The following is a rabbit hole I went down on my most recent post, CHILI CON CARNE, EXPAT STYLE, for those members subscribed to the Health Bundle. I'm excerpting it and editing a bit into a full post for Member Free Content.

I'm asked a lot why I drink low-fat or sometimes, even skim milk. Admittedly, it's not as luxuriously silky as is whole milk. First, us brothers grew up principally drinking 2%, and at one point even skim, as we were buying fresh raw from friends and mom used the cream to make butter. Don't know why that was mom's call, but it was, and it tastes just fine and delicious to me. I don't feel as though I'm missing out (I do with skim, though—but I still like it) and so whole milk is more like an indulgence, or treat.

But there are dietary reasons. First, the fat portion, or cream, has no protein and little to no nutrients. Fat alone is nutrient poor, empty calories. Like refined sugar. It also pushes out protein in volume, but with over twice the energy density. Let's compare ONE CUP of whole milk, alongside a cup of low-fat, and skim.