With the intensification of market competition, some manufacturers have started to focus on the functional aspects of milk. From high-calcium milk, low-fat milk, skim milk, to student milk, the options are dazzling for consumers. As functional milks become more prevalent, experts believe that while they can have certain health benefits, healthy people do not need to drink them.
Functional milks designed for different populations, are they really more beneficial to health than regular milk as advertised? A reporter interviewed Professor Nan Qingxian, a professor at the College of Food Science at China Agricultural University and a standing director of the China Dairy Industry Association. Professor Nan believes that if functional milks contain certain substances as claimed on their packaging and in advertisements, they can indeed have certain health benefits. He stated, for example, functional milk claimed to contain CLA (conjugated linoleic acid). Since conjugated linoleic acid is a fatty acid with a pair of unsaturated conjugated double bonds, it plays a certain role in regulating the human immune system, preventing atherosclerosis and diabetes, and has anti-cancer effects. Therefore, adding this substance to milk can be beneficial to the human body. However, how significant this benefit is, and whether it can be as prominent as the manufacturers claim, is uncertain.
The more comprehensive the claimed effects, the less credible they are. The wide array of functional milks makes it difficult for consumers to distinguish fact from fiction. Many people believe that the more functions a milk has, the more beneficial it is for their health. Is this really the case? Professor Nan emphasized a criterion for judging whether a functional milk is effective: generally, claims that target a specific symptom or a single aspect are more credible; however, if the claims sound too good to be true, claiming to have all sorts of effects, then they are not credible.
Associate Professor Li Xingmin from the College of Food Science at China Agricultural University told everyone that healthy people do not need to drink functional milk, as the nutrition in regular milk is sufficient.
Associate Professor Li pointed out that for people with lactose intolerance, diabetes, or high blood pressure and high cholesterol, functional milk can be chosen as an option. However, one should not assume that drinking it will definitely have a therapeutic effect in controlling blood pressure, blood lipids, etc. Although functional milks contain certain health-promoting ingredients, the content is very low and generally does not affect the overall nutritional balance of the milk. Therefore, they can only provide certain health benefits and can be consumed as health foods, but their effect is far less potent than that of medication. Additionally, because functional milks do not work as directly as medications, there are no specific contraindications associated with taking them. One can drink them in normal amounts, just as one would regular milk.
Men who drink milk regularly should eat more tomatoes. Many studies have found that men who regularly drink milk are more prone to prostate cancer. Researchers in Philadelphia, USA, also confirmed through nearly 10 years of epidemiological investigation that high consumption of dairy products increases the risk of prostate cancer in men. Domestic studies have also found a significant correlation between milk intake and the incidence of prostate cancer. For men who drink milk regularly, eating more fruits containing lycopene will be beneficial to their health. These fruits include tomatoes, apricots, watermelon, and red grapes.