The creamy richness of whole milk may tempt you into pouring the milk in your cereal bowl unless you stop to consider the fat content. Americans purchased about 5 percent less whole milk in 2010 than in 2009, according to statistics from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The fat and calories in whole milk may contribute to the decline in consumption, as health professionals writing for the USDA's ChooseMyPlate website recommend choosing low-fat milk over whole milk in most cases.
Whole Milk Processing
The majority of milk in America comes from dairy cows, although you can find goat's milk in some regions of the country. Whole milk in grocery stores undergoes a pasteurization process designed to eliminate dangerous bacteria. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's standards for whole milk state that the milk must have at least 3.25 percent milk fat. In comparison, fat-free milk gets less than 0.2 percent of its calories from milk fat. All milk undergoes a separation process before being pasteurized. Some milk has the vitamins A and D added to improve its nutritional benefits.
Fat and Nutrients
The USDA Nutrient Data Laboratory indicates that 1 cup of vitamin D-fortified whole milk contains 7.93 g of total fat, which equates to 71.3 calories. The 71.3 fat calories in whole milk make up 48 percent of its total calories. Other nutrients in whole milk include 7.7 g of protein, 11.7 g of carbohydrates and 12.3 g of the naturally occuring sugar lactose. A 1-cup serving has 276 mg of calcium, 105 mg of sodium and some B vitamins.
Types of Fat
Perhaps more important than the amount of fat in 1 cup of whole milk may be the type of fat in the milk. The American Heart Association advises limiting your intake of saturated fat to just 7 percent of your food calories. Whole milk gets 57.3 percent of its fat calories from saturated fat and the other percentage from monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids. If you eat about 1,800 calories a day, you can have just 126 fat calories from saturated fat, and 2 cups of whole milk exceeds that limit.
Considerations
If you need to gain weight, including small amounts of whole milk in your diet can help you increase your caloric intake. Small children under the age of 2 need to drink whole milk rather than skim or reduced fat milk, according to the National Institutes of Health. You can make the change from drinking whole milk to a milk with less fat content easier by diluting 1 cup of whole milk with 1/4 cup of skim or 1 percent milk. Over time, use more of the lower-fat milk and less of the whole milk until you become accustomed to the difference in the flavor and creaminess.
References
- U.S. Department of Agriculture: Esimated Total U.S. Sales of Fluid Milk Products January -- December 2010
- U.S. Department of Agriculture: What Foods Are Included in the Dairy Group?
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration; CFR -- Code of Federal Regulations Title 21; April 2010
- Dairy Council of California; Types of Milk; 2009
- USDA Nutrient Data Laboratory: Whole Milk
- American Heart Association; Know Your Fats; June 2011
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