guidance about young children and fat but couldn't put my finger on it

[Rystan]

Taking it a bit FARTHER off track... there's growing evidence that inorganic cow's milk of ANY fat content is very, very bad for children as well as adults. Added hormones and antibiotics might possibly be linked to everything from certain typs of cancer to gynocomastia (breast growth in men). Since many of these chemicals are stored in fat, full fat milk would logically contain more.

If it's available, a good organic cow's milk could be a safer choice if these claims turn out to be true. I find it tastes better, as well.