The Health Benefits of Milk

Organic Milk

The lowdown: Cows that produce organic milk are given organic feed or roam freely and graze on pesticide-free grass. They’re not treated with synthetic growth hormones to increase milk production or injected with antibiotics to prevent illness. (But like traditional milk, organic is pasteurized.) Although experts maintain that there’s no nutritional difference between organic and traditional milk, two studies from Newcastle University, in England, found that the organic variety contains higher concentrations of some beneficial omega-3 fatty acids and antioxidants. It also can cost twice as much as regular milk.

Good to know: Organic milk contains the most health benefits in summer; the levels of inflammation-reducing fatty acids are at their peak then, because cows have access to more fresh grass and clover.