An European Union funded study found that organic milk is healthier after analyzing 22 different brands commonly sold in supermarkets. Researchers found that organic milk has higher levels of beneficial fatty acids but lower levels of saturated fats than conventional milk.

Although the paper itself does not explicitly say that consumers should switch to organic milk, the lead researcher, Gillian Butler, made that recommendation in other discussions of the findings. The study is published in the Journal of Dairy Science.

“We wanted to check if what we found on farms also applies to milk available in the shops,” said Butler. “Surprisingly, the differences between organic and conventional milk were even more marked. Whereas on the farms the benefits of organic milk were proven in the summer but not the winter, in the supermarkets it is significantly better quality all year round.”

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In 2001, the World Health Organization that mothers exclusively breastfeed their babies until six months, but now some scientists are worried that this practice may be harmful. An article published in the British Medical Journal presented evidence that failing to introduce any solid food before six months may increase a baby’s rick for iron deficiency, anemia and celiac disease.

However, Mary Fewtrell of the University College London Institute of Child Health says few mothers are able to follow the WHO guidelines, which were also recommended by the UK’s government starting in 2003. Fewtrell said that most mothers find that their babies want more food than they can provide before six months, and that few mothers feed their children exclusively breast milk before the age of six months. “About 1% were doing it in 2005, although probably more now,” she said. “But only about 20% breastfeed at all at six months. It is not a common behavior.”

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We all know how good dairy is for bone health and that it can play a positive role in fat-loss, but now scientists believe that dairy may play another positive role in our health: reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes.

Researchers have identified a natural substance in dairy fat that may substantially reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes. The compound, called trans-palmitoleic acid, is a fatty acid that is found in milk, cheese, yogurt and butter. It is not produced by the body and can only come from your diet.

Right now, you’re probably confused. After all, nutrition and health professionals have been telling us to choose low-fat dairy for years, right? Well according to the December issue of Annals of Internal Medicine, dairy fat is different in its make-up than other industrially produced trans fats found that are found in partially hydrogenated vegetable oils, which have been linked to higher risk of heart disease. On the other hand, trans-palmitoleic acid is almost exclusively found in naturally-occurring dairy and meat trans fats, which in prior studies have not been linked to higher heart disease risk, according to the study.

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Got milk? What about chocolate soy milk? Or vanilla almond milk?

I love almond milk, and while I’ve been a devotee of Blue Diamond’s unsweetened vanilla almond milk, Whole Foods’ new refrigerated line of soy and almond milks are giving my usual stand-by some stealth competition.

Made from flavorful American-grown organic almonds, the new 365 Organic Everyday Value Almond milk is the first-ever private label organic refrigerated almond milk. (There is also a shelf-stable version, if you prefer.) Naturally free of saturated fat and cholesterol, Whole Foods Market’s Almond milk contains as much calcium and Vitamin D as dairy milk and is an excellent source of Vitamin E. The new line boasts a fresh, rich taste that comes in Original, Vanilla and Unsweetened flavors.
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This past week a federal judge repealed the Ohio law banning “rbST free” and “rbGH free” milk labels. The court further ruled that milk from cows treated with hormones is constitutionally different from hormone-free milk, overturning the FDA’s finding that there is “no significant difference” between the two. The 17-year-old study was much-touted by those in the dairy industry who use artificial hormones to increase their production.

The Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit cited the following three differences in milk from cows treated with rbST and rbGH:

• Higher counts of somatic cells, which means there’s more pus in the milk
• A period of milk with lower nutritional quality during each lactation
• Increased levels of the hormone IGF-1, which is an insulin-like growth factor

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