Interesting facts about milk. Interesting facts about dairy products that you didn't know

“Drink milk, children, you will be healthy!”, sang in the famous Soviet cartoon. And we drink. Dunk it in oatmeal cookies, fill cornflakes in the morning and cook porridge with this product. Yes, of course, milk is firmly entrenched in the life of a modern person who consumes it on a regular basis. Did you know that we drink our favorite milk for 10,000 years and that it can be used as an invisible ink? Same thing.

The oldest known fossil remains of a domesticated cow date back to the 8th millennium BC. e. That is, we have been drinking cow's milk for more than 10,000 years.

Since a cow’s udder shares do not communicate with each other, the composition of milk obtained from different teats of the same animal may not be the same

Every year the world's population drinks 580 million liters of milk - 1.5 million per day. To ensure this volume, about 105,000 cows need to be milked daily

Cow's milk contains 300 times more casein (the main protein containing eight essential amino acids for humans) than human milk

To prevent milk from turning sour, in ancient times frogs were placed in it: their skin secretions have antimicrobial properties and inhibit the growth of bacteria

In the 1960s, a process for continuous ultra-pasteurization of milk was developed, as well as aseptic packaging systems (Tetra Pak), which made it possible to extend the shelf life to six months

Gentle processing preserves the beneficial properties of the product and at the same time eliminates bacteria that lead to sour milk. Institute food technologies The United States in 1989 called this process “the greatest achievement of food technology of the twentieth century.”

Milk can be used as invisible ink: what is written on paper appears when heated

This is exactly how V.I. Lenin, imprisoned, released secret letters to the outside world

Milk cannot be stored in transparent containers, as exposure to light destroys many beneficial substances in it.

Multilayer sealed cardboard packaging (~75% cardboard, polyethylene, foil) protects against external factors that affect the shelf life of milk

Milk can turn sour during a thunderstorm - this is due to long-wave electromagnetic pulses penetrating any substance

Milk is almost 90% water and simultaneously contains about 80 useful mineral elements. After the ultra-pasteurization process of milk, calcium, potassium, magnesium and vitamins remain unchanged in it.

In Brussels, on the occasion of International Milk Day, instead of the usual water, milk flows from the Manneken Pis fountain.

People who drink milk rather than energy drinks after strength training get into better shape

It is milk that promotes growth muscle mass due to the balance of vitamins and microelements, and milk fat breaks down body fat in the body

“Drink milk, children, you will be healthy!” - we know this from childhood. Milk was considered a panacea for many diseases even in ancient times, although in Neolithic times adults could not drink it.

1. The cow gives milk to feed the calf. After she calves, she produces milk for 10 months, then she is inseminated again and the process is repeated.

2. Milk is a self-sufficient product. Contrary to popular belief, milk is not a drink, but a food. People still say “eat milk.”

3. Milk is rarely consumed in India pure form. It is usually mixed with spices. For example, with turmeric.

4. Milk is a long-lived product. When the Azerbaijani centenarian Medjid Agayev, who has crossed the hundred and forty-year mark, was asked what he eats, he named milk, feta cheese, yogurt and vegetables.

5. Less than 50% of adults today can drink milk. The rest have lactose intolerance of varying intensity. In ancient times, during the Neolithic period, adults, in principle, could not drink milk. They did not have the gene responsible for the absorption of lactose. It appeared over time due to a genetic mutation.

6. Mares' milk contains a lot of lactose and little protein and fat, due to which it is more easily absorbed by the body than cow's milk. It also contains more vitamins A and C. Mare's milk recommended for use for gastritis, peptic ulcer, dysbacteriosis and various women's diseases.

7. Goat's milk has more sweet taste than cow milk, it has a higher content of vitamins, proteins and substances such as albumins and globulins. Goat's milk can be absorbed without the participation of bile - this process occurs through the venous network, bypassing the lymphatic capillaries.

8. Sheep's milk is richer in protein and fat content than cow's milk. True, sheep are susceptible to a disease such as brucellosis, and therefore their milk must be boiled before consumption. Sheep milk is effective for anemia, memory loss and poor appetite.

9. Buffalo milk is extremely thick and fatty, it contains large number minerals and proteins. Buffalo milk is most beneficial for diseases of the respiratory system.

10. Camel milk closest in composition to cow's. It can enhance male potency, improve vision, strengthen immunity.

11. Milk is excellent at fighting insomnia - this is the result of the product’s sedative effect on nervous system. A glass of warm, or even better, fresh milk with honey an hour before bedtime is an excellent remedy for insomnia.

12. Milk has been used in cosmetology for a long time. It is especially famous for its rejuvenating properties. It is known that Cleopatra washed her face with milk every morning and regularly took milk baths. The skin after such procedures becomes soft and silky. In cosmetology, cow, goat, coconut, and dromedary camel milk are mainly used. It has already been proven that the amino acids contained in milk are able to remove the layer of dead cells - this rejuvenates the skin and prevents its premature aging. Milk lactoenzymes moisturize the skin well, giving it more firmness and elasticity.

13. Useful properties milk were discovered by scientists from the University of Adelaide. It turns out that milk protein affects fungal plant diseases no less than a chemical fungicide. In particular, we are talking about a disease such as grape mildew. Infection of grapes occurs from spores that have overwintered in fallen leaves, vine prunings and berries. The fungus has negative impact on the quality of the wine. Fungicides are by no means harmless chemicals - they kill not only the fungus, but also beneficial insects; moreover, in hot weather, the fungicide can burn the fruits and leaves of grapes. Therefore, a milk-based product is an excellent alternative to chemicals. His recipe is simple: 30 grams of milk or whey are diluted with 1 liter of water. 300 liters of this mixture is enough for 1 hectare of vineyard. You need to spray once every half month, and by mid-summer the rate should be increased to 500 liters per hectare.

14. In Jewish tradition, it is forbidden to consume dairy products with meat. Kashrut prohibits “boiling a kid in its mother’s milk.” This is justified, since meat and milk are poorly digested.

15. Recent research, in particular that of Dr. Campbell, author of the famous book “The China Study,” shows that milk does not protect against osteoporosis. Milk protein acidifies the blood, which contributes to the rapid leaching of calcium from the bones, and this makes them even more fragile. The body “applies” excess calcium in the blood to the kidneys, lungs and brain in the form of rounded calcifications.

16. It is not a myth that milk can turn sour during a thunderstorm. Biochemists have found that long-wave electromagnetic pulses, which can penetrate any substance, are to blame for the rapid souring of milk during a thunderstorm.

17. You need to wash dishes after drinking milk first. cold water, and then in the hot. If you immediately process the dishes hot water, then the milk protein becomes viscous, sticky and is difficult to wash off the walls of the dishes.

18. According to Ayuveda, milk is a product of the highest goodness. Many people in India eat only cow's milk once a day at 12 o'clock in the afternoon, at the moment of the strongest "fire" of digestion.

19. Squirrels cow's milk capable of binding toxins in the body. Therefore, people who work in hazardous industries still receive free milk.

20. To get a kilogram of natural butter, you will need 21 liters of milk. A kilogram of cheese is obtained from 10 liters of milk.

21. At the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th centuries, milk was a source of human infection with tuberculosis. Pasteurization of the product helped stop the spread of tuberculosis through milk and thereby contain the tuberculosis epidemic.

22. Lenin wrote letters to freedom in prison using milk. When the milk dried, it became invisible. The text could be read by heating a piece of writing over a candle flame.

23. The most full fat milk in seals (fat content more than 50%) and whales (fat content about 50%). The most “lean” is the milk of mares and donkeys. Cow's milk is usually 85-95% water, with fats, proteins and carbohydrates making up the remainder.

24. Farmers could milk up to 6 cows per hour by hand. With a milking machine you can process up to 100 cows per hour.

25. Scientists believe that milk began to be consumed 10-11 thousand years ago, after sheep and goats were domesticated in the Middle East. And 9,000 years ago, cows began to graze for the first time in Turkey.

26. Milk is also used as a cleaning agent. They can remove ink stains and wipe mirrors and gilded frames.

27. Cow's milk produces three useful and widely used Vedic cooking product: melted butter(ghee), fresh cheese(paneer) and yogurt (dahi).

28. The digestibility of milk in the human body is 98%.

29. In “Complete and General Home Medicine” by G. Buhan, translated and published in Moscow in 1780, milk is described as the best way, along with vegetables, to treat scurvy.

30. Milk contains about 80 mineral elements necessary for normal growth and development of the body, such as: potassium, sodium, calcium, phosphorus, sulfur, iron, copper, cobalt, chromium, zinc, magnesium, lithium, iodine, fluorine, silver and others . Milk contains fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, K and water-soluble vitamins C, PP, B1, B2, B3, B6, B12, H and others, as well as enzymes, hormones, and immune bodies.

Milk is one of the factors that distinguishes mammals from other species. For newborns, this is the main nutritional element. But even then, milk remains a favorite delicacy, an ingredient for cooking and simply delicious drink. IN different cultures our traditions of consuming dairy products, our own types of milk, and we will give you some interesting facts about this wonderful product.

1. Let's start with the most consumed type - cow's milk. More than 400 million tons are produced annually in the world. Moreover, each cow gives 11-23 liters, that is, an average of 90 glasses per day. As a result, one woman produces 200,000 glasses of milk over her entire life.

2. One more popular look – goat milk. It is used to produce Rocamadour, Caprino and Feta cheeses.

3. The fattest milk is from seals (fat content more than 50%) and whales (fat content about 50%). And the most “lean” is the milk of mares and donkeys. At the same time, cow's milk usually contains 85-95% water, and fats, biscuits and carbohydrates make up the remaining share.

4. Unique properties camel milk has. It does not clot and is absorbed by people with lactose intolerance. In addition, this milk contains much more vitamin C compared to cow's milk. Camel milk is the main food product for desert dwellers.

5. Farmers could milk up to 6 cows per hour by hand, because it is very hard work. But with a milking machine you can process up to 100 cows per hour.

6. Famous interesting fact- V Ancient Rus' in order to preserve the milk from souring, a live frog was placed in it. They also say that milk turns sour faster during a thunderstorm. Moreover, this fact is recorded even now, in the conditions modern technologies production. Biochemist explains the influence of long-wave electromagnetic pulses.

7. Scientists believe that milk began to be consumed as food 10-11 thousand years ago, after sheep and milk were domesticated in the Middle East. And 9,000 years ago, cows began to graze for the first time in Turkey.

8. Interestingly, the ability to drink milk is the result of a mutation. In the Neolithic, adult humans did not produce the enzyme lactase. As a result, it was impossible to absorb lactose from milk; only small children had lactase. But one day in the north of Europe a mutation occurred, a gene appeared that is responsible for the production of the necessary enzyme in the intestines throughout life. Thus, people have valuable source such essential calcium and vitamin D. As a result, both the “mutant” and their offspring became stronger, had a greater chance of survival, the mutation took hold and spread among the peoples of Northern Europe. But the indigenous peoples of the North, the Chinese, the aborigines of East Africa, Australia and America do not have this gene, and they do not drink milk.

9. Milk is also used as a cleaning agent. They can remove ink stains and wipe mirrors and gilded frames.

10. And scientists made another interesting observation. If a woman drinks 2 glasses of milk a day, then she reaches best results– toned muscles, lost fat.

In the dairy issue, there are many stable statements where truth is mixed with fiction. Let's try to separate one from the other. Vladislav Cheburashkin, co-founder of the agro-industrial holding “Cheburashkin Brothers. Family farm."

Myth 1: Milk contains beef fat.

Not long ago, one of the popular presenters of the central federal television channel publicly stated that milk “can cause premature death for a person” because it contains “beef fat - the worst animal fat known to science.”

Despite the fact that the arguments struck with monstrous incompetence, many viewers picked up this fallacy and short time made it one of the persistent myths about milk. Any housewife knows what unappetizing yellow lumps the fat of cooked beef congeals into. The authors of the program in an instant managed to create an aversion to milk, evoking an unpleasant picture in the memory.

According to scientists who have devoted their activities to the study of milk, there is no connection between beef fat and milk. The composition of milk includes emulsified milk fat, which is easily digestible by humans, which, according to precisely calculated malicious intent, was turned into “beef.”

Key market experts and representatives of the National Union of Milk Producers represented by Soyuzmoloko, the Research Institute of Nutrition of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, and the All-Russian Research Institute of the Dairy Industry were so outraged that they demanded that the TV channel refute this information.

Myth 1 - fact or fiction? Fiction.

Myth 2. Milk is the main source of calcium, and a few glasses of milk can completely replenish daily requirement organism in this substance.

The correctness of this statement can be revealed by simple arithmetic calculations. The amount of calcium required for health varies depending on the person’s condition in the range of 800-2000 mg per day. One glass whole milk contains approximately 280 mg calcium. This number varies between plus or minus 40 mg depending on the fat content.
It follows from this that daily norm calcium is physically impossible to replenish with milk alone. Much more calcium is found in dairy products: cheese and cottage cheese.

Myth 2 - fact or fiction? This is theoretically possible, but practically difficult to achieve.

Myth 3. Calcium from kefir is absorbed better than from milk.

Fermented milk products contain the same nutrients, which milk is rich in, but calcium from kefir, which is vital for health, is absorbed in a shorter period of time than from milk. In whole milk, calcium is bound to protein. In fermented milk products, when fermented, these bonds are destroyed and calcium is better absorbed by the body.

Scientific studies have shown that in an hour milk is digested in the human stomach by only 32%, while kefir is absorbed almost entirely over the same time period. The beneficial substances from kefir enter the human body much faster and with less loss than from milk. For the same reason, doctors strongly recommend consuming kefir for those people who are at risk of osteoporosis and suffering from calcium deficiency.

Myth 3 - fact or fiction? Is it true.

Myth 4. Drinking milk leads to obesity and fatal vascular diseases.

Such statements about the dangers of milk are justified by the presence of fat in its composition, and, consequently, cholesterol. Everyone knows the scary stories about how cholesterol plaques are deposited on the walls of blood vessels and lead to their blockage, and consequently to heart attacks and strokes.

Proponents of these statements completely forget about the dual role of cholesterol and the fact that it is needed for the proper functioning of almost all internal organs. It is very important to remember that cholesterol works in tandem with another fat-like dairy substance - lecithin, which converts harmful effects V real benefit for health.
Drinking milk not only does not lead to atherosclerosis, but also prevents its development, and a dairy diet is one of the generally accepted ways to prevent cardiovascular diseases.

Talking about the danger of obesity as a result of drinking milk with a fat content of more than 0% is as ridiculous as trying to prove that you can increase hemoglobin in the blood by eating iron nails. To absorb a measly 30 grams of fat, you need to drink a whole liter of milk. By comparing the volumes, one can immediately clarify the veracity of such statements.

Myth 4 - fact or fiction? Fiction.

Myth 5. Milk causes allergies.

Scientific and technological progress, having given humanity a comfortable life, has significantly influenced their health. Allergies are considered the most common disease modern society and manifests itself in intolerance to various substances. In the long list of all kinds of allergies, you can also find an item about individual intolerance to milk, namely lactose.

A relatively small group of people do not have in their bodies the enzyme responsible for the breakdown milk sugar. Dairy producers do not forget about these customers by offering them low-lactose and lactose-free products.

The absence of an enzyme that helps digest lactose from milk does not deprive those suffering from milk allergies of the joy of drinking fermented milk products. Yogurt and kefir, in which milk protein is hydrolyzed and completely digestible, can successfully fill this gap. You can also gradually “accustom” your body to milk - add a little bit of it to drinks, casseroles, and omelettes.

Myth 5 - fact or fiction? The statement is only partly true.

Myth 6. Packaged factory milk is inferior to “live” bottled milk.

High tech dairy production allows you to convey milk from the cow to the consumer very quickly, keeping everything biologically unchanged useful components.
The higher the reputation of the production, the stricter the control over the quality of milk. There are several ways to process milk - from gentle pasteurization, when milk is slowly heated to no more than 80 degrees, and sterilization, in which milk is brought to a temperature of 100 degrees in 15-30 minutes, to ultra-pasteurization, which involves almost instantaneous processing at a temperature of 137 degrees.

Only pasteurized milk is rich in all the vitamins and microelements that are contained in fresh milk. It is from such products that you can get the maximum benefit and avoid contact with pathogenic bacteria that may be contained in raw, unprocessed milk from private farms or purchased from a barrel at the market.

Myth 6 - fact or fiction? Fiction.

Myth 7: Milk is full of hormones and antibiotics given to cows.

Proponents of this theory proceed from the fact that an ordinary cow can produce milk for no more than 6 months a year, and in production this process is not interrupted for 300 days. Hormones to prolong lactation, which are added to feed and get into milk, can cause prostate and testicular cancer.

This information can be refuted based on any textbook on animal husbandry, which says that lactation period in cows it reaches 305 days a year or more. This is not news, and our ancestors, who lived several hundred years ago, already used this knowledge in practice.

In addition, hormonal supplements are expensive, and adding them to feed greatly increases the cost of the final product, which manufacturers are reluctant to do. In any case, the proportion of hormones in milk is so small that it cannot affect health.
The content of antibiotics in milk is completely eliminated. When treating a cow, its milk is considered low-tech and in general production process not used. Dairy laboratories carefully monitor the composition of milk for the presence of antibiotics, herbicides, pesticides or other harmful substances.

Myth 7 - fact or fiction? Fiction.

Myth 8. Milk is a children's product and not intended for adults.

This fairly common statement can be refuted by the mere fact of the existence of centenarians, whose main food product for a hundred years was milk.

Reliable scientific evidence suggests that for older and frail people, for athletes experiencing great physical stress, and for people engaged in intense mental work, dairy products are a guarantee of their well-being.

Myth 8 - fact or fiction? Fiction.

Myth 9. Fresh milk is healthier than boiled milk.

It's no secret that milk with a short shelf life will bring more benefits than milk with a long shelf life.

One of the ways to extend the shelf life of this product is high-temperature treatment, which destroys biologically active microflora. Only at home in an accessible way Such processing is boiling, but it is necessary to understand that along with harmful microorganisms, beneficial substances for which we value milk so highly are also destroyed.

When boiling, all vitamins and microelements are almost completely destroyed. Casein, which is the main milk protein, changes its structure, and the whey proteins of milk generally precipitate in the form of a flocculent sediment, which we can observe on the walls of the pan. Boiled milk It won't do any harm, but it won't do much good either.

Myth 9 - fact or fiction? Is it true.

Myth 10. Milk can be replaced with plant-based alternatives.

Milk is intended by nature for human development and nutrition, and it cannot be replaced by any plant analogues. From the first days of a baby’s life, milk actively participates in the formation of immunity, which will support the health of a growing person for the rest of his life.

Replacing whole milk with soy, rice or coconut milk will lead to a significant depletion of the diet in terms of useful substances. The benefits of genetically modified soybeans are questionable, rice is not a storehouse of health, and coconuts are an alien food for people who did not grow up in the tropics.

The developed nutritional standards provide for the presence of animal fats in the daily diet healthy person in an amount of at least 50%. In milk, all vital components are balanced in proportions that are optimal for absorption.

It can be argued that today milk has not yet revealed all its secrets, and humanity will have to learn its secrets in the future.

Myth 10 - fact or fiction? Fiction.

At the moment, milk is an integral food product in the diet of every person. After all, it contains many useful substances, namely 5 vitamins, such as: B2, B6, B7, B9, C and 15 minerals, and to learn even more interesting things about milk, we suggest reading our article.

1. Some scientists believe that milk begins to sour during a thunderstorm. This is due to the fact that long-wave electromagnetic pulses appear in the outside world.
2. Using milk, you can clean gold-plated items, wash mirrors and get rid of ink stains.
3. Scientists, from their observations, made one interesting conclusion. If a girl is engaged in gym and drinks 1-3 glasses of milk a day, then she will achieve the desired result several times faster than someone who does not drink it.
4. Milk should be stored in a dark place because when exposed to sunlight, it begins to lose most of its beneficial substances.


5. A cow’s milk yield per year can range from 5,000 to 9,000 thousand kg.


6. Glass warm milk with sugar or honey can help combat insomnia.


7. In the 18th and 19th centuries, pasteurization of milk helped stop people from contracting tuberculosis through milk.
8. Milk helps people who smoke a lot or work in industries with substances harmful to the body, bind toxins and remove them from the body.


9. To make 1 kg of cheese you need 10 liters of milk, and to make 1 kg of butter you need 21 liters.


10. Until the middle of the twentieth century, in order to keep milk longer, people dipped ordinary frogs into it because their skin produces substances that have antifungal and antimicrobial properties.
11. Drinking a lot of milk is harmful. Milk protein oxidizes the blood and this leads to rapid leaching of calcium from the bones.


12. Children in Africa, China and Southeast Asia drink milk only until they are 3-5 years old. This is due to the fact that they lack the gene that processes lactose and therefore they simply cannot tolerate it.


13. It is known that men are not recommended to drink fresh milk, since it contains estrogen hormones.
14. According to scientists, it is not recommended to wash cutlery with hot water after drinking milk.


15. In 1947, a drink made from Kumis milk was produced; there is a legend that it gives youth to women, as well as energy for the whole day.
16. Milk reduces the risk of tooth decay and removes plaque, and also reduces acidity levels, but it also deteriorates the skin.

17. Scientists of the 21st century made a discovery that a cow will give more milk if he listens to music. The music should be calm, balanced and not loud. Most scientists also recommend playing an audio recording of the sound of the sea.


18. Recently, auctions have begun to be held in Europe where mothers sell breast milk. Most mothers create special websites where they transfer their milk from hand to hand. Such sites do not guarantee that the milk is clean and not contaminated.
19. On average, a cow’s udder can hold up to 23 liters of milk.

20. People began to drink milk after they accustomed goats, they learned to herd these animals approximately 8-10 thousand years BC.
21. Milk contains about 85-90% water, and the rest is calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, vitamins B12 and vitamins A and D.
22. Cow's milk helps against hypertension, reduces the risk of colon diseases, cancer and has a beneficial effect on the gastric mucosa.


23. Whey helps improve the properties of bread; it saturates it with calcium salts, phosphorus, proteins and amino acids.
24. Scientists suggest that milk, cheese, and acid whey promote longevity; evidence is provided by Thomas Parr, who lived to be 152 years old and ate only dairy products.


25. It is known that 8 out of 10 people in Ukraine cannot tolerate cow's milk due to lactose, but they digest goat's milk well.

26. Dairy product Varenets became famous in the world thanks to the Ukrainian people.


27. The famous queen Cleopatra took a milk bath to preserve her youth and soft skin.
28. Camel milk does not curdle.


29. Few people know that white mice also produce milk and it is the most expensive in the world. 1L costs up to $20,000. In order to get 1 liter you need to “milk” about 4000 mice.
30. Seals have the fattest milk. Its fat content is 53%.