Milk - Nutrition and Health

Nutrition and Health

See also: Fat content of milk

The composition of milk differs widely among species. Factors such as the type of protein; the proportion of protein, fat, and sugar; the levels of various vitamins and minerals; and the size of the butterfat globules, and the strength of the curd are among those than may vary. For example:

  • Human milk contains, on average, 1.1% protein, 4.2% fat, 7.0% lactose (a sugar), and supplies 72 kcal of energy per 100 grams.
  • Cow milk contains, on average, 3.4% protein, 3.6% fat, and 4.6% lactose, 0.7% minerals and supplies 66 kcal of energy per 100 grams. See also Nutritional value further on.

Donkey and horse milk have the lowest fat content, while the milk of seals and whales may contain more than 50% fat.

Milk composition analysis, per 100 grams
Constituents Unit Cow Goat Sheep Water
buffalo
Water g 87.8 88.9 83.0 81.1
Protein g 3.2 3.1 5.4 4.5
Fat g 3.9 3.5 6.0 8.0
Carbohydrate g 4.8 4.4 5.1 4.9
Energy kcal 66 60 95 110
Energy kJ 275 253 396 463
Sugars (lactose) g 4.8 4.4 5.1 4.9
Cholesterol mg 14 10 11 8
Calcium mg 120 100 170 195
Saturated fatty acids g 2.4 2.3 3.8 4.2
Monounsaturated fatty acids g 1.1 0.8 1.5 1.7
Polyunsaturated fatty acids g 0.1 0.1 0.3 0.2

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