The Whole Truth About Drinking Milk

Our body is a complex structure that requires various types of nutrients to function properly. To feed our body with nutrients, we need to consciously make food choices that pervade them. Milk is one of the highly regarded foods that contain most of the desired nutrients, keeping you healthy and fit. It is believed that it contains nutrients which are exclusive and cannot be found in any other food. However, as we know that in order to wholly reap the health benefits of milk, we need to ensure that we are consuming the food properly. With deprivation of information, we end up consuming milk the wrong way, thus facing various health issues including allergies, bloating, disorders, and indigestion. Acknowledging our wrong way in which we consume milk and taking the necessary steps to rectify them is the way to go as it can help you better digest it, relieving you of digestive issues.

Common Mistakes While Drinking Milk

Milk contains an abundance of amino acids, hormones, and enzymes as they are derived from living animals, which are the health benefits of milk. As it reacts with our body, we must ensure its proper consumption. The following are the commonly committed mistakes while consuming milk.

• Sugary Milk

Milk is pervaded with lactose, which is a natural sugar. This makes milk naturally sweet to taste. While we should consume milk as it is, many prefer to add refined sugar to it to make it more sweet. Refined sugar is prepared using chemicals which when mixed with milk makes it difficult for the body to absorb the nutrients. This also makes milk indigestible for the body. As sugar is high in calories, adding it to the already heavy milk can lead to weight gain. If you prefer your milk even sweeter, know more about sugar and its types: which is the best to consume? Using natural alternatives to refined sugar, such as jaggery powder, honey, and mishri could do the trick.

• Consuming with a Meal

Due to the richness of nutrients and health benefits of milk, it can be termed as a meal per se. A lot of us are habitual to consuming milk before or after a meal, like in the form of lassi, which makes you have two meals instead of one. This takes a toll on our digestive system and reduces its ability to absorb nutrition from both the meals. It is recommended to maintain a gap of 2 hours before and after the meal, regardless of what the meal is, be it veg or non-veg. 

• Mixing Milk with Salt

A lot of us consume incompatible food items together and embrace that as guilty pleasure. Some of the most common forms in which people mix milk with salt is drinking tea with salty namkeen, eating paratha with milk, and even adding milk to your favourite curries. This, while perceived as yummy, is damaging to your body as they will cause undesired reaction. Your skin is bound to witness the negative effects of consuming this mix. This is why consuming milk with salt is called slow poison in ayurveda. To prevent this from happening, we recommend you to maintain a gap of one hour between milk and salty foods.

• Drinking it Cold

Milk is heavy in nature. In summers, due to the summer heat, we casually chill the milk and make shakes using it. Chilling it makes it even heavier, which is unsuitable to the body as it makes it difficult for it to digest. This difficulty in digestion can lead to numerous troublesome conditions such as bloating, gas, and even constipation. Whenever you intend to drink milk, eliminate the thought of consuming it cold; rather, warm it up a little. This is because upon heating the milk, the molecular structure of it changes, making it easier for digestion. If you do not prefer it hot, consume it at room temperature for reaping the health benefits of milk.

• Fruits and Milk

Shakes are commonly found in almost every restaurant and people even make them at home. This is because of the unawareness of most fruits being incompatible with milk. While there are over top 12 benefits of citrus fruits, citrus and sour to taste fruits, including lemon and oranges, should be steered away from milk. Amla, however, can be combined with milk, making it an exception. Some of the fruits which can be combined with milk include dates, bananas, and mangoes. But these could only be added when they are sweet and ripe. Banana shake is one of the most loved drinks but it is considerably heavy and could pose some problems; so, observe your body after drinking banana shake and if you feel discomfort, avoid drinking it.

Drinking Milk the Right Way

As you should pay much heed to the way you are consuming milk, here are a few points you should consider for drinking milk the right way. Quit drinking chilled milk and opt for warm milk instead. Do not gulp it down, rather relax, sit down, and sip it slowly. Although, for people suffering from constipation, gulping milk while standing could relieve the problem.

While milk can be consumed during any time of the day, the best time recommended is post sunset as it is better digested at that time since that is the time our body produces the necessary enzymes. Another reason is that milk contains 80% casein and 20% whey protein. Casein tends to get slowly digested by the body, therefore being better to be consumed at night.

Milk has traditionally been consumed at night as it aids the sleeping process due to the presence of amino acids in it. You may drink milk two hours after your dinner. 

A lot of people wonder whether they should consume cow’s or buffalo’s milk. The latter is extremely beneficial in case you are looking to gain some weight or bulk up. If not, consuming cow’s milk is the best as it offers great health benefits of milk for hair, skin, and more. When it comes to cow milk, there are two types of it available, A1 and A2. A2 is the one which comes from gir desi cow and is richer in nutrients. While it may come at a higher price, it is worth every buck due to the health benefits it offers. When you purchase packaged milk, opting for toned milk is the better choice. 

How to Deal with Lactose Intolerance

Ayurveda believes that everyone has the ability to digest food as that is what we are born drinking. However, there are numerous reasons for our body to stop accepting milk. If we boycott it completely, the body will start to not accept it. Its wrong usage is another reason for our body becoming intolerant to milk. 

The best way to ensure that milk is digested by your body, bring it to a boil and add a pinch of dry ginger. After boiling, lower down the flame and let it be for 5 minutes. After this, turn off the flame and let the milk sit for a while and cool down. The trick here is to consume only 1/8th cup on day 1. On the subsequent days, gradually increase the amount consumed. In only a matter of a few days, your body will start digesting milk properly and you will be able to reap the health benefits of milk.

Conclusion

Milk is one of the most potent drinks and we must ensure consuming it in a proper manner to ensure our body is able to benefit the most out of it. Milk is best consumed individually; however, if you cannot do without accompaniments, you may add almonds, rice, oats, and more. Its consumption is highly recommended as it contains protein, vitamin A, B1, B2, B12, magnesium, potassium, and more. With such a load of nutrition, including it in your diet and consuming it the right way is essential for a healthy body and life. Now that you are aware of the common mistakes while drinking milk, quit making them and embrace the right practices. Lactose intolerance, which is often regarded as untreatable, can also be managed using the aforementioned tip. So, wherever you are and whoever you are, drink milk after this sunset in accordance with the aforementioned practices.

Auric has curated this guide to uncover the whole truth about drinking milk and help you reap maximum benefits out of milk. Auric has been recommended by various celebrities. If you are thinking what is the hype of Auric Beverages and why it’s trending all over the Internet,

visit us at www.theauric.com

Authored By : Poorvi Chhajer

About Author : Poorvi is a psychology graduate with a knack for writing and belief in ayurveda.