# Does all organic skim milk contain powdered milk?



## sahmmie (Jan 13, 2008)

I was just reading in Michael Pollan's book, In Defense of Food, that skim and low fat milks contain powdered milk which contains oxidized cholesterol which he says is quite unhealthy and in fact worse than natural cholesterol. Why is powdered milk not listed on the ingredients? I'm so sick of finding out that the foods we trust are probably killing us all!

Does anyone know if organic skim or low-fat milk contains powdered milk and oxidized cholesterol?


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## Magelet (Nov 16, 2008)

Most does. It should say on the ingrediants. A local brand of non homogenized milk doesn't, but whole milk really is super healthy (all the fat soluble vitamins!)


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## sahmmie (Jan 13, 2008)

Thanks. The one I buy (walmart's organic brand) doesn't list powdered milk on the ingredients. I'm thinking of switching to organic whole milk anyway. I know it's healthy from what I've been reading, but for so many years we've been indoctrinated with the "skim is better" philosophy. It's hard to think of my kids slugging down all that fat!


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## witchygrrl (Aug 3, 2006)

See, I thought it was the skim milk that is done up so that it tastes more like whole. Yeesh.

That's okay. We use almond and coconut milk most of the time here anyway.


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## Mama~Love (Dec 8, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Magelet* 
Most does. It should say on the ingrediants. A local brand of non homogenized milk doesn't, but whole milk really is super healthy (all the fat soluble vitamins!)

I've NEVER seen it listed on any milk carton or jug. That doesn't mean it's not on there. I'm sure the milk co.'s have influence on what they do & do not have to put on the label.


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## laohaire (Nov 2, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *sahmmie* 
It's hard to think of my kids slugging down all that fat!

Why? This is what will help them grow, develop their brains, etc.

To put a different way, wouldn't you feel sorry and heartbroken for the calves that are fed only skim milk? They don't thrive on that (though I guess it still happens in some places).

Skim milk is just sugar, basically - you're taking out the part that will really feed your kids.


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## FernG (Feb 14, 2008)

There is no way to know for sure what skim milk does and doesn't have powdered milk added. There is a loophole in the labeling laws allowing companies to omit ingredients that are "industry standard." Juices don't have to list added perfumes because the are industry standard. Other ingredients, like gluten, have explicit exemptions from being required to be listed.

The vitamins in milk aren't absorbable without the fat anyway. If you can't absorb the vitamins, you can't use the minerals in the milk. The fat and lower sugar content of whole milk helps regulate blood sugar anyway.


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## CookiePie (Jan 9, 2009)

Is whole milk exempt from the added powdered milk?


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## sahmmie (Jan 13, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *laohaire* 
Why? This is what will help them grow, develop their brains, etc.

To put a different way, wouldn't you feel sorry and heartbroken for the calves that are fed only skim milk? They don't thrive on that (though I guess it still happens in some places).

Skim milk is just sugar, basically - you're taking out the part that will really feed your kids.

Yeah, I know what you mean. I guess I just bought the "skim is better" for over 2-year-olds mantra for so long. You know, animal fats of any kind are supposed to be BAD.


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## sahmmie (Jan 13, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *FernG* 
There is no way to know for sure what skim milk does and doesn't have powdered milk added. There is a loophole in the labeling laws allowing companies to omit ingredients that are "industry standard." Juices don't have to list added perfumes because the are industry standard. Other ingredients, like gluten, have explicit exemptions from being required to be listed.

The vitamins in milk aren't absorbable without the fat anyway. If you can't absorb the vitamins, you can't use the minerals in the milk. The fat and lower sugar content of whole milk helps regulate blood sugar anyway.

I figured there was some kind of loophole. I hate that the food industries are allowed to deceive us so completely and so regularly.


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## sahmmie (Jan 13, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *CookiePie* 
Is whole milk exempt from the added powdered milk?

Michael Pollan says that they add the powdered milk to low fat and skim to maintain the creaminess that is lost when the fat is removed, so I think whole milk is probably fine as there's no need to add powder. Pollan recommends drinking whole milk.


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## Mama~Love (Dec 8, 2003)

Whole, raw milk from grass-fed cows is the best way to go. It's the most nutritious, as pasteurising and homogenization destroys the good parts of the milk.


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## laohaire (Nov 2, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *sahmmie* 
Yeah, I know what you mean. I guess I just bought the "skim is better" for over 2-year-olds mantra for so long. You know, animal fats of any kind are supposed to be BAD.

Yeah, tell me about it... my mom fed me skim milk too when I was a kid, that's what people do/did.


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## neptunemama (Jun 20, 2005)

As long as you're getting fat elsewhere in your diet, the fat soluble vitamins in skim milk will be absorbed just fine. And I don't agree that skim milk is just sugar. It has calcium, protein (no fat needed to absorb that folks) and Vit. A and D. And I compared the sugar content of the skim and 2% milk currently in my house, and they were identical.


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## sahmmie (Jan 13, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Mama~Love* 
Whole, raw milk from grass-fed cows is the best way to go. It's the most nutritious, as pasteurising and homogenization destroys the good parts of the milk.

I wish I could get this here, but there's no way. Maybe some time in the future.In the meantime I'll keep buying Organic but probably switch to whole or 2%.


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## sahmmie (Jan 13, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *neptunemama* 
As long as you're getting fat elsewhere in your diet, the fat soluble vitamins in skim milk will be absorbed just fine. And I don't agree that skim milk is just sugar. It has calcium, protein (no fat needed to absorb that folks) and Vit. A and D. And I compared the sugar content of the skim and 2% milk currently in my house, and they were identical.

That's probably true. But still, the added powdered milk with oxidized cholesterol really bugs me.


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## Magelet (Nov 16, 2008)

I checked the organic milk I grew up on a while back and both the skim and the 2% listed on the ingrediants "dry milk". (and the vitamins a and d in skim milk are synthetic vitamins added, not naturally occuring in the milk.)


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## BedHead (Mar 8, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *FernG* 
There is no way to know for sure what skim milk does and doesn't have powdered milk added. There is a loophole in the labeling laws allowing companies to omit ingredients that are "industry standard." .

Does anyone know if this is also the case in Canada??


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## BedHead (Mar 8, 2007)

Oh, and one other question. What can one say to someone who claims that skim milk can't have oxidized cholesterol in it because cholesterol is a type of fat and the fat has all been removed?


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## tanyalynn (Jun 5, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *neptunemama* 
As long as you're getting fat elsewhere in your diet, the fat soluble vitamins in skim milk will be absorbed just fine. And I don't agree that skim milk is just sugar. It has calcium, protein (no fat needed to absorb that folks) and Vit. A and D. And I compared the sugar content of the skim and 2% milk currently in my house, and they were identical.

The real bummer is that K2 is another fat soluble vitamin, it seems pretty important to me, and while A & D are added back in, K2 is not, so it's gone out with the fat.


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## laohaire (Nov 2, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *BedHead* 
Oh, and one other question. What can one say to someone who claims that skim milk can't have oxidized cholesterol in it because cholesterol is a type of fat and the fat has all been removed?

I don't have the full answer to that but I do know that skim milk is usually about 0.5% fat - so not "all" of the fat has been removed. (Whole milk is 3.5% fat I believe, for comparison's sake).


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## notjustmamie (Mar 7, 2007)

So, if I'm understanding this correctly, lower-fat milks that have added powdered milk are basically ... forms of condensed milk?


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## Magelet (Nov 16, 2008)

I don't think they are forms of condensed milk. It is just that they are VERY watery, so they add dry milk powder in, to give it a bit of a more milk-like body. unfortunately, that milk powder is pretty bad stuff, having oxidized cholesterol and msg, among other things.


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## mama1803 (Mar 4, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *laohaire* 
I don't have the full answer to that but I do know that skim milk is usually about 0.5% fat - so not "all" of the fat has been removed. (Whole milk is 3.5% fat I believe, for comparison's sake).

It's because the oxidized cholestrol is added back in to the skim milk in the form of spray dried milk.

I just read an article written by Sally Fallon that said the spray dried milk is high protein which uses up alot of nutrients to digest. People, particularly kids who drink tons of milk and eat little else, can become nutrient deficient by drinking the low fat or fat free versions of milk.


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## velochic (May 13, 2002)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *sahmmie* 
I was just reading in Michael Pollan's book, In Defense of Food, that skim and low fat milks contain powdered milk which contains oxidized cholesterol which he says is quite unhealthy and in fact worse than natural cholesterol. Why is powdered milk not listed on the ingredients? I'm so sick of finding out that the foods we trust are probably killing us all!

Does anyone know if organic skim or low-fat milk contains powdered milk and oxidized cholesterol?

We get our skim milk from Oberweis Dairy. Not certified organic, but no growth hormones, no antibiotics. Delivered to our door in glass bottles.

After reading this thread, I contacted them and they assured me, very vehemently, that they do not add powdered milk to their skim or low-fat milks. Their milk TASTES very different, in a good way, than store-bought milk, so perhaps that is what it is. Interesting thread.

Sometimes ignorance is bliss... just one more thing that you're told is not good for you. Even the air we breathe is toxic. Arg! It's gets too overwhelming sometimes.


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