Is cow really the healthiest? The truth about animal milk

With horse milk gaining traction, our nutritionist assesses the pros and cons of different animal milks – and whether it’s worth switching

Culturally attuned as we are to drinking good old-fashioned cow’s milk, a nice cold glass of horse milk probably doesn’t appeal. However, a new study by Polish scientists has found that the equine version is not only lower in fat but also contains compounds that boost the immune system and help fight disease. 
The study comes as sales of whole milk in the UK are on the rise suggesting that, as a nation, we may be ready to rediscover the health benefits of animal milk.
Until recently, annual milk sales in the UK had been falling by around 2 per cent year on year. With restrictive diets on the rise, dairy products including animal milk were blamed for all manner of ills from bad skin health to cancer. 
Keen to discredit claims that put people off milk, Dairy UK – the trade association for the UK dairy industry – wants to highlight the lack of scientific evidence behind them. They point out that milk doesn’t contain added hormones as it is illegal in the EU and UK. There’s no added sugar, it only contains naturally occurring lactose. It does contain white blood cells from the host animal, but contrary to what some people think, it is not pus.
Meanwhile, scientifically proven benefits include maintaining healthy bones and blood pressure to support the immune system. In fact, the only people who need to avoid milk are the 8 per cent of the UK population who are lactose intolerant and the 2-3 per cent of babies and children who are allergic to the protein casein, abundant in cow’s milk. 
So while horse milk is gaining traction thanks to Polish scientists, deer, buffalo and even donkey milk offer a unique set of benefits. Can they offer a healthy alternative to cow’s milk? Let’s put them to the test.
It’s a staple product, purchased by 98 per cent of British households. Produced by mammals to nourish their young, it stands to reason that it’s highly nutritious.
It’s the fresh, creamy taste we all know and love, and it’s versatile: it can be splashed into coffee and tea, poured over cereal, or just drunk by the glass. To avoid waste, consider buying filtered milk, which stays fresh for twice as long as unfiltered milk once opened.
Still the best all-rounder – cheap and nutritious.
Goats’ milk is consumed by approximately 65 per cent of the world’s population but here in the UK it’s still a niche product, with the volume produced just 0.2 per cent  that of cow’s milk. 
Goats’ milk should taste very similar to cow’s milk, but often has a slight muskiness. You can use fresh goats’ milk as you would fresh cow’s milk, and it freezes well.
A readily available option for the mildly lactose intolerant.
In this country, we’re more used to seeing sheep’s milk cheeses, like feta, manchego, and Pecorino, for sale than fresh sheep’s milk, but this may be set to change given its impressive nutritional CV.
Sheep’s milk has a sweet, soft flavour, and with its high fat content is buttery and rich.
A fabulous source of protein but quite expensive.
Horse milk, or more accurately mare’s milk, is a traditional food of the peoples of the Central Asian Steppes. Closer to home, it’s popular in France and Germany and here in the UK Combe Hay Farm near Bath is the only farm that produces fresh milk from their herd of 15 mares, available to purchase online.
Mare’s milk is clearer, whiter, and sweeter than cow’s milk. Combe Hay Farm recommends drinking 250ml of mare’s milk first thing in the morning, but this would be prohibitively expensive for most.
 It might catch on if more reasonably priced.
We might all be pouring deer milk on our cornflakes soon as its health benefits become more widely understood. In one clinical study (albeit funded by deer milk producer Pamu in New Zealand), regular consumption improved the nutritional status, muscle mass, and physical performance of women aged 65 and above.
Thanks to its high fat content, deer milk is exceptionally smooth and creamy with a sweet aftertaste. The powdered milk needs to be made up and kept in the fridge for a few hours before consumption to allow the fats to properly emulsify.
Undeniably nutritious and tasty but expensive and hard to get hold of.
We’re used to seeing buffalo mozzarella in the supermarket, and it is very delicious too. But did you know the milk it’s made from is the second most popular animal milk globally after cow’s? The majority is produced in India and Pakistan.
Buffalo milk has a slightly sour tang and is creamier than regular milk. 
Nutritious but hard to justify spending this much over regular cow’s milk.
Female donkeys have been kept for thousands of years for their milk, which has the closest nutritional profile to human breast milk of all dairy animal milks. As you would expect it’s very similar to horse milk as both belong to the equidae family of animals.
Very mild and not especially creamy, more akin to skimmed cow’s milk.
 Doesn’t taste of much and is incredibly expensive.
So will I be switching my milk allegiance? All the animal milks varied, to some degree, in terms of their macronutrient (fat, protein, carbohydrate) and micronutrient (vitamin and mineral) content, but traditional cow’s milk still stacks up really well nutritionally. Given that it’s cheap and readily available I’ll be sticking with it – for now.
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