How Much Protein is in a Serving of Skim Milk?

This brief guide will answer the query “How Much Protein is in a Serving of Skim Milk?”; in addition, this guide will also compare skim milk and whole milk protein content and briefly discuss if milk is good for a workout recovery. Finally, the guide presents some ideas on how to incorporate skim milk in a healthy diet.

How Much Protein is in a Serving of Skim Milk?

A serving of skim milk of 240 ml has 7.99 g of protein. A serving of skim milk also contains 12 g of carbohydrates, and it does not contain fat (1).

Which Has More Protein between Skim and Whole milk?

Both skim milk and whole milk contain the same amount of protein. According to the USDA, a serving of 240 ml of whole milk contains 7.81 g of protein, this is a negligible increase of protein compared to the 7.99 g of skim milk (1,2).

Why does skim milk and whole milk have the same amount of protein?

Skim milk and whole milk have almost the same amount of protein (skim milk has 0.05 g more protein than whole milk) because when processing, raw milk is centrifuged to separate the fat from the milk (1,2,3). 

After removing fat from milk, a process known as standardization, milk fat and nonfat milk solids (like milk proteins and carbohydrates) are added to obtain different content of fat (4).

When a certain component is reduced, the other ones will be in a higher concentration, that’s why skim milk has a slightly higher protein content if compared to whole milk; however, the difference between whole milk and skim milk is mainly noticed in the fat content (4).

Is Skim Milk good as a Post-Workout Recovery Drink?

Yes, skim milk is good as a post-workout recovery drink. Skim Milk has high quality proteins, this means that it contains all essential amino acids your body needs for muscle development, creating enzymes, and also for strengthening your immune system (5,6).

Some studies have also shown that besides the high quality of skim milk’s protein, the carbohydrates of skim milk are important to restore your glycogen storage. This means that you will be ready for the next workout (5).

On the other hand, skim milk also seems to promote fat oxidation after workout. Increasing fat oxidation will be helpful for reducing your body fat mass! (7)

What are the Health Benefits of Skim Milk Beyond Protein?

Skim milk is a good source of water-soluble vitamins like thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, folate, vitamins B6 and B12; all these are B vitamins, which are critical for cognitive development in children and also for preventing neurological degradation in adults (8,9).

Skim milk also contains minerals like iron, calcium, and zinc. Iron helps prevent anemia, while calcium is essential for good bone health. Finally, zinc is useful for strengthening your immune system and for good growth (8,10).

Additionally, milk is a source of probiotic bacteria like Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium, these bacteria live in your intestine and can exert health benefits like prevention of infectious diseases (11). You can learn more about probiotics in this article.

How to Incorporate Skim Milk into a Healthy Diet?

You can incorporate skim milk into a healthy diet through smoothies or milk-based shakes with fruits and nuts to complement with healthy fats and more fiber! (12) You can get some ideas here.

Remember that fiber is essential for good gastrointestinal health, and healthy fats like unsaturated fatty acids from nuts can prevent cardiovascular diseases (13).

Conclusion

This brief guide answered the query “How Much Protein is in a Serving of Skim Milk?”; in addition, this guide also compared skim milk and whole milk protein content and briefly discussed if milk is good for a workout recovery. Finally, the guide presented some ideas on how to incorporate skim milk in a healthy diet.

References

  1. FoodData central [Internet]. Usda.gov. [cited 5 May 2023]. Available from: https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/685322/nutrients
  1. FoodData central [Internet]. Usda.gov. [cited 5 May 2023]. Available from: https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/1097512/nutrients
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  1. Gao R, Rapin N, Elnajmi AM, Gordon J, Zello GA, Chilibeck PD. Skim milk as a recovery beverage after exercise is superior to a sports drink for reducing next-day postprandial blood glucose and increasing postprandial fat oxidation. Nutr Res, 2020;82:58–66.
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  1. Teame T, Wang A, Xie M, Zhang Z, Yang Y, Ding Q, et al. Paraprobiotics and postbiotics of probiotic Lactobacilli, their positive effects on the host and action mechanisms: A review. Front Nutr, 2020;7:570344.
  1. Guneser O, Isleten Hosoglu M, Aydeniz Guneser B, Karagul Yuceer Y. Engineering of milk-based beverages: Current status, developments, and consumer trends. In: Grumezescu AM, Holban AM, editors. Milk-Based Beverages. Elsevier; 2019. p. 1–37.
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