Do you drink milk?

[mommyoffive]

Do you drink milk?

Do your kids?

 

What kind?

 

I am currently having this debate.  Is it even needed or healthy to drink milk?

 

If you don't drink milk where do you get your calcium from?

[Farrar]

Only with cookies. :)

 

We get 1%. It gets used to make oatmeal and bake with and so forth. In general, none of us drink much milk. My kids and I eat other dairy and veggies with calcium. When I've spot checked us in the past, I feel like we're getting enough.

 

My understanding is that milk is absolutely not necessary to a healthy diet and is unhealthy for some people. I think it's fine (I know others disagree), but there are other options.

[Plateau Mama]

I don't drink milk. My kids only use it with cereal. If we do have milk it's only whole milk. You don't need milk for calcium. Green veggies have more calcium (and are better absorbed by the body) than milk. My calcium levels have been super high ever since I adopted a Paleo diet.

[SKL]

We buy fat free organic cow's milk.  I used to drink it with meals, but now I just drink it in coffee & when I eat cereal.  Given the amount of coffee I drink, it is probably between 8 & 16 oz per day.

 

One of my kids enjoys milk with her lunch and dinner.  The other does not, as she feels it makes her sick.  She also doesn't usually eat ice cream, but she will eat most some other milk products.  Both of my kids have yogurt drinks with breakfast, and sometimes cereal with milk.

 

I don't think humans need milk once they get past the natural weaning age, but I also don't think it's bad for most people to drink it.  I cut it down for myself around age 42 when a holistic doctor told me it was probably causing inflammation or something.  I do think I felt better after cutting it.

Edited October 7, 2016 by SKL

[lynn]

Not as much as I use to. I only buy organic now.

[Pawz4me]

We don't drink milk here, although I use a couple of tablespoons in my coffee.

 

The calcium we get comes mostly from cheese and yogurt (and ice cream for DH).

[Ausmumof3]

We do but not for health reasons as we already meet our dairy needs through yoghurt and milk on cereal. We'd be healthier not drinking it but we all really like it.

 

I drank a lot when pregnant to help with heartburn. I've since discovered peppermint tea and wish I'd known about it earlier - it could have probably saved a bit of my excess weight gain.

[Butter]

Do you drink milk?

Do your kids?

 

What kind?

 

I am currently having this debate.  Is it even needed or healthy to drink milk?

 

If you don't drink milk where do you get your calcium from?

 

No.  I find it to be incredibly disgusting.  I've never drunk milk, not even as a kid.

No.  They never have.

 

We get whole milk for cereal.  Anything else is gross.

 

No, you do not have to drink milk (though the dairy people would say I am wrong - and managed to lobby hard enough to make it part of a balanced diet).  I wouldn't say it is especially unhealthy to drink milk, just not necessary.

 

We get calcium from other dairy products (cheese and yogurt), various vegetables, nuts, etc.

[Butter]

Do you drink milk?

Do your kids?

 

What kind?

 

I am currently having this debate.  Is it even needed or healthy to drink milk?

 

If you don't drink milk where do you get your calcium from?

 

No.  I find it to be incredibly disgusting.  I've never drunk milk, not even as a kid.

No.  They never have.

 

We get whole milk for cereal.  Anything else is gross.

 

No, you do not have to drink milk (though the dairy people would say I am wrong - and managed to lobby hard enough to make it part of a balanced diet).  I wouldn't say it is especially unhealthy to drink milk, just not necessary.

 

We get calcium from other dairy products (cheese and yogurt), various vegetables, nuts, etc.

[kewb]

As in drinking a glass of milk? No. Unless it is chocolate milk. And even that is a rare occurrence. I do use milk with cereal, creamy dishes, etc. But I also sub coconut or almond milk when cooking.

 

There are plenty of vegetables high in calcium so I don't think milk is essential to a healthy diet.

[Arcadia]

We drink lots of milk as my kids prefer milk to water. My DS11 is a cheese lover as well and both my kids love yoghurt. We buy whole milk organic as it cost not much more than non-organic. We are a family of underweight people and I don't like the taste of reduced fat milk so we only get reduced fat milk if the grocer is out of whole milk when we run out of milk.

[samba]

No milk drinking here. The kids use a plant-based milk when they eat cereal (either cashew, almond or rice milk). We get our calcium from vegetables. I believe there's a correlation between high dairy consumption and higher rates of osteoporosis. That's not why we don't drink it, though. I don't believe milk is needed beyond weaning.

[regentrude]

DH, DS and I don't drink milk. But we eat yoghurt and cheese.

 

My kids drank a lot of milk when they were little. I think DD still uses milk in cereal. DS stopped because of his acne. We use 2%, I cannot stand the full fat stuff.

Edited October 7, 2016 by regentrude

[fairfarmhand]

Well, considering I milk a Jersey cow every single day, yeah, we drink lots of milk.

 

And it's definitely full fat milk.

 

Rich and very filling. "I can't drink more than 8 ounces at a time.

[Selkie]

I don't drink milk, I use almond milk in my iced coffee.  Two of my kids like whole milk and the other kid and DH don't drink any type of milk.

[Slache]

We drink almond milk and get our calcium from vegetables.

[marbel]

One of my kids drinks milk, the other does not and has always refused it.  The adults only drink milk occasionally, with certain cookies or graham crackers.   I do make yogurt from whole milk.  

 

The kid who always refused it was never forced to drink it.  As a teen, she started experiencing allergy symptoms (itchy throat) when consuming a few dairy products (but not all).  So, I guess there was a reason she didn't want to drink milk.  

 

There are other ways to get calcium.  

 

(I put cream or half-and-half in my coffee.)

[bibiche]

We use it as an ingredient but don't drink it (except in hot chocolate ðŸ˜).

[ScoutTN]

We get a gallon of raw milk every week, plus a half gallon whole pasteurized milk from a local dairy where cows are outside and eat grass/hay.

 

We all pour it on cereal or have some with cookies, peanut butter, or other sweets, but usually only Ds drinks it regularly.

 

I use cream in my coffee and for cooking some things lime custard type pies, carmel sauce, eine sauce for pork chops etc.

Edited October 7, 2016 by ScoutTN

[KungFuPanda]

We drink it and like it. I don't think it's unhealthy, but I don't think it's essential either. I don't believe there's ANY one food that you NEED. There are always other ways to get those nutrients.

[ScoutTN]

Well, considering I milk a Jersey cow every single day, yeah, we drink lots of milk.

 

And it's definitely full fat milk.

 

Rich and very filling. "I can't drink more than 8 ounces at a time.

Yumm!!

[Loowit]

Our family drinks a lot of milk.  I can't drink it anymore since I developed lactose intolerance a year or so ago.  My kids and DH drink it several times a day, usually at meal times.

[AmandaVT]

No.  I find it to be incredibly disgusting.  I've never drunk milk, not even as a kid.

No.  They never have.

 

We get whole milk for cereal.  Anything else is gross.

 

No, you do not have to drink milk (though the dairy people would say I am wrong - and managed to lobby hard enough to make it part of a balanced diet).  I wouldn't say it is especially unhealthy to drink milk, just not necessary.

 

We get calcium from other dairy products (cheese and yogurt), various vegetables, nuts, etc.

 

I've never cared for the taste of milk, even as a kid. It always had a sour taste to me, but a bad sour, not a good plain yogurt type of sour. We get or make almond milk for cereal. 

 

DS has had milk before, but prefers almond milk as well. 

[Christine B]

We drink lots of milk - only skim though, since that's what I was brought up one.  Sometimes, if we're out to eat, we'll drink 1%.  I can't handle anything over 2%, though.  

[SparklyUnicorn]

Yes I do.  My kids also.  (cow milk)

 

We only drink whole.

 

 

[mamiof5]

Not at all. Rarely with cereal or add to oatmeal.

 

Kids? With cereal. A couple kids live almond milk.

 

I do like cashew milk, but even when I have it in the fridge I rarely drink it.

[TravelingChris]

Yes, I do.  All my children do too even though they are all adults now.  My dh doesn't drink milk except for a very occasional cocoa.  He has mild lactose intollerance.  Apparantly heating the milk helps him digest it or else he really can drink a cup and not have real problems.  We use whole milk.

[SparklyUnicorn]

I learned something funny today.  The official drink of NY is milk.  I had no idea.

 

 

[nevergiveup]

We use a lot of whole, full fat milk and milk products here.

By "use" I mean:  some is drunk, some is used on cereal, some used for homemade ricotta and yogurt and puddings.

We also consume full fat cottage cheese, yogurt, heavy whipping cream, cheeses, and sour cream.

None of us are overweight.

 

I belong to a club with a lot of farmers as members and they drink milk (with cookies) after our meetings.

Edited October 7, 2016 by nevergiveup

[EmseB]

Yes, but not a huge amount.  My oldest has a dairy allergy so that cut our family milk intake a lot.

 

I don't think it's needed, but is healthy in moderation.  Only whole milk, but I'm a big believer that fats in general are good for everybody, and that low fat anything isn't generally good.

 

The only problem I have with milk is the amount of sugars.

 

We eat a lot of greens here (even the kids) so I would say that's a good source of our calcium intake.  Overall we eat a pretty balanced diet, so I don't worry about any one nutrient in particular.

Edited October 7, 2016 by JodiSue

[Chris in VA]

Two of us are lactose intolerant so no milk. I have high blood calcium so calcium is a problem for me.

[lexi]

No. we do not drink milk and my kids don't either. 3 of my daughters are allergic to milk.

 

My hubby and I do sometimes eat cheese or dairy products (when we're not around the girls). But we never drink milk. I think milk is gross.

 

My kids drink hemp milk. They get calcium from veggies or other sources.

[Paige]

I hate milk. I hated it as a kid when I was forced to drink it and I hate it now. One of my DDs absolutely refused milk after weaning and the doctor said it was fine. She got calcium from other sources. I don't understand why Americans are so obsessed with it, but it's probably because it makes me gag. I like ice cream, yogurt, whipped cream, cheese, butter, and other dairy products, so I don't know what it is about milk. I'm not even thrilled with milkshakes. 

 

We buy almond milk for the kids and I sometimes buy whole milk to make yogurt and sometimes for cooking. Only DS actually likes the almond milk to drink. The others use it for smoothies, oatmeal, and sometimes mixed with chocolate. I don't know what whole milk tastes like, even though it's all we buy because it's better for yogurt. I grew up on 2% and think skim and 1% are even grosser. 

 

When they were younger all of my kids except the abstainer had one glass or bottle of milk a day. I never had them drinking it at every meal. They usually drank milk in the morning and water the rest of the day after they weaned. 

[Jenny in Florida]

No, we don't drink cow's milk.

 

I haven't done so for 20-ish years, and neither of my kids has ever had any.

 

The kids grew up drinking soy and/or almond and/or rice milk, all of which are enriched with calcium. My son and I also drink smoothies spiked with vitamin-enriched protein powder.

 

And, of course, there are lots of foods (certain leafy greens, nuts and seeds, especially) that have decent amounts of calcium and are a regular part of our diet.

[City Mouse]

I don't drink muck milk. I do use milk in cooking or with cereal or oatmeal although I use unsweetened almond milk mostly now for cereal just to save on the calories. Both of my kids are lactose intolerant. DS used to like to drink the lactose free chocolate milk, but now he is having issues with chocolate.

When I was a kid, we were limited to drinking milk only at breakfast due to the cost. We drank water or unsweetened tea.

 

We do eat a lot of cheese and some yogurt.

[mamaraby]

We drink plant-based milks (soy and cashew) and get our calcium from food.

[Lady Florida.]

I hate milk unless it's chocolate milk. When I was a kid and cow's milk was thought to be necessary for healthy kids, my mother gave me chocolate milk. I just can't stand the taste. Blech. 

 

Dh and ds sometimes drink it but rarely. We use it only for cooking and occasionally dh likes cereal. For that reason we buy whole milk (usually only a quart at a time or it will spoil).

 

We get calcium from greens, cheese, yogurt and occasionally buy orange juice with added calcium. None of us has ever been told we're calcium deficient.

[MiMi 4under3]

In my 20s I drank skimmed milk on ice several times a day, especially with cookies or sweets.  

 

Then one random day, while pregnant with DS, I could not take a sip when I held up the glass to my mouth - don't know why, probably hormones... That was the last time I drank milk, over 13 years ago! 

 

The kids drink organic whole milk or 2%, grass fed if it's available.

[Sherry in OH]

Do you drink milk?

Do your kids?

 

What kind?

 

I am currently having this debate.  Is it even needed or healthy to drink milk?

 

If you don't drink milk where do you get your calcium from?

 

I do not drink milk.  I do use it in cooking and baking.

One of my children drinks a glass of milk almost every day, the other drinks it occasionally.

 

We buy regular whole milk.  

Milk, in moderation, is a healthy option for those who are able to digest it. 

 

I get calcium from dairy products and dark green vegetables

[edelweiss]

We all love milk. We drink it every day. We drink organic skim milk.

 

I don't think it is necessary. We just like it.

[foxbridgeacademy]

Do you drink milk?

Do your kids?

 

What kind?

 

I am currently having this debate.  Is it even needed or healthy to drink milk?

 

If you don't drink milk where do you get your calcium from?

Everyone but DD drinks 1% cow milk, DN only rarely though.  We drink it because we love it.  I find myself craving milk, even though I know it will likely make me sick (lactose intolerance). DD drinks soy milk.  I figure we get our calcium and such from the foods we eat, DD takes a vitamin since there so much she can't eat.

[nd293]

I have a glass or two of low fat milk in lattes every day. Dd15 and ds9 drink milk a couple of times a week, but it's not an intentional part of our diet. We eat yoghurt and cheese, including paneer I make myself from full cream milk.

 

I assume we get adequate calcium from our diet. We eat a varied, mostly healthy diet. Specific vitamins and minerals are on my list of things I just don't have time to worry about. We eat sensibly and hope for the best. It's all ridiculously complicated - I was recently diagnosed with low iron (eat more red meat!) and at the same time told my cholesterol was just on the edge of normal (eat less red meat!). It's enough to make you give up all together and have Oreos and Coke Zero for dinner.

[Mom-ninja.]

Do you drink milk?

Do your kids?

 

What kind?

 

I am currently having this debate.  Is it even needed or healthy to drink milk?

 

If you don't drink milk where do you get your calcium from?

I drink all types of milk except cow milk. Gives me a stomach ache.

 

My kids love cow milk and drink it all the time. 

 

Cow milk is not needed for calcium. Think of all the people who are allergic to dairy, and they are not falling over from calcium deficiency,

[1GirlTwinBoys]

We drink low heat pasteurized non-homogonized grass fed skim milk.   

[Gentlemommy]

I've never liked milk ðŸ˜My kids drink about a cup a day.

[Arctic Bunny]

Yep, we drink milk, regular whole milk from the store. The kids by far drink the majority of it. A gallon or two a week. We are not married to the idea of whole milk only, but felt it was best when the kids were young. They are still skin and bones, lol, so we haven't switched.

[MyLittleBears]

No milk here either. Kids don't like it, one ds is dairy intolerant and I am lactose intolerant. We use almond milk for drinking and baking.

[EKS]

I put whole milk in my coffee.  Both of my sons drink it with lunch and dinner.  Maybe breakfast too.

[Garga]

I love milk and love drinking big glasses of it. However, it gets expensive, so I drink mostly water.

 

My oldest son loves milk and was going through 1/2 a gallon a day. I made him cut back to 2 cups a day. 1%.

 

DH doesn't drink much milk. My other son isn't interested in it either. DH likes carbonated water with some flavor added. Younger son likes plain water.

Edited October 8, 2016 by Garga

[Jane in NC]

Great source of calcium. I don't think I have met a dairy product I didn't like.