Buying Milk The Right Way

Its time! ...You got to learn how to buy packaged or tetra pak milk the right way, and not based on packet color or cuteness quotient of its television commercial.

The sole attribute of liquid milk which leads to it being called by different names like Skimmed, Toned, Slim, etc, is its fat percentage. In other words, all milk sellers package, price and sell milk to the customer, primarily based on its fat percentage. Additions while processing the milk e.g. incorporation of vitamins or minerals, or use of sophisticated preservation techniques, may also be a basis for differential packaging and pricing.

Packaged liquid milk sold in the Indian market is classified into following common types based on its fat percentage:
 

Full cream or whole milk-Contains a fat percentage of 6% or above. Recommended for infants who have already been weaned from their mothers milk and children of all ages. Adults may do well not to consume this type of milk, the reason being, an average Indian adult whether vegetarian or non-vegetarian, easily consumes the recommended daily amount of dietary fat from various food sources (incl. fats & oils used in cooking/garnishing) available to her/him on a day to day basis. Most infact easily overshoot the recommended daily allowance (RDA or RDI) of fat consumption. In such a scenario, consumption of full cream milk is not needed, unless one has a clinical condition where the dietary fat intake has to be increased or one is fond of full cream milk and has no existing health restrictions (say, hypercholesterolemia) preventing its consumption.
 

Standardized milk- Fat percentage of 4.5%. A nice choice for domestic use, as its fat percentage works well for consumption by all age groups within the family. One can choose between this or toned milk for daily consumption.

Toned milk- Is perhaps the most popular milk type used in the country with a fat percentage of 3%-3.5%. Excellent for daily household use, owing to its ability to suit both the culinary and nutrition purpose well. A multi-purpose milk.

Double toned or `slim' milk-Fat percentage is about 1%-1.5% (but not 0%). People mistake this to be skimmed milk because of confusing labels on the milk packet e.g. labels like `99.0% fat free', but its not skimmed milk.
 

Skimmed milk-Only milk which has 0% fat or zero fat actually qualifies to be called skimmed. Even milk which is 99.5% fat free is not technically skimmed milk, but countries vary in their legal definition of `skimmed' and in some nations a 99.5% fat free milk is considered as skimmed e.g. in USA, milk which has a fat percentage between 0% to 0.5% can be called `skimmed'. In UK, milk should have a fat percentage under 0.3% and it can be called `skimmed'. 

Skimmed milk is good investment for people who have to watch their dietary fat and cholesterol intake very, very, strictly. Other than that, it has no glaring merits which justifies its premium pricing. An aspect I plan on discussing later in this blog, is how its usage with respect to weight loss diets is also over-hyped by the media and health practitioners. To sum up, my verdict on skimmed milk is that its not a practical choice for an Indian household because of pricing and lack of ability to be a multi-purpose milk.

Various brands differ (but very slightly) in how much fat percentage they quote for the above categories of milk. To avoid getting confused by words like `wholesome' `slimming' `fat free' etc, look up the back of the milk packet for its `fat percentage' (not to be confused with SNF percentage), it is compulsorily mentioned and this will help you choose the type nearest to what you want.

Note-The above information/classification is for liquid cows milk sold in the Indian market only.

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The Nutrition Omnibus and A Fistful of Nutrition © Raksha Changappa. Contents of this blog post (excluding images) are the exclusive copyright and intellectual property (IP) of Raksha Changappa. This post is solely for knowledge and information of the reader and is not to be construed as medical advice. If you want to use the post contents, kindly do so by acknowledging the source, namely this blog and the author, via hyperlinks or credits. If not, no content will be copied, reproduced, republished, transmitted or distributed, in any form or means, including print and electronic media. Copyright and IP infringements will be taken seriously. For queries contact nutrewise@gmail.com

The Milk Deal | Pasteurized Vs Homogenized

Your first connection with nutrition makes way into your house, everyday, along with your newspaper. Households grind to a halt without this. Yet, we know very little about this `something nutrition' we deal with day after day, first thing in the morning. 

Apart from identifying milk tetra packets based on color (e.g. that blue milk packet...errr...that orange milk packet) and groggily cutting it open, have you ever opened your eyes wide and explored the packet? No?

So follow me to the world of practical nutrition and read on.

To keep it simple, for now lets stick to just two words sticking out boldly from your milk packet, namely, `pasteurized' and `homogenized'.

Whats pasteurized milk?
The word `pasteurized' means that the packed milk has been subjected to `pasteurization', a procedure which retards or slows down growth of micro-organisms in milk. The milk you buy thus has a longer shelf life, amongst other things.

A more technical definition of pasteurization is `A process of heating a food, usually liquid, to a specific temperature for a definite length of time, and then cooling it immediately'. Pasteurization is in reality a more complicated procedure, but I got to keep it brief.

Whats homogenized milk?
Homogenization is a procedure which breaks up the milk fat into smaller particles and ensures that the milk is of the same tone (consistency) throughout. This done to prevent or delay the separation of cream from the milk i.e. in homogenized milk the cream doesnt accumulate on top in a thick layer, as it does with milk straight from the cow.

Another reason for homogenization is that in the dairy your milk supply originates from, the milk is mostly sourced from various farmers who own milking herds. All this milk from different breeds of cows is mixed together and has to be made more uniform and this is done via homogenization.

Nutrition is your daily life

We never realize that nutrition is a very intimate part of our daily living. Nutrition is not some separate planet which you have to enter only on being told `Hey go to that planet, its healthy'. You are dealing with it daily. Right from the milk you buy, to the salt you sprinkle, to the sugar your spoon, each common food has a nutrition story to tell. If you listen in to each such story, you will automatically start looking at food, and your diet, in a more informed manner and make better diet choices.

Next time, we will dissect that milk packet more. So watch this space.

Note- The above discussion is limited to milk which is in tetra packs and not the one we get unpackaged from our milkman (or, doodhwala).

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The Nutrition Omnibus and A Fistful of Nutrition © Raksha Changappa. Contents of this blog post (excluding images) are the exclusive copyright and intellectual property (IP) of Raksha Changappa. This post is solely for knowledge and information of the reader. If you want to use the post contents, kindly do so by acknowledging the source, namely this blog and the author, via hyperlinks or credits. If not, no content will be copied, reproduced, republished, transmitted or distributed, in any form or means, including print and electronic media. Copyright and IP infringements will be taken seriously. For queries contact nutrewise@yahoo.com

Your Mom May Be Growing Shorter, As She Grows Older

Over my lifetime and also in my nutrition practice, I noticed many a grandmom or mom looking very short in comparison to their strapping children or grandchildren. Yes, height is genetic. And, yes, an average human being is taller these days in comparison to times of our grandparents. However, there is one more reason why most women appear to and actually do gradually shrink in height as they grow older and that`s primary osteoporosis.

Did you know that many women lose a couple of inches in height between 50-80 years of age because of this silent debilitator?

Osteoporosis is a condition where the Bone Mineral Density (BMD) becomes so less that the persons skeleton is unable to sustain ordinary stress and strain. Its is of two types: primary and secondary, lets explore the more common primary type for now.

Primary osteoporosis can develop in women post menopause, due to stoppage in production of the hormone estrogen. Its then called post-menopausal osteoporosis. Primary osteoporosis can also happen in women and men, due to aging, and thats when its termed age related osteoporosis.

A disorder which literally shortens you

Primary osteoporosis of any of the two types, causes loss of height due to fractures.

Example: A wedge or compression fracture of the vertebrae (spine), seen mostly in age related osteoporosis, causes actual loss of height i.e. the height loss is measurable even after one incident. Such fractures may also cause curving of the spine (kyphosis) which also add to making a person look shorter.

And, its not just lack of estrogen or advancing age which is the cause

Other causes of primary osteoporosis include excessive alcohol, cigarette and caffeine consumption, lesser than required intake of calcium and vitamin D coupled with sedentary lifestyle.

What one can do post detection

Post diagnosis treatment involves Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT), use of bone conserving drugs and suitable dietary changes (including supplementation of vitamin D) and more.

Nothing works better in case of osteoporosis than prevention. Taking care of your diet starting right now, by consuming adequate calcium and vitamin D and also being physically active, will ensure that the older you walks tall.

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The Nutrition Omnibus and A Fistful of Nutrition © Raksha Changappa. Contents of this blog post (excluding images) are the exclusive copyright and intellectual property (IP) of Raksha Changappa. This post is solely for knowledge and information of the reader. If you want to use the post contents, kindly do so by acknowledging the source, namely this blog and the author, via hyperlinks or credits. If not, no content will be copied, reproduced, republished, transmitted or distributed, in any form or means, including print and electronic media. Copyright and IP infringements will be taken seriously. For queries contact nutrewise@yahoo.com