Perhaps you have struggled choosing which is the best milk to take. Don’t stress yourself . Let me simplify your choices, first start with donkey milk; it’s the sweetest of all other milks. If you do not have a sweet tooth or cannot get donkey milk easily, then get camel milk; it has anticancer, antidiabetic and antihypertension properties. Perhaps you want milk with the highest mineral content, get sheep’s milk. Perchance, you are against animal products, then choose potato milk, yes potato milk. If you have not made up your mind yet, please check below.
Which milk is sweeter?
Sugars in foods influence foods’ sweetness. Sweet potato and fruit such as pineapple are sweet due to high levels of sugars. The sweetness in milk is influenced by sugar called lactose. If you wish to enjoy the sweetest milk then go either for donkey milk or human milk. That’s why infants like mother’s milk. Donkey and human milk has approximately 7% lactose. That is 7 g of sugar per 100 grams of milk. For example if you take a glass of donkey milk which is 250ml then you will be taking 17.5 g of sugar equivalent to 4 and half tea spoonfuls. Cow’s milk on the other hand has approximately 4% lactose which is equivalent to two and half teaspoonfuls per glass of cow’s milk. The high lactose content in milk promotes the osteogenesis processes, facilitates the intestinal absorption of calcium and phosphorus, and influences the mineral accumulation in bone structure, which helps in the prevention of osteoporosis.
Milk high in protein
Sheep milk contains the highest amount of protein at about 6% while donkey milk has the lowest protein content at 0.4%. Buffalo milk follows sheep’s milk in relation to protein content. Cow’s milk, goat milk and camel milk have almost the same amount of protein at approximately 3.4%. Surprisingly, human milk has very low protein of about 1.3%.
Vitamin C or ascorbic acid content in milk
Camel milk is the best to take if you are after Vitamin C or ascorbic acid content. Camel milk has 33% of vitamin C compared to 1% in cow’s milk. This partly explains why there are low incidences of scurvy in populations living in arid and semi-arid areas that keep camels even if they do not grow fruits or vegetables. Camel milk contains 30 times more vitamin C than cow milk, and 6 times more than human milk. This is highly important in desert areas, where fruits and vegetables are scarce. More often, camel milk is the only source of vitamin C in the diet of inhabitants of those deserts.
Milk rich in Vitamin A.
Vitamin A is very important for various functions of the body including vision, immune function, reproduction and growth. Sheep milk has the highest amount of bioavailable vitamin A followed by goat milk and then cow’s milk.
Milk rich in Vitamin D
Vitamin D is good for bone development and other functions of the body. Cow’s milk has the highest amount of vitamin D followed by sheep milk and goat milk.
Milk low in allergenicity
Human milk is the most fit and is not allergic to humans particularly infants, but when breast-feeding is not available or possible, cow milk or infant formula, which is mainly based on cow milk, is usually used as a substitute to human milk. This substitution has been shown to have immunological problems, such as allergy. The allergy results from an abnormal immunological response to one or more of milk proteins. The termallergymeans an altered or abnormal reaction. Such a reaction may occur when there is contact between a foreign protein—an allergen— and body tissues that are sensitive to it.
Although for a long time cow’s milk has been the preferred alternative to mother’s milk, there is increasing prevalence of cow’s milk protein allergy (CMA). Or what is commonly referred only as milk allergy. Cow’s milk allergy is the negative reaction individuals experience following consumption of cow’s milk. This is very common to infants and sometimes adults. Cow’s milk protein allergy can manifest itself through; nusea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal cramps etc. The allergy can also manifest itself through the skin such as skin rash. Other times it could affect the respiratory system and manifest itself in sneezing etc.
Over 160 foods induce allergic reactions. However, only eight foods account for the majority of the allergies i.e. 90%. These are milk, egg, peanut, soybean, fish, crustacean shellfish, wheat and tree nut. Therefore it is very clear that Milk is among the few foods that induce the majority of allergies. The exact reasons for a particular individual to develop a food allergy remain unclear. However, a number of risk factors have been identified. Development of food allergy is strongly influenced by genetic factors. For example, individuals are at an increased risk of developing a specific food allergy when a family history of that allergy is present.
Many scientific studies have been carried out to define and characterise the allergens involved in cow’s milk allergy and described two major compounds in milk that induce allergy. These are: casein (aS1- CN) andb-lactoglobulin.
Milk with the lowest allergic reaction is human milk followed by camel milk and donkey milk, goat milk, sheep milk and then cow’s milk in that order. Therefore, camel and donkey milk are least possible. To induce allergenicity. This Christmas if you wish to choose milk low in allergenicity, pick camel or donkey milk.
Milk high in calcium content
We are always told even through television advertisements that milk is rich in calcium and its good for our bones and teeth. Actually, human body is made up of approximately 1kg of calcium. This is approximately 1.4% of weight of a an average 70kg adult. Over 99% of this calcium in human body is found in bones and teeth where it is present as calcium phosphate, providing strength and structure. Today, it is world wide acknowledged that milk contributes positively to human bone and teeth health. The recommended dietary allowance for Calcium is about 800– 900mg for adults, 1000mg for pregnant and lactating women, and 1200 mg for adolescents. The food sources rich in calcium are many and thanks to their high Calcium contents, milk and dairy products are considered as one of the best sources. To get the highest amount of calcium choose milk in the following decreasing order; sheep milk has the highest followed by goat milk, cow’s milk and then camel milk has the lowest calcium content. Calcium is higher in nomadic cows’ milk than dairy cows’ milk such as Fresian. The concentration of calcium in cow’s milk is approximately 1200 mg/litre. Colostrum has high calcium that normal milk and is lower at the end of lactation. If you take cheese it will have higher Calcium than milk.
Milk low in cholesterol
The term cholesterol elicits mixed reactions. Some castigate cholesterol as the enemy of heart health. Others do not see any harm with cholesterol. First let me clarify; Cholesterol is synthesized naturally by the body and its important for various functions of the body. Then there is cholesterol obtained from the food we consume. This is referred to as dietary cholesterol. In early 1960s the scientific findings at the time demonized dietary cholesterol and accused is as the major contributing factor to the heart diseases. Many research findings have since found that dietary cholesterol doesnot necessarily lead to high cholesterol in the body. Following these findings many countries have recommended consumption of foods rich in cholesterol such as eggs but in moderation. There are two types of cholesterol; High density lipoprotein cholesterol and Low density lipoprotein cholesterol. The bad boy is the Low density lipoprotein cholesterol. This is the one associated with negative effects on heart health. In addition the ratio of LDL:HDL is important.
In terms of cholesterol, Buffalo milk has the lowest cholesterol (9.5%) compare to other animals. Camel milk has the highest cholesterol at 35%. Goat and sheep cholesterol are comparable at 15% while cow’s milk has relatively high cholesterol at 28%. It is therefore recommended to consume low fat milk if you are concerned with cholesterol and fat in general.
Milk with antidiabetic properties
Camel milk is the best in terms of managing type II diabetes. In the recent past there is a an increase in prevalence of the type II diabetes. Type II diabetes occurs when the body doesn’t produce enough of chemical called insulin to function properly, or the body’s cells don’t react to insulin. This means the sugar stays in the blood and isn’t absorbed into the body to be used as fuel for energy.
Camel milk is thought to help manage type II diabetes because of the following reasons: insulin in camel milk possesses special properties that make absorption into circulation easier than insulin from other sources. Also camel insulin is thought to be held in nanoparticles (lipid vesicles) that make possible its passage through stomach and entry into circulation. Thirdly, some other unknown elements of camel milk make it anti-diabetic. Therefore to manage diabetes, go for camel milk.
Antiviral and antibacterial activity
Among all other milks, raw camel milk is considered a strong viral and bacteria inhibitor to human viruses and bacteria. The inhibition effect of camel milk antibacterial compound called lysozyme is better that egg white lysozyme and bovine milk lysozyme against strains of bacteria.
Folic acid
Folic acid is a form of vitamin B-9 that can dissolve in water. It is a key ingredient in the making of the nucleic acid that forms part of all genetic material. It is particularly important for women who are pregnant to consume enough folic acid. Folate is not synthesized by our bodies. Therefore, it is important to get it from food sources. Camel milk has the highest folic acid content of 87micrograms/100g compared to 5mirograms /100g in cow, sheep and human milk. Folic acid helps prevent the foetus from developing major congenital deformities of the brain or spine, including neural tube defects, such as spina bifida and anencephaly.
Fat in milk
Fat consumption is associated with negative effect on health. Consequently, if you are interested in taking milk low in fat go for donkey milk which has approximately 1 g of fat per 100 grams of milk or 10g of fat per 1 litre of milk. Compared to cow’s milk which has 35g of fat per 1 litre of milk which is three to four times that of Donkey milk.
Milk low in calories
Calories intake has two sides. One, men and women need to meet daily calorie intake. On the other side high calories intake has effect on weight gain. Men must meet Kcal. 2500 and women need to meet 2000 Kcal per day. Milk lowest in calories is Donkey milk with approximately Kcal. 160 while human, goat and cow’s milk have an average of Kcal. 280. Buffalo and sheep milk have the highest calories of approximately Kcal 440 per 100 grams.
Milk good for infants/babies
Considering nutrients density and allergenicity, mothers’ milk is the best. If not available for one reason or another then choose milk high in proteins and other nutrients. Camel and goat milk are also good. Scientifically, donkey milk is closest to human milk and low in allergenicity. It would be possible that you frown at the mention of donkey milk, currently, other countries such as Italy and Greece; donkey milk is a mainstream product.
Milk with anticancer properties
Camel milk has been scientifically proven to have anticancer properties compared to all the other milks. Camel milk has been shown to cause apoptosis -controlled death in human breast cancer cells and liver cancer cells through various mechanisms. Very active antibodies in camel milk can also bind onto the tumours in tissue, killing the tumour cells without damaging healthy tissues.Camel milk is therefore, recommended for its medicinal and therapeutical properties compared to milk from all the other animal species. This explains reasons for increasing consumption and research on camel milk.
Cosmetic and anti-ageing effect
Camel milk has cosmetic effects due to the presence of compounds called hydroxyl acids which are known to plump and smoothen the human skin. These compounds also help to shed the outer horny layer of dead cells on the skin. This helps in revealing new cells, which are more elastic and clear. Various acids in camel milk eliminate wrinkles and age spots and relieve dryness. A compound in camel milk called liposome also has anti-ageing effect
Alternative milks.
When choosing milk to buy or drink either for yourself or for your child, it is no longer simply a matter of whole, low-fat, or skim. Now more than ever, you can choose from a plethora of milk alternatives or plant-based “milks” derived from a variety of sources, including nuts, seeds, legumes, and cereal grains.
Worldwide including Kenya, sales of non-dairy milk alternatives more than doubled between 2009 and 2019, reaching US Dollars 21 billion – a reflection of both consumer demand and the burgeoning array of products to meet that demand. Meanwhile, consumption of cow’s milk has dropped 13 percent in the U.S. over the last five years.
Plant-based milk substitutes are essentially suspensions of dissolved and disintegrated plant material and extracts in water. Homogenization and thermal treatments are used to improve the suspension and stability of the product. They are made to visually resemble cow’s milk and often include the word ‘‘milk’’ in the beverage name. Specific nutritional properties depend on the plant source, processing, and fortification. The most widely available plant-based milks are cereal based milk including; oat and rice, legume-based milk including soy and peanut milk, Vegetable based milk including potato milk, seed-based milk including flax and hemp seed milk and Nut based milk including almond, cashew nut and coconut milk.
The increasing popularity of non-dairy milks can be attributed to many factors. More and more people are consuming non-dairy alternatives, whether due to an allergy, lactose intolerance or adherence to a vegan/plant-based diet. Still others are concerned over saturated fat levels, hormone content, and antibiotic use in dairy cattle.
I hope I have helped you to make a choice on which milk to drink between donkey milk, camel milk and other milks. If you are still undecided, you can drop a comment below.
I wrote this article for Daily Nation on 24th December 2019