Description

Milk is nothing but liquid secreted by the mammary glands of female mammals to feed their little ones for a stipulated time period beginning immediately after birth. Thereon, milk of domesticated animals also play a vital role for humans in their daily life, as it is brought into use in the usual course of life, either as a fresh fluid or processed dairy products such as cheese and butter. Milk is generally an emulsion of fat and protein in water, along with dissolved sugar, minerals, and vitamins. These vitamin and mineral constituents are found in the milk of all mammals, but their proportion might differ from one species to another. Nevertheless, the milk of each species is considered to be a complete food for its young ones for a said time period. The milk is converted to a soft curd that encloses globules of fat, enabling digestion and eliminating any kind of disturbance often caused by fatty food. Lactose also known as milk sugar is broken down into simpler digestible sugar by the enzyme lactase that is formed in the intestine. While one does not produce the enzyme lactase, develope the very condition of intolerance, under which various gastrointestinal complications arise, and such intolerance usually develop with advancing age, as at the time of infancy, lactase is produced in the intestine, the very formation of it ceases with weaning age. There is goat milk, cow milk, camel milk that is naturally produced, while there is almond milk, soy milk, coconut milk, which is been made. Camel milk resembles goat milk more than the cow milk, it carries comparable content of fat and moisture, with a similar protein and lactose content as that of the goat milk, but significantly lower protein and lactose than the cow milk. While the goat milk is lower in protein content, that is Alpha s1 Casein, which happens to be higher in cow milk, thus leads to a lesser chance of intolerance, when compared with cow milk.

Health benefits

• As it is a known fact that milk is high on essential nutrients like calcium and vitamin D, it qualifies to carry great potentials for the development and maintenance of bones. Consuming milk on a regular basis helps in the enhancement of bone strength, thereby cutting down upon the chance of bone-related disorders like osteoporosis and osteoarthritis. ⁽¹⁾

• Milk is considered as an essential brain-food as it has an abundance of vitamin B, which helps in calming down the nerves, thereby regularising a proper sleep cycle. Likewise, vitamin B12 is said to improve memory power and sharpness, hence is considered to play a vital role in the overall brain development of the child. ⁽¹⁾

•  Milk is a rich source of protein and that very presence of it reduces to risk of obesity because it keeps the stomach full for a longer span of time, thereby reduces the urge for food consumption. Hence contributes to weight loss. ⁽²⁾

• Milk is considered good for heart health. As it is a known fact that cow milk is a good source of potassium, hence it enhances vasodilation and reduces blood pressure. Moreover, an increased intake of potassium decreases sodium and minimalizes the risk of cardiovascular disease. ⁽³⁾

Selection Guide

At the time of purchase always make sure that the milk is not curdled.