Which one is healthier: pasteurised milk, unpasteurised milk, homogenous milk or toned milk?

Dhvani Shah, naturopath and sports nutritionist expert, Mumbai tells us about the different variety of milk that we get in the markets today.

Milk is definitely a nutritionally rich food that you need to include in your daily diet. Now, how you like to have your fill is a personal choice just a glass of milk, milk with oats or cereals, a milkshake with fruits, milk with a pinch of turmeric the options are aplenty. However, diet conscious people and weight watchers are in a dilemma when it comes to milk. The perennial question that haunts them is what to choose whole milk or skim milk? In simple words, should they choose milk with its fat intact or with the fat removed from the milk? Well, that is a never-ending debate that is still on in a different level and here is an insight into the same.

But when it comes to choosing the healthy milk from the supermarket shelf the options presented to you in the dairy section could be bit overwhelming. You are spoilt for options over here pasteurised milk, unpasteurised milk, homogenous milk, toned milk what-have-you. Most of the time you cannot make up your mind on which one is the right one for you.

So, we spoke to Dhvani Shah, naturopath and sports nutritionist expert, Mumbai to know more about the different variety of milk that we get in the markets today.

Here she explains what these different types of milk have on offer:

Unpasteurised milk: This is the kind of milk that you get in every local dairy shop or the one you get delivered by the local milkman at your doorstep. This is raw milk, which cannot be consumed without being pasteurised. This is why you need to boil it to the optimum to kill bacteria and other enzymes that could cause a problem in your GI tract or lead to indigestion when consumed raw. Once boiled at a high temperature it becomes consumable and is compatible with your digestive tract too.

Pasteurised milk: This milk is usually sold in tetra packs in the supermarket where the milk undergoes a pasteurisation process before being packaged. Pasteurisation doesn t kill all the micro-organisms in the milk but it does kill certain bacteria and enzymes that could lead to gastrointestinal problems like diarrhoea and indigestion. Once you buy this milk remember it is advisable not to consume it raw either. Although this milk has gone through a pasteurisation process it is not heated to a very high temperature. So, once you open the pack make sure you heat it once at a high temperature to make sure that the bacteria and enzymes in the milk that could cause a threat to your GI tract are eradicated. When you heat or boil this milk you might get a layer of fat (cream) or malai which you can remove before consuming the milk, if you want to have your milk minus the fat.

Homogenous milk: Homogenisation is a process which is done after pasteurising the milk. In homogenisation, the fat is evenly distributed throughout the milk mechanically without adding any additives. The purpose of this process is to help the fat molecules break down and blend throughout the milk. Without homogenization, fat molecules in milk will rise to the top and form a layer of cream or malai. This milk helps in easy absorption of fat molecules when consumed. This milk can be found in form of whole milk.

Toned milk: In this process, the fat from the milk is removed to a great extent and many people who prefer to count their calories and keep a watch on their fat intake prefer toned milk. But remember in the process of removal of fat the natural balance of fat and protein in the milk also goes haywire and this makes the nutritional quotient of this milk little questionable.

Which one to choose: According to Dhvani, the best choice would be to pick a pack of pasteurised milk. As it is a healthier option which is devoid of bacteria and harmful enzyme, however, you will still have to boil it to remove the layer of cream or fat if you prefer to have your milk fat free, she says.

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