Diet & Nutrition

Benefits Of Milk – Hot Or Cold

hot milk vs cold milk

Benefits Of Milk – Hot Or Cold

 

Milk

Milk has long been touted as a complete health drink much before the advent of the nutrition-packed beverages.

According to the National Dairy Council, milk is filled with nine essential nutrients that benefit our health:

  • Calcium: Builds healthy bones and teeth; maintains bone mass
  • Protein: Serves as a source of energy; builds/repairs muscle tissue
  • Potassium: Helps maintain a healthy blood pressure
  • Phosphorus:  Helps strengthen bones and generate energy
  • Vitamin D: Helps maintain bones
  • Vitamin B12: Maintains healthy red blood cells and nerve tissue
  • Vitamin A: Maintains the immune system; helps maintain normal vision and skin
  • Riboflavin (B2): Converts food into energy
  • Niacin: Metabolizes sugars and fatty acids

 

There are people who prefer either cold milk or hot milk. There are different benefits to both as well.

Let’s have a look at each one of them.

 

Cold Milk Benefits

Image source – TheHealthSite.com

Drinking cold milk can provide instant relief from the burning sensation one suffers in acidity. Milk also contains lactic acid that normalizes acidity in the stomach. The high amount of calcium found in milk can prevent acid build-up and then even absorb the excess acid produced.

It is known that cold milk is packed with electrolytes that can help your body combat dehydration. Just drinking one little glass of cold milk about twice a day can actually prevent your body from getting dehydrated. This is best for summer season.

Apart from providing relief from acidity, cold milk can be very good for digestion as well. It even helps one in washing down the fat, ghee or oil that normally coats the inner wall of your food pipe.

Milk has quite a nourishing effect on your skin and therefore, it makes for an amazing toner to apply it on your face. Remember to apply only cold or room temperature milk on your face. You can dab in a ball of cotton in cold/room temperature milk and apply it evenly on your face. Let it dry for about ten minutes and then wash it with normal water.  Milk is a rich source of vitamin A and also other antioxidants that helps to give you a natural glow to the skin and even helps in reducing dark spots, pigmentation and freckles.

 

Hot Milk Benefits

 

A cup of delicious warm milk is not exactly a great idea for a perfect drink for most people, but it could be of great importance to you. There are several benefits of drinking milk noted in the past. Although there are few that are believed true only in the case of warm/hot milk. For example – a cup of warm milk before bed will make it easier for you to fall asleep.

One cannot really say that there are scientific evidences which led to this conclusion, but milk contains amino acid called tryptophan and this metabolizes into serotonin and melatonin. Serotonin and melatonin are compounds which promote relaxation in the human body and could help a person sleep. While milk does have some sleep-promoting compounds, but they are present in such small amounts that they don’t really affect your slumber. Much of the effect can be attributed to your psychology. Warm milk before bed may have a psychological effect on you, allowing you to relax and sleep. Drinking warm milk may relax you, however, and relaxation can help you drift off into dreamland, even if the milk itself doesn’t induce sleep.

 

Image source – LightWorkers

You can add nutritious ingredients to your warm milk which can boost health benefits as well as the flavor. Stir a dash of ginger and cinnamon into your milk as it heats. You can even make “golden milk” by adding dried or fresh turmeric with a small amount of honey for sweetness. Like cinnamon and ginger, turmeric also contains beneficial antioxidants. It helps to relieve inflammation. These anti-inflammatory effects may also reduce joint pain from osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.

 

So Then, Hot Or Cold?

The actual fact is, hot and cold milk has an acute dependency on weather and time.

For example, hot milk is best when you consume it during winters with some little chunks of turmeric inside it. This makes your body warm and gives you a relief. It has great benefits for your sore throat as well.  The same way, if you want to make your body calm and cool during summers, drink a glass of cold milk in the summer noon. Choosing opposite milks will harm you more than providing any nutrients. So, your choice has to be wise. But it is perfectly safe to choose the milk at medium temperature in any season. Milk is a super-food and it will only give you health benefits (if you are not lactose intolerant).

 

Also read:   Animal Milk vs Plant Milk- Which Is Healthier Choice?
A1 VS A2 Milk- Facts, Differences And Myths
 Choosing Plant Based Milk Over Cow Milk  

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