Whole milk is excellent source of Vitamin D

Interesting chat on Radio 4 Women’s Hour yesterday. A food journalist (who’s name I’ve forgotten) was saying one of the reasons that many people are so short of Vitamin D is because so many of us have stopped using whole milk (ie silver top milk) and are drinking skimmed or semi-skimmed.

She said the amount of fat in whole milk is small (I think she said 3%). When it is skimmed or semi-skimmed it has had all of the Vit D and Vit C removed.

She also believes that the whole argument against fats and cholesterol is unravelling. Having high cholesterol myself I’ve read a lot about this on the internet. Seems more and more people in the nutrition and medical fields are starting to question if it is really healthy to lower the fats in our diets and if statins are actually good for us at all.

Anyway, didn’t mean to go off on that tangent… just really meant to say that if you want to increase your Vitamin D intake using whole milk is a good way to do it.

Pat x

Hi Pat Thanks for that I didn’t know that whole milk was a good source of vit D. Like lots of people I just drink and eat skimmed milk now. Even semi-skimmed I find too creamy as I’m so used to it now. I’d have trouble reverting back to whole milk now! Teresa xx

hi Pat, yeah, i’ve been told this before, by a friend of mine who used to be a doctor. i ALWAYS buy whole milk and avoid semi-skimmed and skimmed milk like the plague, love Bex xx

Hello Pat

When I lived abroad, I missed british milk in a glass bottle with the topping & the foil lid pecked by bluetits. Then, when I came back it had all changed to plastic homogenized white liquid.

I heard somewhere that, the only way to really get enough VitD is for the body to manufacture it itself by absorbing sunlight and that we need something like half an hour a day minimum on average. The problem with taking it in our food & drink is that the VitD is mostly destroyed by by cooking/heating and then the digestive process. The same goes for vitD suppliments, we would need to swallow such massive doses that it just wouldn’t be economically viable, I think that’s why the drug companies have not jumped on the bandwagon.

Bill. x

Hi Pat,

Good point or pint!

Bill, we live about 6 miles from the nearest market town and we get our milk delivered in milk bottles which are fully recyclable with foil lid - again recyclable. However

as so few people have milk delivered think the blue tits have forgotten how to break into the bottles for

the ‘top of the milk’. We do get semi skimmed but sometimes by full fat for my porridge.

Better get out in the sun today to get my vit D before it starts snowing!

Jen xxx

I was watching a 1970’s film the other night called Taxi Driver, and in it Robert DeNiro was drinking milk from a cartoon which had “includes Vitamin D” on the outside. Surprised me and ties in with what others have said, personally I don’t drink milk as it gives me a headache and will go for the 1 hour a day sun option!. Peter

Well I’m going back to using whole milk. I eat muesli for breakfast, or porridge, and will be lovely having whole milk again. Also, I live in London and still have my milk delivered by a milkman… Ron, who has been doing the same round for over 20 years.

One more interesting point, the whole debate against fats started in the 1970’s. Within a few of years the worries about a growing obesity problem started. At the same time of course more people started owning cars and parents became more concerned about letting children play outside. It’s a lethal combination.

Pat x

Will whole milk cure MS?

Would be great if it did eh? Something so simple…

Sorry folks but I have just looked in my dietitians book and milk whether whole tor semi skimmed only contains a trace of vitamin D. Really difficult to get enough vitamin D from diet - sources include oily or fatty fish such a salmon and mackarel and eggs. Yes sun is a major source but whether in the uk we get enough sun is debatable. Myself my endocrinologist recommends me to take 20,000 units of vitamin d twice weekly

I do think that vitamin D3 and sunshine can help but no cure I’m afraid Marcus.

Wendy

x

Thanks Wendy. Even my Doctor (who has a relation with MS and is ‘fairly convinced’ that he himself will get MS) has not heard of this ‘theory’ but because it has been ‘posted’ on the MS Website then it must be true?

Marcus.

Vit D is added to almost all US milk and has been since the 1930s when rickets was a real problem.

All normal milk in the UK has low levels if vitamin D - but is is really good for several of the B vitamins/

Thanks, Pat. I have always steadfastly stuck to whole milk - the fad for saying that proper milk was bad for you just seemed so obviously daft. I’m glad I stuck to my guns!

Alison

x

When I was growing up, (ie), from just after birth to about fifteen or sixteen years old, I/we as a family used to have milk and cream straight from the farm (cow to table) no processing, nothing removed, nothing added, so if it does contain a high amount of vit (D), it has not done me a lot of good, in relation to preventing , MS.

Yes we used to have cream every Sunday, strictly against war time food rationing of course, maybe that’s why its not done me any good.

Take care.

Chris R.

I. El. (Eng). (Rtd).

I know its going to be a bad day when I get out of bed and miss the floor.