Milk is one of the nutritious foods that humans have used for a long time. Milk can be used in different ways, such as butter, ice cream, condensed milk, dried milk, and cheese.
Among other beverages, milk is considered the most nutritious as it contains vitamins, protein, minerals, and different nutritional values. The most popular types of milk are goat milk and cow milk.
Key Takeaways
- Nutritional Differences: Goat milk is lower in lactose and higher in calcium, potassium, and vitamin A than cow milk.
- Digestibility: The fat globules in goat milk are smaller, making it easier to digest than cow milk.
- Taste: Goat milk has a distinct taste and aroma that is creamier, tangier, and less sweet than cow milk.
Goat vs Cow Milk
Goat milk is healthier as it does not contain casein which is essential for lactose-intolerant people, while cow milk contains casein which can aggravate the immune system.
Goat milk helps reduce weight, increase the digestion, strengthen bones, immunity, and metabolism, and prevent toxins from accumulating. It contains selenium, an essential trace mineral supporting the immune system.
This milk is rich in Amino acids, which help to sleep well at night as it calms the senses. It lowers the risk of cancer and reduces cholesterol and high blood pressure.
Comparison Table
| Parameters of comparison | Goat Milk | Cow Milk |
|---|---|---|
| Taste | Sweeter than cow milk and somewhat goaty in taste. | Less sweet than goat milk but neutral in taste. |
| Appearance | White | Yellowish |
| Digestion | Easily digested as compared to cow milk. | Less easily digested as compared to goat milk. |
| Lactose | Lactose is about 12 % less per cup than cow milk. | Lactose is present |
| Vitamin and Mineral content | Vitamin A and D and calcium and selenium minerals are higher in goat milk. | Vitamin B12 and folic acid are found more in cow milk. |
What is Goat Milk?
Goat milk is obtained from domestic goats. It contains highly nutritious elements like vitamins and minerals.
Goat milk, when used raw, can help in healing a lot of diseases. It also helps recover from viral infections and improves platelet count in the blood during dengue, as well as its antibodies help recover from jaundice.
Goat milk strengthens the ability of the human body system to absorb essential nutrients from other foods. Goat milk can also be used by people who are lactose intolerant and have gut issues like gas, acidity, constipation, and poor digestion.
It has more protein, calcium, vitamins, and healthy fats than other milk. It keeps bones strong. It also helps lose weight as 100 grams of goat milk will give 69 calories.
What is Cow Milk?
Cow milk is being produced and consumed mainly globally, as it is rich in nutrients like vitamins and minerals. Cow’s milk can be used for medicinal benefits as it is a healing agent.
Different breeds of cows produce different types of milk with other properties. Protein in milk is of two kinds- Whey protein and Casein protein.
Casein is further divided into Alpha casein and beta-casein, of which beta-casein is most common. Beta casein is in two forms, A1 and A2. A foreign breed cow or a mixed-race cow produces A1 milk.
A2 milk is now used in less quantity, primarily, people are using A1 milk. A2 milk is healthier than A1 milk as A2 milk produces Amino acid, proline which prevents indigestion, diabetes, etc., in the body, which is not present in A1 milk.
Cow milk appears buttery yellow and is slightly sweet. Cow milk contains less fat and can also be used in weight loss.
Main Differences Between Goat and Cow Milk
- Goat milk contains more nutritional protein, calcium, vitamins, and minerals and has lower fat content than cow milk. However, the components present in any milk depend on the animal’s breed, diet, environment, etc.
- Goat milk is easily digested as its fat globules are minor, so digestive enzymes quickly break it. Whereas cow milk has lower levels of short- and medium-chain fatty acids, making it harder to digest, it also depends on the type of cow milk, i.e., A1 and A2.
- Goat milk has less lactose than cow milk. Some people have lower levels of lactose digestive enzyme ‘lactase,’ which makes them lactose intolerant to cow milk.
- Goat milk contains smaller fat globules, which make hard cheese. At the same time, cow milk has large fat globules than goat milk, which makes softer cheese.
- Goat milk has more prebiotic carbohydrates, which supports good bacteria in an infant’s digestive tract, equivalent to a human mother’s milk. In comparison, prebiotic carbohydrate is lacking in cow milk.
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921448803002724
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0889157509000350
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