What kind of drink is really a food?

 

Milk is one of the most nutritious single foods there is. It is full of energy, proteins, vitamins and minerals. Milk is the first food any baby mammal gets. Most of the milk we drink comes from cows, but all mammals make milk for their newborns.

 

Why is milk so nutritious?

 

Milk is actually 87% water and 13% solids. The solids are mainly proteins, fats and carbohydrates. The proteins, fats and carbohydrates that help a young calf grow are exactly the same as the proteins, fats and carbohydrates in your body (and are exactly the same as the ones in the grass that the cow eats!).

 

Proteins are made from smaller building blocks (molecules) called amino acids and milk has all the essential amino acids for human beings. Proteins make up all the growing parts of your body, like muscles, nerves and skin, and important chemicals like hormones are often proteins.

 

Carbohydrates are usually used by your body as a fuel for energy. The carbohydrate in milk is called lactose, which is made from two 'sugars': glucose and galactose. To get the fuel for your body, your digestive system has to break apart the lactose into glucose and galactose, which go into your blood and around your body.

 

Some people cannot digest lactose because they have a condition known as lactose intolerance. This is because they have a shortage of an enzyme known as lactase, found in the small intestine, which is needed to separate the lactose into its two parts.

 

Fats are also a great source of energy. In fact, there is twice as much energy in fat as there is in carbohydrates.