This fact alone qualifies organic products to be healthier products on a general scale which includes organic milk. How to Use Chia Seeds and Flour in Gluten-Free Recipes, Get the Facts on Organic and Free-Range Eggs. Most brands of organic milk are sterilized at very high temperatures (around 280 F), so it can keep for up to two months. They used data from a big European farm survey to identify the practices linked to composition of organic and conventional milk. If it turns out that they don't use the drugs, you may be able to save a little money. Many people who want to protect their heart choose not to drink full-fat milk. Organic milk has more of the good stuff and none of the antibiotics, synthetic growth hormones or controversial pesticides. The Mail Online was uncritical of the study, saying it "found clear differences" between organic and conventional food, calling it a "landmark study". The milk obtained from cows that are fed only natural grass without any food supplements and not subjected to any treatment for enhancing the milk yield is called organic milk in real sense of term. Organic milk often costs more than ordinary milk in most stores. Even if you did drink half a litre of full-fat organic milk a day, that would only give you a small proportion of the fatty acids recommended – and you would be getting the same level of saturated fats as drinking conventional milk. Menu There is not any significant body of scientific evidence supporting the nutritional superiority of organic milk. Organic milk keeps longer because it’s pasteurized differently. However, organic milk is free of these extras. In this guide to dairy milk, we assess the policies and practices underlying UK milk brands, recommending better buys and ways to support a dairy system that is more in tune with today’s environmental and social challenges. Is the conventional lettuce more likely to carry pathogens? However, all the included studies were considered to be at high or unclear risk of bias because they didn't report results or methods in full, or didn't give enough detail about possible confounding factors. Organic milk does not contain antibiotics and pesticides. By using The Spruce Eats, you accept our, 9 Products That Qualify for Organic Certification, The 7 Best Milk Delivery Services of 2020, The Key to Better Cooking Is Knowing Your Butter—Here's the Guide You Need. Which is better: organic milk or regular milk? The Metro was also uncritical, suggesting that if you buy organic you could "give yourself a pat on the back". Omega-3 fatty acids and alpha-linoleic acid have been associated with improvements in heart health, though causation has yet to be established. There's little argument that organic farming and dairy practices are better for the environment, if only because of their reduced use of pesticides, antibiotics, hormones, and other synthetic chemical compounds. They found that – with these hypothetical diets – switching to organic milk had about the same effect on overall fatty acid profiles as increasing consumption of conventional milk. The meta-analysis only looked at cows' milk, although the study as a whole reported on results from some trials on sheep, goat and buffalo milk. The less milk a cow produces, the more vitamins in her milk. Studies show that Omega-3 can reduce cardiovascular disease, improve neurological development and function, and strengthens immune function.. 2013;8(12):e82429. Organic milk production observes very strict guidelines implemented by the European Union. In contrast, there's little evidence about the effect of conjugated linoleic acid on human health. But switching to foods lower in omega 6 fatty acids helped to change the ratio for the better. Regular Milk: Which is better? The researchers said their results showed that switching from conventional to organic dairy farming, "will result in substantive improvements in milk fat composition," although they admit there are "virtually no studies in which the impacts of organic food consumption on animal or human health were assessed". Is organic milk production more environment-friendly? The main result that researchers found was a higher level of certain fatty acids – linked to better heart health – in organic milk. To the contrary, he said, drinking all types of milk provides healthy omega fatty acids; it’s just that organic milk does better. Ultimately systematic reviews and meta-analyses are only as good as the information you feed into them. Certainly not all organic milk tastes better than all conventional milk; I can guarantee you that the best milk I have (easily) available to me is non-bio microfiltered milk from pastured cattle. It was funded by the European Community and the Sheepdrove Trust. Alternatively, you can buy non-organic milk that has been sterilized at high temperatures and will last longer. Organic milk can also be labeled grass-fed if it adheres to the standards of both practices. When these benefits and the longer shelf life of organic milk are considered, it's easy to see why organic milk can be a good buy. While both milk choices have a very similar nutrient base, organic products often have less human handling and interaction and less chemicals and hormones, which makes for a healthier product overall. Higher PUFA and n-3 PUFA, conjugated linoleic acid, α-tocopherol and iron, but lower iodine and selenium concentrations in organic milk: a systematic literature review and meta- and redundancy analyses (PDF, 1.6Mb), British Journal of Nutrition. The differences in vitamin and nutrient levels are small, and as the researchers note, the vitamins and minerals (vitamin E and iron) found at higher levels in organic milk are unlikely to have much effect on human health, as other foods provide much more of them in our regular diets. Średnicka-Tober D, Barański M, Seal C, et al. ), it can be confusing. Is the organic milk better for your kids? Organic cows are happier and healthier which leads to more nutritious milk Walk into the milk section of any grocery store and you’ll find that organic milk is sometimes double the price of conventional milk. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0082429, Zivkovic AM, Telis N, German JB, Hammock BD. Just be aware that you’ll have the good bacteria as well as the bad in your milk. Close menu. Environmentally, organic milk is better. There are other factors worth bearing in mind. And you may wonder if the nutritional benefits of organic milk differ from other choices. PLoS ONE. If you have any concerns about possible residue from drug use, it certainly makes sense to buy organic. 2011;65(3):106-111.  doi:10.3733/ca.v065n03p106. Can it really reduce your consumption of saturated fats? A diet containing too many omega-6 … It might be fun to try a blind tasting of the various organic and conventional milks you have available. Read about the steps you can take to improve your heart health. Intensive farming. In 2010, the USDA closed a loophole in their organic regulations, so all organic dairy cattle must now spend much of the year grazing in open pastures, as opposed to feedlots or indoor feeding pens. While this may seem more natural and healthy, there is some controversy over whether it makes the milk healthier. We decided to focus our efforts on the milk review, as it is the larger of the two studies. Organic milk mirrors the benefits of all dairy milk. While organic milk had more omega-3 fatty acids, linked to improved heart health, and was slightly higher in iron and vitamin E, it also had lower levels of iodine and selenium. Standard systematic review and meta-analysis techniques were used. But is it really better for us? Some consumers believe that, for health reasons alone, it's worth paying extra for organic milk. Even if you like the sound of organic milk, its practices come at a price ― a steep one. Charles Benbrook, professor of Agriculture at Washington State University and former chief scientist at The Organic Center reviewed the Stanford study and responded: “This study draws a markedly different conclusion than I do about the nutritional benefits of organic crops. The latter is a charity that supports research into organic farming practices. They also investigated what other factors could have influenced their results, including geographical differences that could affect (for example) the nutrients in grass. This would be 11g – over half the recommended 20g maximum daily saturated fat intake for women, or over a third of the 30g recommended for men. Organic Milk vs. Overall levels of saturated fat did not differ between the two production methods. Importantly, we do not know if any of these results would actually have a significant impact on long-term health outcomes. A new study has shown definitively that organic milk is better for you than regular milk. In many cases, people prefer organic food and drinks for environmental and animal welfare reasons, so health issues may not be that important to them. Alternatively, you can do a little research into the dairies that sell their regular milk products in your area. While ultra-high-temperature processing can have a negative impact on some nutrients, researchers find that organic milk does have a high level of omega-3 fatty acid. Omega-3 can be found in many foods and taken as a supplement. However, an even better choice is organic raw milk. Benbrook CM, Butler G, Latif MA, Leifert C, Davis DR. Organic production enhances milk nutritional quality by shifting fatty acid composition: a United States-wide, 18-month study. This was a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies comparing the nutritional content of organically-produced and conventionally-produced fresh milk. Two products, recombinant bovine growth hormone (rBGH, also known as BGH, recombinant bovine somatotropin or rBST) and antibiotics, are said to be found in regular milk but not in organic milk. The researchers looked for studies published from 1992 (when legal standards for farms describing themselves as organic were introduced into the EU) and 2014. If you only have a choice between organic pasteurized dairy or conventional pasteurized dairy, organic may be the better option – especially if it's from grass-fed cows. A2 milk is about twice the price of regular milk. More milk from the cow equals less nutrients for those who consume it. There's little argument that organic farming and dairy practices are better for the environment, if only because of their reduced use of pesticides, antibiotics, hormones, and other synthetic chemical compounds. Because regular pasteurized milk is heated to only 165 F or lower, it doesn't have the same long shelf life. The UK media was split in its reaction. While levels of saturated fat and monounsaturated fat were about the same, organic milk contained slightly higher polyunsaturated fatty acid levels, including, on average: Looking at vitamins and minerals, the researchers found slightly higher levels of vitamin E and iron, but lower levels of iodine and selenium. 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