Cow's milk: fat content, benefits and harms

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

No need to convince anyone that milk is a valuable he alth product. It contains all the nutrients in a balanced way. The most useful is goat milk. 100 g of this product contains 3.2 g of protein and 3.6 g of fat. Approximately the same parameters are possessed by cow's milk. Its fat content is slightly higher, and its nutritional value is 64.4 kcal. The most sparing figure is mare's milk. The protein in it is only 2.1 grams, and even less fat - 1.9 g. But there is a lot of milk sugar - 5.8 g. Sheep milk has the highest content of protein and fat (5.6 and 7.8 g, respectively).). But in this article we will only talk about cow's milk. What is its fat content in whole food, cream and dairy derivatives? Let's figure it out.

How fat is cow's milk?

Lactose has beneficialbiological properties. It contains a protein-lecithin complex and arachidonic acid, which play an important role in our metabolism. These globules of fat, after some time after milking, rise to the top. This is how cream is made. The expressed milk remains at the bottom of the sump. It is already fat-free, because it has given some of it to the cream. It is clear that such a product is desirable for dieters. But what happens to milk next? It is pasteurized, sterilized, dried to a powder, and then diluted with water, enriched with all sorts of vitamins. And they also make it melted, ion-exchange, condensed. Not to mention dairy products. It is quite logical that cow's milk has a different fat content. It depends on how the product has been processed.

Benefits of cow's milk

This food product contains all the vitamins known to science. With regard to minerals, phosphorus and calcium s alts are the most important for he alth. They are necessary for strengthening bones and also enhance memory. Lactose, or milk sugar, is absorbed by the stomach more slowly than others. But in most people, it does not cause excessive fermentation in the intestines. On the contrary, lactic acid bacteria prevent the development of putrefactive processes in the intestines. Therefore, cow's milk, the fat content of which ranges from one to six percent, is useful in any form. But there are people who can't stand this product since they were born.

Harm cow's milk

In this world, every barrel of honey has its owna spoon of tar. In the case of milk, the problem is a possible bacterial contamination. Therefore, the raw product should be boiled. But then the milk loses most of its valuable properties. There are also people who, from birth, lack the enzyme responsible for the absorption of lactose in the stomach. Fortunately, the modern food industry produces special milk for them. Breastfeeding babies do not always tolerate weaning well. Then cow's milk, the fat content of which remains unchanged, is replaced with ion exchanger. It is obtained synthetically, replacing calcium with an equal amount of potassium and sodium, as well as enriching it with vitamins C and B. There is also special milk for patients suffering from protein deficiency. Its fat content remains standard - 2.5 percent. But the protein content is artificially increased. And, finally, milk (as well as food products derived from it) for losing weight. Everything is simple here. Milk is poured into a special bowl - a separator. The cream is then skimmed off and the skimmed milk is sterilized (boiled at 150°C) or pasteurized (held at 75°C for thirty seconds and then rapidly cooled to 8°C).

What affects the fat content of the product?

We have already determined that manipulation of whole milk can both decrease and increase its nutritional properties. If 10% is indicated on the package with the product, then this is already cream. The percentage of fat content of baked cow's milk is 6 units, normalized and reconstituted is 3, 2. On the package with a raw product that has only passedmechanical cleaning, it is from 2 to 2.5%. A fat-free product may even have 0.1%. But this indicator can change even without human intervention. To determine it, use a special device - a lactometer.

What affects the fat content of homemade cow's milk?

In addition to manipulation of milk yield, the percentage of lactose depends on many factors. Chief among them is the breed of cows. Livestock breeders specially breed dairy or meat cows. Jersey breed and fashion are considered especially valuable. Such cows give milk of five to six percent fat. The age of the animal also matters. There is an inverse relationship between the amount of milk yield and the fat content of milk. The more liters a cow gives, the thinner the product. The lactation period also affects fat content. After calving, the milk is liquid, and then becomes thicker. Of course, feed plays a paramount role. Old hay, smelly aftertaste, withered grass along the roadsides or clover from water meadows naturally affect the quality and fat content of the product. In this regard, the time of milking is important. The fattest is daytime milk, and the liquid is morning milk.