Top 10 Milk Facts Which You Didn't Know

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Almost all people consume milk in one form for the other. It forms a crucial component of most food items from ice cream to toffees. We have never tried to know more about this beverage which we have taken for granted. Let's have a look at some weird milk facts

10. Non-vegetarian Cows

Have you ever wondered how it would look like to see a cow eating another cow? Imagine drinking milk from a cow that is a cannibal. Well, this is also man's way to alter the nature by using rendered fat. It is a technique whereby animals are killed and are turned into hard fatty substances which are then added to the traditional cow food. So, the cow when it is chewing on its grass is actually breaking the norm of being a vegetation without its own knowledge. This is used to increase the quantity and quality of milk production. This cannibalism does not have any harmful effects on the animal, so it is very widely used and accepted.  

9. Cows Love Lou Reed

This is a result of a study conducted on cows way back in 2001. They proved that song 'Perfect Day' when played to the cows made them produce more milk. Melodious songs have been found to have a stimulative effect on the animal. Thus producing more milk. This was a one-time study, and there have been no reported future studies on this matter. So, if you really are looking to increase the cow's performance, you can try the test in your cow shed.

8. Skim Milk Clothing

Skim milk is the left over from butter production and in the early times, it was disposed of in water bodies. The tons of these had raised smell issues and later skim milk was popularized for weight loss. But the real use came from casein extraction from skimmed milk. In 1930, casein was extracted and made into fiber and used in almost anything you could imagine from car seat covers to clothing. The popularity went down in a decade but resurfaced in 2011. Anke Domaske used milk clothing in her new range in 2011 when she invented a new technique to create Qmilch from casein blocks. It is entirely washable and does not show any properties of milk.  

7. Gender Based Milk

Men and women are completely different from each other right from the bone structure to giving birth. Research on rhesus monkey has proven that the breast milk produced by the mother differed in constitution based on the gender of the child. In this study, it was found that mothers with male baby produced milk with excess fat content and with a female baby the protein levels were spiked. There are also other animals other than the rhesus monkey like cows and gray seals that have shown this characteristic. The study was also proven in humans. It is expected to impact the way companies produce milk substitutes for babies.  

6. 60% of Adult Humans are Milk Intolerant

Milk has become like a staple food for people, but would you believe if someone told you that 60% of adults are lactose intolerant. If you can drink a glass of milk without any stomach cramping issues, you are the rare kind of mutant. Lactase helps in digesting milk and its production stops or declines soon after breast feeding is stopped. The reason for the mutation is not really known.  

5. Buy Breast Milk Online

OnlyTheBreast is a website founded by Glenn and Chelly Snow which acts as a platform for lactating mothers to sell breast milk. The customers are women who are not able to produce it in sufficient quantities, and there are also others who buy for the exotic properties of breast milk. Taking a look at the site, you can see how sales pitching words are used to sell these, and there are also taglines like “gluten-free” The price range goes from $1 to $2.50 per ounce. But there are also several mothers who want to help others with breast milk and send it out through Eats on Feets and other nonprofit organizations. There are no regulations and the FDA also sent out a warning that the milk donors could be afflicted with diseases which spread through consumption.  

4. Bird's Milk

Wondering where birds would produce milk? Pigeon produces milk for its young one from an organ inside the esophagus, and both mother and father produces this milk. The hatchling would die if it did not receive its crop milk. This crop milk is found to have a higher protein content than human milk. Flamingos and Penguins are also found to produce this nutritious and delicious crop milk.  

3. Building the basket by Supermarkets

Have you ever wondered why you have to walk to the end of the store to get a can of milk? This is due to a technique used by Supermarkets known as 'Building the basket.' Milk is an essential part of daily diets and placing them behind will make the person pass through all those racks which have stuff that are not required. But moving through them, it is a sales trick to lure the customer to buy them on the way to the milk shelf. There is also a reasonable convenience factor as it is placed near the cold room.  

2. Male Lactation

Not just females, but men can also produce breast milk. Prolactin is the hormone that aids in milk production, and there are small quantities of this in males. The requirement is just to add to the level. But the artificial supply of prolactin can end up with liver problems, tumors, and other body health concerns. The easier way is by nipple stimulation whereby the prolactin levels can be increased, and the breasts can be provoked to produce milk. Male lactation has also been proven in certain other animals including goats and guinea pigs.  

1. Pigs Milk

The commonly reared animal for milk is the cow, or at times the goat, buffalo, camel, yak or even reindeer. Pig is one of a kind mammals that is not pooling into the milk supply. The simple reason can be attributed to the struggle to make them stay in a place. Even if you become successful in holding one down, its 14 tiny nipples make it tough pull out the milk. Making cheese from it is near to impossible as it doesn't coagulate easily. But there is one person who is not ready to give up, Chef Edward Lee. He is deeply invested into making pig cheese and has been trying several methods to obtain milk from the animal.