Skip the Skim & Drink Whole

There is little research to support the fact
that skim milk is healthier than whole.
Image: Shutterstock

When I was growing up, my mother’s fridge always had 2% reduced fat milk in it. My dad’s fridge had skim. School lunch came with 1%, 2%, or skim. I didn’t much care for milk when I was a kid, but as I got older I realized that milk actually wasn’t all that bad—if I had whole milk. I liked the creamier feel, the non-watery taste, and the full feeling I got from it. But I knew that whole milk was “bad” for me and thought I shouldn’t drink too much of it, or I might gain weight from all the fat.

That’s been the belief pushed on us for many years by nutritionists with an absolute outlook on caloric and fat intake as compared to obesity. More calories and more saturated fat consumption equals obesity, right? In a black-and-white picture, yes, that fact is true—but nutrition has never been a black-and-white picture. If it were, we’d have it completely figured out by now.

The basic premise of recommending skim and reduced fat milks is that it will lead to reduced caloric and fat intake, therefore reducing the risk for obesity. Unfortunately for that simplistic viewpoint, there isn’t much scientific evidence to support it. Just because a food is “low-fat” doesn’t mean it will lead to lower caloric intake.