Milk vs Yogurt - Health impact and Nutrition Comparison

Summary

Nonfat yogurt is richer in proteins, vitamins B2 and B12, phosphorus, selenium, zinc, and lower in sugars. Low-fat milk is richer in vitamins A and D and calcium. Both are low in fat, cholesterol and have low glycemic indices.

Introduction

Milk is considered the most common dairy product. Various types of processing milk obtain all dairy products. Powdered or liquid forms of milk are available in the market. There are three types of liquid milk, full fat, low-fat milk, and no fat milk. By processing milk, we remove the fat content from it. You can also find milk with different premixed flavors like chocolate, strawberry among others. Non-dairy types of milk are also available in the market. However, this article will discuss dairy milk in specific.

Yogurt comes after processing and fermenting milk. It can be further processed and mixed with fruits and sugar to become sweet yogurt or used directly after fermenting to become a sour and salty yogurt. Yogurt has many uses in the culinary world. Milk consumption can be in different forms, liquid without any processing or cooking, used as a component in cooking, used as a topping, or consumed as frozen yogurt.

In this article, we will be comparing the nutritional content of both yogurt and milk, the vitamin and mineral content, health impacts, and the variety of uses.

The milk taken into consideration is low-fat milk with added vitamins A and D. The yogurt taken into consideration is low-fat yogurt; unless specified otherwise.

Nutritional content comparison

Milk and yogurt have similar glycemic indices, 36 and 38, respectively, meaning that both have a low glycemic index. There is a slow absorption of carbs into the digestive system, which prevents spikes in insulin levels.

Protein

100g of milk contains 3.4g of proteins, with 56g being the daily recommended value for the average sedentary person.

The main components of milk protein are casein and whey.

One hundred grams of yogurt contains 10g of proteins. When compared to milk, yogurt is richer in protein content. Similar to milk, the components of yogurt protein are mostly casein (80% of the total protein).

Casein is a type of protein that constitutes nearly 80% of milk and yogurt protein composition. Casein absorption is slow, and that's one of the benefits of casein. Casein helps in muscle repair and growth.

Carbohydrates

100g of milk has 5g of carbohydrates, from which 4g is lactose, and 1g is added sugars.

On the other hand, yogurt has 3.6g of carbohydrates. Yogurt has a lower content of sugars. However, this difference is negligible, and they are both ranked as low glycemic index foods.

Fats

Nonfat milk and yogurt have negligible to no amounts of fats in them. Milk has 1g per 100g and yogurt 0g per 100g. It is good to note here that the milk and yogurt considered in this article are low-fat milk and nonfat yogurt.

The cholesterol content of both is at 5mg per 100g, which is negligible.

It is important to note that full-fat milk contains 3.5g of fat per 100g. Similarly, full-fat yogurt contains 3.3g of fat per 100g.

Vitamin content comparison

Fortified milk is milk that contains more vitamins A and D.

Vitamin A content in milk is at 196 mcg per 100g. A cup of 250ml milk contains 500mcg vitamin A which is at 55% of the daily requirement for men and 70% for women.

Vitamin D content in milk is at 1.2 mcg per 100g. So 250 ml of milk has 3mcg of vitamin D, which is by average 15% of the daily recommended value.

Vitamins B2 and B12 are also present in milk but not in great value.

Yogurt is a good source of vitamin B2. Yogurt contains vitamin B2 at 0.278mcg per 100g, and the daily requirement is 1.3mcg and for women 1.1mcg. Another vitamin found in yogurt, which is relatively higher than the content found in milk, is vitamin B12.

Vitamin Comparison

Vitamin comparison score is based on the number of vitamins by which one or the other food is richer. The "coverage" chart below show how much of the daily needs can be covered by 300 grams of the food

Milk

4

:

6

Yogurt

Contains more Vitamin A +4800%

Contains more Vitamin D +∞%

Contains more Vitamin K +∞%

Contains more Vitamin B1 +15%

Contains more Vitamin B2 +50.3%

Contains more Vitamin B3 +123.7%

Contains more Vitamin B6 +70.3%

Contains more Folate +40%

Contains more Vitamin B12 +59.6%

Equal in Vitamin E - 0.01

Equal in Vitamin B5 - 0.331

Milk

Yogurt

Contains more Vitamin A +4800%

Contains more Vitamin D +∞%

Contains more Vitamin K +∞%

Contains more Vitamin B1 +15%

Contains more Vitamin B2 +50.3%

Contains more Vitamin B3 +123.7%

Contains more Vitamin B6 +70.3%

Contains more Folate +40%

Contains more Vitamin B12 +59.6%

Equal in Vitamin E - 0.01

Equal in Vitamin B5 - 0.331

Mineral content comparison

Milk is one of the best sources of calcium. It also contains some amounts of phosphorus, potassium, and selenium but not in remarkable amounts.

On the other hand, yogurt is also considered a good source of calcium, both having high amounts of calcium. However, milk is richer in calcium. Yogurt is richer in phosphorus, selenium, and zinc. Generally speaking, they are not very remarkable amounts.

Mineral Comparison

Mineral comparison score is based on the number of minerals by which one or the other food is richer. The "coverage" chart below show how much of the daily needs can be covered by 300 grams of the food

Milk

2

:

5

Yogurt

Contains more Calcium +13.6%

Contains more Iron +133.3%

Contains more Phosphorus +42.1%

Contains less Sodium -18.2%

Contains more Zinc +23.8%

Contains more Copper +70%

Equal in Magnesium - 11

Equal in Potassium - 141

Milk

Yogurt

Contains more Calcium +13.6%

Contains more Iron +133.3%

Contains more Phosphorus +42.1%

Contains less Sodium -18.2%

Contains more Zinc +23.8%

Contains more Copper +70%

Equal in Magnesium - 11

Equal in Potassium - 141

Health impact

Bodybuilding

Milk and yogurt are rich in casein, which is a slowly absorbed protein in the digestive system. It helps maintain muscle mass, repair muscle, and induce muscle growth after weight training and different exercises. (1)

For babies

Yogurt consumption in babies, four months old and onwards, has shown positive effects like the following: (2)

• Inducing normal gut microflora
• Controlling infectious diarrhea
• Reducing the risks of eczema in babies
• Reducing food sensitivities

Various impacts

Milk consumption has shown improvement in weight control, and additionally, it helps with weight loss while undergoing diets. (3)

Milk consumption reduces the risk of type 2 diabetes in patients prone to developing diabetes and reduces cardiovascular disease and stroke risks. (4)

Milk consumption has a positive effect on tooth mineral density and helps maintain healthy teeth. (4)

The intake of milk and yogurt in children and adolescents improved bone growth and bone formation during growth. (5)

Milk and yogurt, in addition to other dairy products, helps protect against: (6)

• Colorectal cancer
• Bladder cancer
• Breast cancer
• Gastric cancer

Variations

It is important to note that there are different types of milk and yogurt.

For milk, there can be sweetened milk, condensed milk, chocolate milk, among others. When consuming these milk variants, one must be careful of various contents, added sugars, preservatives, added substances.

When it comes to yogurt, added components can be fruits, sugar, sweeteners. So the nutritional content data in these cases will be different than the article informs.

Consuming milk or yogurt with a side of a fruit bowl or whole-grain cereal has optimal nutritive characteristics.

In addition to that, you can consume yogurt with salt and vegetables like tzatziki. However, control of sodium intake is of high importance.

References:

1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5952515/
2. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31038676/
3. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21559046/
4. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5122229/
5. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18539555/
6. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22081693/