Is milk as healthy as we think?

A new prestigious government study is indicating that we may all be getting hungrier and fatter due a marked decrease in the nutritional value of conventionally produced foods.

According to the new British analysis of government nutrition data on meat and dairy products from the 1930s and from 2002 onwards, the mineral content of milk, cheese and beef declined as much as 70 percent in that period. 

The research found that parmesan cheese had 70 percent less magnesium and calcium, beef steaks contained 55 percent less iron, chicken had 31 percent less calcium and 69 percent less iron, while milk also showed a large drop in iron along with a 21 percent decline in magnesium. Copper, an important trace mineral (an essential nutrient that is consumed in tiny quantities), also declined 60 percent in meats and 90 percent in dairy products.

These ‘declining’ foods have been termed Hollow Food. "Hollow food" contains insufficient nutrition due to modern farming methods and is suspected in playing a role in the rapid rise in obesity, as people may be eating more in order to get the nutrition the body requires for healthy function.

Australian Organics Expert Barbara Byrne comments: “This is just the latest in a long line of studies that show that eating organic foods means a higher level of nutrients entering the body. Now we learn that we can avoid the body craving ‘more’ if we eat power packed foods and you are more likely to get that if you choose organic.”

This backs up a recent 2007 $30 Million dollar study funded by the European Union from England’s University of Newcastle which found organic produce contained higher levels of compounds that were thought to improve health and combat disease. It noted that organic vegetable crops contained 40% more beneficial compounds and organic milk contained 90% more nutrients than conventionally produced milk, which indicates nutrient dense food.”

“If I wanted to lose weight or maintain a healthy weight I would certainly be putting more organically produced foods into my system. Nutrient dense means you’ll be craving smaller amounts of food as your body gets quite satisfied with less.” Barbara says.

Tags: health, Nutrition, organic