What does 2% reduced fat milk mean?
**The calculation below is for demonstration purposes only, this calculation should never be used to determine whether or not to consume a product. Consumers should always make that decision based upon the percentage of calories from fat per serving. This calculation is meant to show you how the dairy industry arrives at the 2% reduced fat milk claim.
To calculate how this product contains 2% reduced fat milk is as follows:
Have you ever investigated it or have you bought it based on the fact that its 2% reduced fat milk? What it actually means may surprise you.
2% reduced fat milk does not mean its 98% fat free.
Typically we drink liquids in terms of 8, 12, 16, or 24ounces (oz) beverages. But on this label it’s listed as 240mL. But who drinks in mL? mL stand for milliliters which is a volume of liquid. 240mL of milk is just another way of saying 8oz. A serving size of 2% reduced fat milk is 8oz.
Now, in order to understand where the 2% claim comes from you need to make the math easier so you need to divide grams into grams.
First you need to know what 1mL of milk weighs in grams. 1mL of milk weighs between 1—1.035g. With that you can determine that a 240mL glass of milk weighs approximately 240g. This calculation is being used to determine the weight of the fat within milk.
The next step is to divide the total # of fat grams per serving, in this case (5g, circled in red above) by the total number of grams in the serving size (240mL or 240g circled in red above).
So in this example 5g fat/240g = .0208 X 100% = 2.08% Fat by weight.
The 2% reduced fat milk claim means that 2% of the weight of this glass of milk is fat. But you don’t consume milk by weight, you consume milk per serving size. In order to figure out the amount of fat per serving we have to do another calculation.
The next calculation will show you exactly how to determine the percentage of fat per serving.
This calculation is much easier than the last calculation and should always be used first when looking at a label to determine if the product should be consumed. Always Always, Always, calculate the percentage of fat per serving when looking at a label.
How much fat is really in an 8 ounce glass of 2% reduced fat milk?
Before you begin this calculation you need to know how many calories are in a gram of fat. 1g of fat contains 9 calories. As you saw in the last example, and is circled in the example above, there are 5g of fat per serving, this is circled in the above image.
5g fat per serving X 9 calories per gram = 45 calories from fat. The fat calories are circled in red in the above image.
Now in order to determine the % of fat in a 1 cup (240mL, 8oz) serving of 2% reduced fat milk you need to divide the number of calories from fat (45) by the total number of calories per serving (120).
45 (Fat Calories)/120 (Total Calories) = .375 X 100 = 37.5% Fat.
A glass of 2% reduced fat milk is almost 40% fat. Not 2% fat.
How much saturated fat is in an 8 ounce glass of 2% reduced fat milk?
To take this one step further 3.5 grams of fat in this glass are saturated fat.
3.5g saturated fat X 9 calories = 31.5 calories saturated fat/45 total calories from fat = .7 X 100 = 70% of the fat in this glass of milk is saturated fat.
According to the United States Department of Health and Human Services and the United States Department of Agriculture (2015) increased consumption of saturated fat is linked to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease (p. 27). According to the American Heart Association (2016) “your liver produces more cholesterol when you eat a diet high in saturated and trans fat”. The National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP, 2002) recognizes that “among the fatty acids that make up the total fat in the diet, only saturated fatty acids and trans fatty acids raise LDL cholesterol levels” (p.3263).
Trans Fats— while this labels lists it at 0g there is a loophole in the Code of Federal Regulations and Food and Drug Administrations (2017) labeling guidelines which state that if the product contains less than .5g trans fat per serving it does not need to be included on the label (para. 34). According to the FDA (2015) and the Director of FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, Susan Mayne, Ph.D., trans fats are found naturally in all animal foods but can also be found in fully and partially hydrogenated oils as well as other edible oils (para. 6).
This milk product comes from cows not treated with artificial hormones. This is used to entice us into purchasing a healthier product, but do nicely worded statements truly make a product healthier?
How many grams of fat are in an 8oz (240mL) glass of 2% reduced fat milk?
5g fat per serving X 9 calories per gram = 45 calories from fat
What is the percentage of calories from fat in this 8oz (240mL) glass of 2% reduced fat milk?
Now in order to determine the % of fat in 2% reduced fat milk we need to divide the number of calories from fat (45) by the total number of calories per serving (120). 45/120 = .375 x 100 = 38%.
38% of this 8oz (240mL) glass of 2% reduced fat milk is fat.
The goal of a whole foods plant-based diet is to consume predominantly whole plant-based foods as well as consuming approximately 15% of calories or less from fat, while also avoiding animal based foods. In august 2010, after years of peer reviewed published scientific literature, two programs proven to have beneficial effects on stopping the progression and even reversing the progression of heart disease, both the Pritikin program and Ornish diets, consisting of 10 – 15% of calories from fat or less, are now covered by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (Horrigan, 2010, p. 346).
How many grams of saturated fat are in an 8oz (240mL) glass of 2% reduced fat milk?
3.5g of fat in this milk are saturated fat. 3.5g saturated Fat X 9 calories =31.5 (or 32) calories saturated fat/45 total Calories from fat = .7 X 100 = 70%.
70% of the fat in this 2% reduced fat milk is saturated fat.
The American Heart Association ([AHA], 2016a) recommends that individuals consume no more than 5 to 6% of their daily calories from saturated fat and that individual consume no more than 11 to 13 grams of saturated fat a day (para. 14). According to the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) (2015) increased consumption of saturated fat is linked to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease (p. 27). According to the American Heart Association (2016, b) “your liver produces more cholesterol when you eat a diet high in saturated and trans fat”. The National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) (2002), recognizes that “among the fatty acids that make up the total fat in the diet, only saturated fatty acids and trans fatty acids raise LDL cholesterol levels” (p.3263).
Evidence suggests that as the level of saturated fat intake increases so does the level of low density lipoprotein cholesterol concentration in the blood, thus increasing the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) (Institute of Medicine [IOM], 2002, p. 542). According to the IOM (2002) an upper limit is not set “for saturated fatty acids because any incremental increase in saturated fatty acid intake increases CHD risk” (p. 422). However, according to the IOM (2002) it is nearly impossible to consume a diet devoid of saturated fat due to a mixture of fatty acids however “it is possible to have a diet low in saturated fatty acids” (pp. 422-423).
How many grams of trans fat are in an 8oz (240mL) glass of 2% reduced fat milk?
Trans Fats— are not listed because the 2% reduced fat milk does not contains more than .5g of trans fat and therefore does not need to be labeled as containing trans fat. Because this is an animal product there is a small yet significant amount of trans fat in it.
Trans Fats— while this labels lists it at 0g there is a loophole in the Code of Federal Regulations and Food and Drug Administrations (2017) labeling guidelines which state that if the product contains less than .5g trans fat per serving it does not need to be included on the label (para. 34). According to the FDA (2015) and the Director of FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, Susan Mayne, Ph.D., trans fats are found naturally in all animal foods but can also be found in fully and partially hydrogenated oils as well as other edible oils (para. 6).
Evidence suggests that as the level of trans fat intake increases so does the level of low density lipoprotein cholesterol concentration in the blood, thus increasing the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) (IOM, 2002, p. 423). According to the IOM (2002) an upper limit “is not set for trans fatty acids because any incremental increase in trans fatty acid intake increases CHD risk” (p. 423). However, according to the IOM (2002) “trans fatty acids are unavoidable in ordinary, nonvegan diets, consuming 0 percent of energy would require significant changes in patterns of dietary intake (p. 423).
How many milligrams of cholesterol are contained within an 80z (240mL) glass of 2% reduced fat milk?
25mg of cholesterol in one glass. According to the HHS and USDA (2015) only animal products contain dietary cholesterol (p.90).
Evidence suggests that as the level of cholesterol intake increases so does the level of low density lipoprotein cholesterol concentration in the blood, thus increasing the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) (IOM, 2002, p. 542). According to the IOM (2002) “a tolerable upper intake level is not set for cholesterol because any incremental increase in cholesterol intake increases CHD risk (p. 542).
How many grams of carbohydrate are in one 8oz (240mL) glass of 2% reduced fat milk?
11g of carbohydrate.
How many grams of sugar are in one 8oz (240ml) glass of 2% reduced fat milk?
11g of sugar.
According to the HHS and USDA (2015) Americans should consume less than 10% of calories from added sugar (p. xiii). In a 2,000 or 2,400 calorie diet that means only 200 or 240 calories in the diet should come from added sugar.
How many grams of fiber are in an 8oz (240mL) glass of 2% reduced fat milk?
0g of fiber
According to the IOM (2002) “an adequate intake (AI) for Total Fiber in Foods is set at 38 and 25 g/d for young men and women, respectively, based on the intake level observed to protect against coronary heart disease” (p. 339)
How many milligrams of sodium are in an 8oz (240mL) glass of 2% reduced fat milk?
120mg of sodium.
According to the American Heart Association ([AHA], 2016) Americans should consume “no more than 2,300 miligrams (mgs) a day and an ideal limit of no more than 1,500 mg per day for most adults” (para. 1). Therefore if our diet should contain approximately 2,000 to 2,400 calories per day, that means for every 100 calories consumed, 100mg of sodium can be consumed. Which equals the approximate 1 to 1 ratio of sodium to calories. The lower recommendation of 1,500 is an ideal goal. According to the AHA “1 teaspoon salt = 2,300mg” (para. 6). Also, the AHA (2016) recognizes that the human body needs no more than 500mg of salt per day to function properly (para. 15).
Overview of 2% reduced fat milk
In just an 8oz (or 240mL) glass of 2% reduced fat milk there are 25mg cholesterol, 3.5g saturated fat, and it is labeled as having 0g trans fat which mean it contains under .5g per serving. There are 11g of sugar, 0g of fiber and 120mg of sodium. Keep in mind that any incremental increase above zero in cholesterol, saturated fat, and trans fat increases the risk of cardiovascular disease. According to the IOM (2002), “the report doesn’t set maximum levels for saturated fat, cholesterol, or trans fatty acids, as increased risk exists at levels above zero, however the recommendation is to eat as little as possible while consuming a diet adequate in important other essential nutrients” (para. 8).
Skip the milk and reach for a glass of non-dairy milk which contains a small amount of, or no, saturated fat, no cholesterol, and no trans fat. Some non-dairy based milks contain no added sugar, a small amounts of sodium, a small amount of fiber, and relatively high amounts of calcium. Be sure to find a plant-based milk which provide a good source of calcium.
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