Milk
Learn more about the different types of milk
Milk is rich in calcium, and contains more than 10 essential nutrients that promote general health.
Recent scientific investigation has revealed milk also contains other beneficial components including whey protein, sphingomyelin and conjugated linoleic acid.
According to the Australian Dietary Guidelines, these nutrients and beneficial components help reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome and colorectal cancer. These are some of the main causes of death in Australia.
Milk consumption is also associated with maintaining a healthy weight, and can play an important role in preparation and recovery from sport and exercise.
Types of milk
Fresh milk comes in several forms including full-fat (about 3.8% milk fat on average), low-fat (less than 1.5% milk fat), skim (no more than 0.15% milk fat), modified (fortified with extra protein, vitamins or other nutrients), flavoured milk and buttermilk.
Concentrated milk is made by removing moisture from milk. Condensed milk is one form of concentrated milk, made by increasing milk solids to 28%, canning and then sterilising it. Sweetener is sometimes added.
Milk powders are another form of concentrated milk. These are made through a similar process with a milk concentrate made up of about 40% milk solids, which is then dried to reduce moisture to just 3%.
This milk is superheated so that all microorganisms and heat-resistant enzymes are deactivated. For example, regular fresh milk is heated to 74°C for 15 seconds, while long-life milk (otherwise known as Ultra-Heat Treatment or UHT) is heated to 140°C for two seconds.
Raw milk refers to any type of milk that hasn't been treated through a process like pasteurisation (heated to kill bacteria).
A1 and A2 refer to a specific protein found in milk called beta casein. Different breeds of cows produce milk with more or less of either A1 or A2 protein.
Milk nutritional information
| Type per 100g | Protein (g) |
Fat (g) |
Carbohydrate (g) |
Energy (Kj) |
Calcium (mg) |
| Regular/Full-Fat | 3.5 | 3.5 | 6.3 | 293 | 107 |
| UHT/Long-Life | 3.6 | 3.8 | 4.6 | 277 | 117 |
| Reduced-Fat (modified milk) | 3.8 | 1.2 | 6.1 | 212 | 109 |
| Skim | 3.7 | 0.1 | 5.0 | 147 | 121 |