9 Most Important Nutrients in Milk

Although cow’s milk is really best for baby cows, it’s a nutritional element that must be included in all diets.

Raw milk contains all the nutrients that have to be included in a balanced diet, like:

1. Fats
2. Carbohydrates
3. Proteins
4. Vitamins
5. Minerals (except iron)

There are more healthy elements in a 230g glass of milk than you can imagine:

1. Proteins – 8 grams
2. Carbohydrates (lactose) – 11 grams
3. Fats (depending on the type of milk: nonfat or whole milk – from less than 1 gram to 8 grams)
4. Calcium - 0.3 grams (about 35% of the daily doze needed for children). Calcium is absorbed much better from milk than from other products because it contains also vitamin D (which boosts calcium absorption)
5. Vitamin B2 – a glass of milk contains 25% of the recommended daily doze for adults
6. Vitamin B12 – 30% of the recommended doze for children
7. Vitamin D – 25% of the recommended doze for adults
8. Vitamin A – 10% of the recommended doze for adults
9. Zinc – 10% of the recommended doze for children

Proteins are some of the most important elements in raw milk. Several types of proteins can be found only in milk, like caseins (80% of milk proteins). Caseins have an appropriate amino acid composition for growth and development of the young. Other proteins in milk include enzymes, proteins involved in transportation of nutrients, proteins involved in diseases resistance (antibodies) and other growth factors.

Popularity: 5% [?]

Energy obtained from food

The energy of human body got from food is limited mostly by digestion. The main nutrients required by the human body come from 5 separate classes:

• Proteins
• Fats
• Carbohydrates
• Vitamins
• Minerals

Approximately 1600 – 1800 kcal are needed daily by a man adult, while a woman needs 1200 – 1400 kcal. The need for energy is different from person to person, depending mainly on the life style. For example, active men need approximately 3000 kcal daily, active women need 2500 kcal, while athletes usually need more than 5000 kcal per day. Any surplus of calories is transformed and stocked as fat by the human body. 1 kg of fat is the equivalent of 7000 kcal of stocked energy. Every time a person burns 7000 kcal more than he accumulates, he loses 1 kg of fat. For example, if you can burn with 1000 kcal per day more than you gather from food, you can get ride of 1 kg of fat in a week.

DO NOT FORGET that 1 kg of fat means actually 1.4 kg of adipose tissue because this contains, besides fat, water and other elements. Still, fat is an important element that must always be present in the human body. Women need four times more fat then men do (the minimum quantity of fat required by the human body is 13% for women and only 3% for men).
Usually, a 20 – 30 years old man has 15 – 18% fat in his body, while a woman of the same age has 25 – 28%. When dieting, sometimes less body weight means less fat and less muscles (mainly when the diet is unbalanced or is not suitable for that person). So, in this case the end of the diet means more fat, but less muscles.

Generally, breakfast and lunch must contain 600 kcal each and dinner must contain about 300 kcal. Breakfast should usually contain food rich in carbohydrates (like milk, cereals, etc.). Lunch should have 50% carbohydrates and 50% proteins (like eggs, fish, rise, chicken, pasta, etc.). Also, is recommended no to eat later than 8 o’clock PM. As mentioned before, exercises are the most effective and safe ways of burning calories, especially when dieting.

Here are some examples of activities that lead to burning of 100 kcal:

• Swimming or cycling for 12 – 15 minutes
• Playing football for 15 minutes
• Walking for 25 minutes
• Running for 10 minutes

Popularity: 3% [?]