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Milk: It Does a Body Bad I was looking in my fridge the other day and although I just wanted a glass of something cold and a snack, I suddenly became confused and suspicious. As I reached for the juice, I wondered: Is it pure? Does it have any artificial coloring? Perhaps I should just grab a can of pop. Uh oh, too much sugar. What about a slice of cheese? Constipation! I know, I’ll just have a glass of milk, nature’s perfect food. But wait! Didn’t I read something about milk being not so perfect anymore? (“What’s the matter with milk?”) “Milk, What a Surprise,” is the tag line from the National Fluid Milk Processors, the add agency for America’s Dairy Industry. The point of that phrase is obvious: Milk Mustaches are stylish. Milk makes you strong and beautiful. Models, actors, actresses, sports stars, and singers like Britney Spears all have campaigned for milk. When you look up all you see are their broad smiles with milk mustaches with the catch phrase, “Got Milk?” These campaigns give us the impression that Americans need milk. Americans love milk. Rumor ahs it that by drinking milk can to be beneficial to your health. It has been said that by drinking milk, you reduce your risk of osteoporosis, hypertension, and colon cancer. It has also been shown that milk reduces the risk of kidney stones. “A recent epidemiological study of more than 81,000 women with no history of kidney stones links intake of nonfat milk with decreased risk of colon cancer.”(“Newer Knowledge of Dairy Foods”) Today, there are so many different types of different milk that satisfy consumers taste, nutrition, and health. These milks vary in fat content and lactose content. Some have different types of vitamins or even calcium. There is whole milk, which contains about 3.25% milk fat and 8.25% solids-not-fat. It is optional to add vitamins A and D. Low fat milk contains 0.5, 1.5, or 2% milk fat and about 8.25% solids-not-fat. Fat free milk, also called skim milk, contains less than 0.5% milk fat and about 8.25% solids-not-fat. Vitamin A has to be added but it is optional to add Vitamin D. “Milk is made up of 87.4% water and 12.6% milk solids (3.7% fat, 8.9% milk solids-not-fat). The milk solids-not-fat contain protein (3.4%), lactose (4.8%), and minerals (0.7%).” (Newer Knowledge of Dairy Foods, 5) There are also many types of specialty milks, which are what I like to call fake milk. One type is reduced lactose milk. In this type of milk, a lot of the lactose content in milk is extracted.
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