Skim Milk and Lactose-Free: What's the Difference?

Skim Milk and Lactose-Free: What's the Difference?

Choosing a milk is not easy, not only because there are many brands on the market but also because we find on the shelves a wide variety of types of milk that can sometimes confuse us. Some people clearly know the product that they want, but others do not know the difference between similar sounding terms like lactose-free and skimmed. Are these the same product or not? In OneHowTo.com we explain the difference between skim milk and lactose-free milk.

Low-fat or skimmed milk

Skim milk is a very popular product that has been present supermarket shelves for decades. This type of milk is called skim because it has a lower fat percentage than whole milk, so it provides our body with a lower amount of fat, making it ideal for people who have certain health conditions such as high cholesterol and high triglycerides levels, fatty liver, etc, and also for those who want to care for their figure.

Lactose-free milk

Lactose-free milk is an alternative for people who are lactose intolerant, lactose being a compound present naturally in milk that many have difficulty digesting. This alternative may be a little sweeter and less dense than whole milk, but also has fat and contains all the nutrients of regular milk, so it is not a lighter option or a reduced fat option unless you choose it in a skimmed version.

What's the difference?

Having clear the characteristics of each product it is much simpler to understand the difference between skimmed milk and lactose-free milk. If you are looking for an option that has less fat and have no problems with lactose then your choice should be skimmed milk.

On the other hand if you have trouble digesting lactose you should opt for lactose-free milk, which may be whole or skimmed according to your taste.

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