Skimmed milk

Skimmed milk (United Kingdom and Canada), or skim milk (United States of America and Australia) is made when all the cream (also called milkfat) is removed from whole milk.

Background

Historically, skimmed milk was used for fattening pigs, and was recommended as "not only the very best supplement for growing pigs, but is of almost equal value for fattening purposes" as it "furnishes a complete protein" and makes the feed "more palatable"

Sometimes only half the cream is removed; this is called semi-skimmed milk.

Skimmed milk is more popular in the United States than in Britain.

• Whole milk is a good source of Vitamin A.

• Semi skimmed milk contains about 30% - 50% less Vitamin A than whole milk.

• Skimmed milk contains almost no Vitamin A.

Skimmed milk contains less fat than whole milk, and as such many nutritionists and doctors recommend it for people who are trying to lose weight or maintain a healthy weight. On the other hand, some consider skimmed milk to actually be less healthy than whole milk, questioning the extent to which animal fat contributes to weight gain.

In the UK, milk is marketed and labelled as follows:

• Whole milk is about 4% fat
• Semi skimmed milk is 1.7% fat
• Skimmed milk is between 0.1-0.3% fat

In the USA, milk is marketed primarily by fat content and available in these varieties:

• Whole Milk is 3.25% fat
• 2% Reduced-Fat Milk
• 1% Lowfat Milk (also called Light Milk)
• 0% Fat-Free Milk (also called Skim Milk or Nonfat Milk)

Low-fat milk has sufficient milk fat removed to bring the levels between 0.5-2% It also must contain at least 8.25% solids-not-fat. It must contain 2000IU of vitamin A per quart.

Skim milk, also called nonfat milk, has had sufficient milk-fat removed to bring the level to less than 0.5%.

Nutrition Facts ( Serving Size 1 cup (236 ml)) Calories 80

Cholesterol <5 mg Sodium 125 mg total carbohydrate 13g Protein 8g Vitamin A 10% Vitamin c 10% Vitamin D 25% Calcium 30%

Health effects

American Journal of Epidemiology Advance Access published December 20, 2011

Johanna E. Torfadottir*, Laufey Steingrimsdottir, Lorelei Mucci, Thor Aspelund, Julie L. Kasperzyk, Orn Olafsson, Katja Fall, Laufey Tryggvadottir, Tamara B. Harris, Lenore Launer, Eirikur Jonsson, Hrafn Tulinius, Meir Stampfer, Hans-Olov Adami, Vilmundur Gudnason, and Unnur A. Valdimarsdottir

• Correspondence to Johanna E. Torfadottir, Centre of Public Health Sciences, University of Iceland, Stapi v/Hringbraut,

101 Reykjavik, Iceland

Initially submitted March 10, 2011; accepted for publication July 26, 2011.

The authors investigated whether early-life residency in certain areas of Iceland marked by distinct differences in milk intake was associated with risk of prostate cancer in a population-based cohort of 8,894 men born between 1907 and 1935. Through linkage to cancer and mortality registers, the men were followed for prostate cancer diagnosis and mortality from study entry (in waves from 1967 to 1987) through 2009. In 2002–2006, a subgroup of 2,268 participants reported theirmilk intake in early,mid-, and current life. During a mean follow-up period of 24.3 years, 1,123 men were diagnosed with prostate cancer, including 371 with advanced disease (stage 3 or higher or prostate cancer death). Compared with early-life residency in the capital area, rural residency in the first 20 years of life was marginally associated with increased risk of advanced prostate cancer (hazard ratio ¼ 1.29, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.97, 1.73), particularly among men born before 1920 (hazard ratio ¼ 1.64, 95% CI: 1.06, 2.56). Daily milk consumption in adolescence (vs. less than daily), but not in midlife or currently, was associated with a 3.2-fold risk of advanced prostate cancer (95% CI: 1.25, 8.28). These data suggest that frequent milk intake in adolescence increases risk of advanced prostate cancer. adolescent; diet;

See also

• Fat content of milk