Let's Talk: Low-Fat Milk
15 Comments
In the comments to the chocolate pudding post, Heather brought up a very interesting question about low-fat milk. (If you want to see the original comment, check it out at the end of the post here.) It was so well put (and so well timed) that I thought perhaps it deserved its own discussion.
To start us off, let me make this confession: I am no fat phobe.
As you may know from reading REAL FOOD HAS CURVES, the research is pretty solid: food has got to taste like something for it to register any satiety cues in the brain. You'll never see anyone canola-oiling their bread. Butter is just too darn tasty!
Furthermore, fats are necessary for life: for building neural structures, for aiding in proper digestion. You also can't absorb a host of vitamins (A and D, for example) without fat because the molecules themselves are fat soluble.
That all said, there's no doubt that we eat too many tasteless fats in the modern world. This is our story: something we need is then processed into copious supply, processed into oblivion, and then we eat more and more and more.
So our research-based equation--that fat = satiety--doesn't necessarily mean we should be downing a vat of walnut oil or duck fat. (Although. . . .) It means we shouldn't be afraid of tasty fats; they should form the basis of our food.
Still, Bruce and I have put low-fat milk solidly in the "real food" category in our book. Yes, some processing has been done to it. But hasn't it been done to almost all milk? I mean, of course, the pasteurizing that keeps us safe.
I'd love your take on it all. Is low-fat milk "real food"? If drunk on its own--or, say, poured on Bruce's granola which you can find here--whole milk is pretty darn fine. But if it's put in another dish--like that chocolate pudding--that already has lots of tasty fat (the cocoa butter in the chocolate, the four egg yolks), is not low-fat milk an acceptable way to find a balance between taste and calorie intake? Or should we go whole hog for the real thing, for whole milk at every turn?
Reader Comments (15)
I don't have a problem with low-fat milk; as far as I understand milk "processing" (of the Laura Ingalls Wilder variety), if you milk a cow, then leave the milk to sit, the cream rises to the top. The longer you leave it and the more cream you skim off, the lower in fat the milk is. I also understand that it's not done that way these days, what with pasteurization and homogenization (which I think keeps the cream integrated into the milk) but it is, fundamentally, the result of a natural process. And it may not be as tasty as full-fat, but it's still pretty good. (Skim milk, on the other hand--ugh.)
Having said all that, I never have it on hand these days, for practical reasons: I have a preschooler who needs her fat, and I don't have enough fridge space for multiple kinds of milk, so we all drink and use whole milk. That will probably change at some point, but for now, as usual, it's just a question of moderation.
And on a related (cow) note, thought you'd like to know that now that the farmer's market is open here, I'm working on adopting your rule about only buying meat whose farmer I've shaken hands with. Lots more choice around here than I had feared!
One thing I found really interesting is that all milk is initially skimmed. The dairy companies remove all fat from all milk, and then add it back in to make 2% and whole milk. They do this to standardize the amount of fat across milk from different cows/different regions, etc. So, if you think about it, whole milk is actually more processed than skim.
Not that that makes it better or worse, necessarily. I don't mind using different kinds of milk depending on how much other fat is in a recipe. It's different form products like low fat mayo, to which they add other bad stuff, like more sodium, to make it taste as good as full-fat. So it's just as unhealthy for you, just in a different way.
Yes, there are standardization techniques in place for milk production. I think that processing is not by nature bad. Butter is "processed," after all. Chocolate, too. Tea, too. The question is whether the essential nature of the product is maintained, no? Or perhaps I'm being too generous? This is a tricky point, not solved by Alice Waters elitism or Michael Pollan myopia.
M.
i'm glad this was brought up. i don't think low-fat anything should be considered real food. it's not even the processing that bothers me. in the mechanized modern world everything is processed to some extent. what bothers me is that people don't understand how detrimental it is to try banning all fat from their diet. especially where children are concerned - a friend's pediatrician told her to switch her 2 year old! to skim. her kid, like mine, is a picky eater. i think it's ridiculous: the kid eats no meat, a single kind of cheese, no beans or nuts, barely any veggies. her diet is fruit, yoghurt and milk. and freaking crackers. how can you possibly recommend cutting the fat?
and even when such concerns are not present: it's not like you're drinking a gallon a day. 1 glass of whole milk in a balanced diet will provide barely 23% of the day's recommended intake. beside, whole milk is not really 'whole', it's 3.5%. raw milk would have more cream. every breed produces a different fat level, so as it's processed the fat is put back according to consummer preference. there's a lot to be said about raw milk, too. it's impossible to get here, and maybe i wouldn't buy from just anyone, but it's one of my fondest memories getting up with grandpa, in the summer vacations i spent on the farm, to milk the cows. we drank it as was, still hot from the cows. as long as the cows are grass fed and kept in clean envirnments, i don't see the health risk. pasteurization may kill bad bacteria, but it kills good bacteria too. why does the industry add calcium and vitamin D? it's mostly gone during pasteurization, along with B12 and B6, which are completely destroyed. A, E and C suffer between 40% to 66% loss. pasteurization destoys lipase, an enzyme that breaks down fat, which impairs fat metabolism, and the ability to properly absorb fat soluble vitamins. i understand why pasteurization is needed, i'm not campaigning against it. it's just, so much is taken out of raw milk. then every last drop of fat is taken out, too. i'm trying to provide my kid with the best possible nutrition, and fat is a part of it. people are not obese because they're drinking whole milk. less big macs and twinkies might help with that. a doctor's visit to check your thyroid's not out of whach, what do i know? whole milk should be part of a balanced diet. if you equal real food with natural food, fat-free stuff just doesn't make the cut, not because it's processed, but because it doesn't occur in natural state.
Dana, I'd like to challenge you a bit here--not to argue, but to help me think through this complex issue, one I've wrestled with for a year now (and because I so respect your foodie creds).
Is there a bit of an all-or-nothIng rubric going on in your well-reasoned reply? I mean, it's not just a matter of no fat vs. all fat. Or should it be? I do agree that fat has been foolishly demonized in modern US culture. But low-fat milk still has lots of good flavor. And when combined with the egg yolks in the pudding, there's plenty of real satiety, no?
You KNOW I love whole milk. And believe cream is a beverage. But I do think shaving a few bits of saturated fat from a rich pudding isn't the worst thing in the world. Or am I duped, too?
M.
mark, you're right. i got completely carried away when i said low-fat anything is not real food. i'd had a frustrating day with the kid who won't eat but milk, and the pediatrician story further aggravated me. i think low-fat milk is an acceptable option, because the fat that's taken out is not replaced with other stuff to enhace taste, as it's the case with so many products. if you say there's flavor there, i'll take your word for it. and as far as the chocolate pudding is concerned, i'm positive i wouldn't be able to taste the difference.
we have to consider there are so many people with dietary restrictions, who would have a tough time if it were not for the low fat alternative. and like you say, when the end product is a rich dessert, it can't hurt. however, i can't see it fit for everyday consumption, especially not where children are concerned. (while we're at it, yesterday i forget to rant about chocolate and strawberry milk, which have the sugar content of your average soda can. how are those even allowed into school cafeterias? those should be treated like any dessert - a treat, every now and then. i can't believe parents would let their kids drink chocolate milk exclusively, but that's what they'll choose if they have the choice.)
to sum up... you know how i admire your work, i think you two are terrific, and i'm sorry if i came across a bit abrupt. in the end, we all have to make our own choices. for us, it's whole milk without a doubt. it's like nancy said - even if i didn't mind using low fat, i don't have the fridge space for two kinds, so i'll always only buy whole for my daughter. i do trust your judgement and all the research you put into 'real food has curves', which i can't wait to get.
I add pats of butter to my pudding to make it extra rich. If I want a lighter dessert, I reach for an apple.
I've lost over 100 pounds and maintained for years. In part of my looong dieting history, I was a low-fat queen. But I choose not to use low-fat products now. After living the yo-yo life, I feel like use of reduced-fat products is just a crutch. And trust me, I have not discovered super-human powers; I can still gain weight with the blink of an eye.
Dana: It's all balance, I think. But you're right: I'd rather have whole milk than low-fat. You know what? I went to the grocery store this afternoon--big, warehouse-like grocery store--and tried to buy whole-milk yogurt. No go. It was all low-fat or fat-free. Um, why? I don't know. I suppose I have to drive farther to a higher end store to get the real stuff. Ugh!!!
And my buttered-power friend, I agree completely about the crutch. I think fat-free things are sometimes about "getting away with it." As if a fat-free cookie is getting away with eating a cookie. No one should do that. You should eat a cookie. But really eat it. Sit down at the table and eat it with a cup of tea. Food on the run is dangerous. And the low-fat stuff sort of encourages this "something for nothing" culture we live in. People also feel they can eat "more" if it's low-fat. But really? The calorie counts between the low-fat and full-fat options are almost identical. What's the point?
M.
of all the kid-targeted brands of yogurt, a single one is made with whole milk, and that one is actually for babies. it tastes fine ,but it has a weird runny texture, if i had to eat it i would cry. today my daughter reached for the ones that have cartoons on them, and i can't let her have them, because there's no whole alternative, they're all non-fat. what's more, a 6 oz greek yogurt, cost $2.69. not organic. isn't that a bit high? i can find a good whole one at trader joe's, thick and delicious, but i have a good 20 minute drive to get there...
i can't eat yogurt. when i was in highschool i had a little debacle with a big container of raspberry yogurt. in college i had monster hangovers that were kinder than the hurt that yogurt inflicted on me. today if i even smell the stuff my ears are ringing in full code red. i'm trying to get over it so i can make a batch for the kid.
actually, i've been meaning to ask you if you have a reliable recipe for fromage blanc and/or quark. i love both, and even though in a pinch cream cheese may be substituted in recipes, the end result will never be the same. i am craving a fromage blanc cake something fierce! and it's impossible to find. i recently saw a recipe for quark which starts with buttermilk. i find that weird, why would it not start with milk? now i gotta do a whole different search on making buttermilk!! and i seem to remember my grandma simply leaving the milk on the counter... she didn't add any lemon juice or calcium citrate or anything. is all buttermilk just spoilt milk really?
Dana, I don't have a good recipe for those things. But I do have a yogurt maker at home. And I love it. I happened to be buying yogurt because we're traveling so darn much. I just don't have enough days at home to make it and eat it--so I was looking for a small amount I could buy. And not succeeding!
Let me tell you that I LOVE our yogurt maker. We're in control of the process--and I can put a little honey in it, on my own, for sweetness. I can't recommend a yogurt marker enough. But do get one with glass jars. I don't know if you want to be making yogurt in plastic containers.
M.
Hi all, can you recommend a yogurt maker that has glass jars? I have a Donvier but it has plastic jars, I would like glass.
Thanks.
Greg
I think it certainly is real food. For me, I consider something real food if it hasn't been adulterated by the addition of artificial substances or preservatives. I think that in order to keep many foods safe, some processing should be done so I don't get too crazy. I think of low-fat and fat-free milk as regular milk with the fat removed, not something else added. Whereas, for example, fat-free yogurt, has usually been altered with adding artificial colors, flavors and preservatives, even HFCS to make it taste different.
I believe that low-fat milk is a "real" food, if you have skimmed it yourself. The homogenization and pasteurization process kills all the enzymes in the milk. IMO, only raw milk has any nutritional value worth mentioning. One needs to really study the issue and educate themselves on what drinking homogenized and pasteurized milk is doing to our bodies.
BTW, if you skim the milk, make sure you consume the cream too in some other way!
Jennifer: I'm no nutritionist, but I do know the calcium, protein chains, and essential vitamins stay whole even after pasteurization. It's all balance, no? I love raw milk, but I have a physician friend (reading this, Rich?) who almost passed out when he found out I was drinking it. And to be frank, the raw stuff goes whangy so fast. It's nice to have a 1/2 gallon in the fridge that stays good for a couple weeks. I get cranky without my granola in the morning.
Dana: I found quark at the Whole Foods in West Hartford! So it I'd out there.
M.
Greg: Finally home yesterday from the road (for two weeks--before back out on it). Our yogurt maker is made by Eurocuisine. Bruce bought it via amazon.com.
Hope that helps.
M.