Nutritional Facts About Milk That Prove It's Great for You

Whether competing on the field, working out, or tackling your to-do list, milk provides the fuel you need for peak performance. Many people do not know all of the interesting and crucial nutritional facts about milk that clearly show why it’s so great for you. One 8-ounce glass of milk naturally provides essential nutrients like 4 B vitamins to help you energize and 8 grams of high-quality protein to help you refuel and build lean muscle. Without all the additives found in alternative beverages, milk supports wellness more naturally. Choose milk for balanced nutrition, unbeatable creamy taste, and satiety to power through your day.

Nutritional Facts about Milk

Here are just some of the nutritional facts about milk proving how it contributes to your balanced nutrition:

Milk gives you energy. Milk is a natural source of four B vitamins, or fuel your body needs to stay energized. Those four B vitamins--riboflavin, B-12, niacin, and pantothenic acid--help your body turn food into fuel. This fall, fight fatigue and fuel your body with milk.

Milk helps you build muscle, stay active, and recover with 8 grams of complete protein per 8-ounce serving. It is easy to include in your workout routine by adding milk to your smoothie or drinking chocolate milk after exercise to help replenish muscle protein. Compared to other sports drinks, milk is a nutritional bargain, providing complete, high-performance protein at approximately 25 cents per 8-ounce glass.

Milk provides the protein you need to stay energized and focused throughout the day. Protein isn’t only important for exercise, with milk helping you stay focused throughout your busy day. The protein in milk can help you stay full and maintain a healthy weight, too. But don’t just reach for any protein beverage and expect those benefits. Most alternatives can’t match milk’s natural, high-quality protein. Why? Compared to plant proteins, proteins from milk are more complete, higher quality, and less processed.

Milk is naturally nutritious. When compared side-by-side, milk contains fewer ingredients and more naturally occurring nutrients than many plant-based alternatives. Unlike many alternatives on the market, unflavored dairy milk contains no added sugar and is naturally sweetened with lactose.

Milk hydrates better than water. Milk’s natural electrolytes, carbohydrates, and high-quality protein make it more effective at improving hydration status and keeping you hydrated longer than water and sports drinks.

Milk supports your immune system. Milk is a natural source of zinc, selenium, and protein--essential nutrients your body needs to stay healthy.

If you are lactose intolerant, you can still drink and benefit from milk. Try lactose-free milk; it’s real milk, just without lactose. All of the nutritional facts about milk still apply to lactose-free milk!

With everything milk can do for you, discover how you can add more milk to your diet and achieve balanced nutrition. Here at The Dairy Alliance, informing people on the nutritional facts about milk is just the start. Follow along as we highlight all things milk, especially the nutritional facts about milk and everything dairy on our blog, from tasty recipes to exercise tips to dairy’s sustainability.