Milk: Many Choices

une is National Dairy Month and a great time to become familiary with all the choices in your grocer’s milk case. It used to be that your biggest choice was between whole milk or skim. Now there is Skim Plus®, soymilk and Lactose Reduced added to the picture. Most people consider milk a staple and drink it cold or pour it on cereal,  createwarm beverages. or to make smoothies or use in recipes. Here is what you will find in your grocery store along with tips to make the best choice.Soymilkis made by grinding soybeans, mixing them with water and cooking until thick. It usually comes in original, chocolate and vanilla flavors. It contains little saturated fat, no cholesterol and no lactose, and contributes about 3 grams of fiber. Soymilk also contains around 6.5 grams of soy protein - enough to qualify for the new health claim that soy protein may help lower cholesterol when it is part of a lowfat diet. Choose a brand that is fortified so you get about the same calcium, vitamin D, vitamin B12 and vitamin A as skim milk. Soymilk is a smart choice for anyone seeking to limit their cholesterol, saturated fat, or sodium intake, or to eliminate lactose from their diets.Fortified fat free skim milkusually has around 100 mg of calcium added per 1 cup serving. Brand names for this type of milk vary around the country but a few might include: Skim Plus, Calci Skim Milk, Skim Deluxe and Calcium Extra. One more bonus to this fortified skim milk is that it is usually thicker and creamier than skim, an added bonus for people who are used to whole milk. It is thick enough to be used as a coffee creamer and can be used for cooking and baking. It is more expensive than regular skim milk.Fat free skim milkis made by removing as much of the fat as possible. Generally, less than ½ gram of fat is found in a one-cup serving and it has nearly all of the nutrients found in whole milk, and is an excellent source of calcium and vitamin D.Lactaid milkhas been pre-treated with the enzyme, lactase, which makes it useful for persons with lactose intolerance. It is available in several varieties, including nonfat, 1%, 2%, or calcium fortified.  It can be used in cooking and baking just like ordinary milk.Buttermilkis typically made from nonfat or lowfat milk with certain organisms added to culture the milk. With only 2 grams of fat, 1 gram of saturated fat, and 9 mg of cholesterol, it is a healthy and popular choice for use in many recipes or as a beverage. Buttermilk is a great choice for mashed potatoes and baked goods - it adds flavor without a lot of fat.One-percent lowfat milkis made by reducing the total fat content to 3 grams of fat in a one-cup serving with 1 gram of saturated fat. The cholesterol content is lowered to 10 mg per serving. This is a good choice for the person who does not like skim milk, but wants to reduce the fat content of their diet.Two-percent reduced fat milkis made by reducing the fat content to 5 grams of fat with 3 grams of saturated fat and 18 mg of cholesterol per one-cup serving. While it is a slightly better choice than whole milk, it is still not considered lowfat.Whole milkcontains 3.5% milk fat. A one-cup serving contains about 8 grams of fat with 5 grams of saturated fat and 35 mg of cholesterol. It is not a good choice for anyone who is concerned about their cholesterol because of its high saturated fat content. One exception to this is children between 1 and 2.Chocolate milkis milk with cocoa and sweeteners added.  Reading the label will tell you if it is made from whole, 2%, 1%, or nonfat milk. The cocoa and sweeteners add about 60 calories and 5 milligrams ofcaffeine per cup.By Beth Fontenot, MS, RD.