It is white and full of Calcium

So what is it? The answer is milk.  Milk is part of the milk and dairy food group.  This includes cheese, yoghurt and fromage frais.  It does not include butter, margarine or cream as they are in the fats and sugar group.

Milk is the liquid produced by the mammary glands of female mammals.  Mammary glands are a part of the female body that produces milk.  A mammal is a warm blooded animal with a skeleton.  The ability to produce milk is one of the key differences of a mammal and they use their milk to feed their babies before they are able to eat solid food.  The mother's milk contains antibodies and these help reduce the risk of many diseases that the baby could pick up. 

Milk is also a food product for humans of all ages and most of the milk we drink comes from cows.  There are all sorts of different types of milk and these are some of them:

Pasteurised milk - is the most common treatment for milk.  When the natural milk is pasteurised harmful bacteria are killed but this does not harm the food or taste of the milk.  Pasteurised milk will last longer.

Semi skimmed milk - has just over half the fat in whole milk.  This is about 1.5 to 1.8% fat content.  It has slightly more protein, calcium and vitamins of whole milk but is lower in calories.  A Calorie is the amount of energy we get from food.  If we eat too many calories then we will put on weight if we don't take enough exercise.  This is why it is so important to get the balance right between what we eat and the amount of exercise we have.  You can tell it is semi skimmed milk because it will have a green plastic top on a plastic bottle and a red and silver one on a glass bottle.

Skimmed milk - This is a very low fat milk that looks and tastes less creamy.  It does not have as many vitamins A and D as they are taken out of the milk with the fat.  Vitamin A helps our sight and immune system which protects us from illnesses.  Vitamin D helps us absorb calcium into the body.  Glass bottles of skimmed milk have a blue and silver top and a red cap on plastic bottles.

Homogenised milk - is whole milk that has undergone a process that breaks up the fat in the milk so that the cream does not rise to the top.  It has a fat content of about 4%.

Condensed milk - this is a sweetened and concentrated milk that can be produced from whole, skimmed and semi skimmed milk.  It is heated and sweetened and is three times stronger than ordinary milk.

Evaporated milk - is heated until it is twice as strong as ordinary milk.  It is then sweetened and put into cans.  It is often used in sweets such as ice cream or as a type of pouring cream over fruit and puddings.

Buttermilk - is the liquid that is left after butter has been made from cream.

Goat's milk - comes from goats and is suitable for those that can't eat or drink cow's milk.

Soya milk - is made from Soya beans and is used by those that want or have to avoid dairy products.  It has a slightly nutty flavour and is thicker than normal milk but used in the same way.

The following animals produce milk that is used by humans as a food product; sheep: goats; horses; donkeys; camels; yaks; water buffalos; and reindeers.

Cow's milk contains on average 3.4% protein, 3.6% fat and supplies about 66 calories per 100 grams.

Milk also helps to keep the body hydrated; this means the body having sufficient fluids such as water.  However, the main part of milk is calcium and calcium has many important functions for the body.  They are for growing bones and teeth, making the small cells in the body work properly and helping us break up the food we eat inside our bodies. 

Calcium is the most common mineral (minerals help your body grow) in the body and most of it is found in our bones and teeth.  Calcium is a key part of the bones that help us stay upright.  The body can't make it by itself and that is why we need to drink milk.  If we don't drink milk it can lead to bone disease in later life with an increase in fractures (broken bones).

In teeth calcium helps protect us from disease and in the cells of our body it helps send messages about moving muscles, nerves and when blood should clot or thicken to heal a wound.

Milk needs to play a part in our diet but as with all things it should be drunk in sensible amounts.

Date

10/10/2007