Whether you heat your milk for health or culinary reasons, you might wonder how boiling may affect it.
In fact, boiled milk’s nutritional profile and health benefits are different than those of milk straight from the carton.
This article looks at the nutrients and benefits of boiled milk, and why you might or might not wish to boil your milk before drinking it.
The boiling point of cow’s milk is around 203°F (95°C) (1).
That means if you’re adding milk to a recipe that’ll be cooked or baked, such as one for pudding or cake, it will technically reach its boiling point during the cooking process.
In the United States, commercially produced dairy milk that’s sold across state lines must be pasteurized. That does not always mean it’s boiled, but it’s heated to a high enough temperature — usually 161°F (71.7°C) for 15 seconds — to kill any harmful pathogens (2).
Thus, you don’t have to boil milk for safety reasons unless it’s raw, unpasteurized milk. In that case, bringing it to a boil or near a boil will significantly reduce most bacteria levels sufficiently (1).
Milk is a very nutritious food. It contains a balanced mix of high quality protein, carbs, and fat.
It also supplies many important vitamins and minerals. A 1-cup (237-mL) serving of whole milk provides (3):
Research examining changes in vitamin and mineral contents in raw versus heated milk found that regular pasteurization temperatures did not change nutrient content much (4, 5, 6).
On the other hand, ultra-high-temperature (UHT) pasteurization affects the content of many vitamins. This process heats milk past its boiling point to 275–302°F (135–150°C) (4, 5, 6).
Casein comprises about 80% of the protein in milk, while whey accounts for about 20% (4).
The casein in milk is fairly stable, even when heated to the boiling point. However, heating whey protein will change its structure, even before it hits the boiling point of milk (4).
The primary carbohydrate in milk is lactose, and it’s sensitive to heat. When you boil milk, some of the lactose changes into a nondigestible sugar called lactulose and other compounds (4).
Boiling changes the fats in milk somewhat, too. Milk contains a mix of short-, medium-, and long-chain fatty acids (7).
While the total fat content is stable with boiling, some of the long-chain fats may be converted into short- and medium-chain fats (7).
There are pros and cons to boiling milk. Whether you should boil it depends on what you wish to gain from drinking milk.
Short-chain fats are an important fuel for the cells in your gut. They’re associated with better gut health and a lower risk of colon cancer. Some studies also suggest short-chain fats play a role in promoting a healthier body weight and blood sugar and blood pressure levels (8).
The body metabolizes medium-chain fats differently than other fats. Instead of storing them, the body absorbs them quickly and uses them as energy (9).
Some evidence suggests replacing long-chain fats in your diet with medium-chain fats may modestly increase the number of calories you burn, thus contributing to weight loss (9).
Because of the changes in protein and lactose that occur when you boil milk, people who have milk protein allergies or lactose intolerance might find it easier to digest.
A study on heat treatments and milk protein identified 364 proteins in milk. After boiling, 23 of the proteins were substantially diminished (10).
That may be why some research has shown that children with milk allergies can sometimes tolerate cooked or baked foods made with milk.
A study in 134 children allergic to milk showed that 69% were able to tolerate some forms of cooked milk (11, 12).
Some of the lactose content of milk is also reduced in boiled milk. Boiling converts it into different types of acids and lactulose, a type of sugar that humans don’t absorb (4).
Still, if you have a milk protein allergy or lactose intolerance, it’s important to know that boiling may not cause enough of a change for you to safely consume milk.
The B vitamins (thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, folic acid, B6, and B12) are sensitive to factors like light and heat.
One study looked at how boiling milk changed its vitamin content. The study found that boiling milk decreased levels of all of the B vitamins by at least 24%. Folic acid decreased by 36% (5).
While that’s significant, milk is not an important source of B vitamins in most people’s diets, with the exception of the B vitamin riboflavin (5, 6).
Riboflavin works with other B vitamins to convert the food you eat into energy. It’s rare to be deficient in riboflavin, as you can get it from many foods.
Still, milk is a major source of riboflavin, especially in children’s diets. Boiling milk reduces the riboflavin content by 27% (5, 13).
Additionally, the structural changes of some milk proteins cause the body to digest and retain less protein from milk. One study in 25 people found that when people drank UHT pasteurized milk, they retained 12% less protein than after drinking regular pasteurized milk (14).
If you rely on milk as a protein source, boiling it might cause you to get less protein than you’d like.
Boiling milk is known to significantly lessen milk’s nutritional value. Studies have found that while boiling milk eliminated bacteria from raw milk, it also greatly reduced its whey protein levels.
When it comes to microorganisms, you are either embracing the micro-biodiversity of life and digestibility or fearing and discarding all microorganisms.
You just went through a good amount of effort to get your radically old fashioned milk, and then you boil it?! What gives? Let’s look into this more closely to understand the reasoning, benefits, and compromises of boiling milk.
Some people boil milk because they are afraid of the living microorganisms in unprocessed dairy. Perhaps they have an immune deficiency. There’s a small chance they are allergic to specific bacteria. Or maybe they’ve been conditioned to believe that raw milk is dangerous.
When you heat milk above 135 F, the lactase naturally present in milk is obliterated. This prevents your milk from souring. How wonderful to have fresh tasting milk! On the other hand, boiling milk removes the lactase, which your body needs to digest lactose.
Boiling milk will effectively eliminate all microbiology – good and bad. On the positive side, if there were any harmful pathogens, now there aren’t. On the bad side, once you boil milk, you lose all beneficial microbiology, ultimately creating a vector for disease. Pasteurized milk goes bad in a very bad and dangerous way.
Still, milk is a major source of riboflavin, especially in children’s diets. Boiling milk reduces the riboflavin content by 27% (5, 13).
The boiling point of cow’s milk is around 203°F (95°C) (1).
One study looked at how boiling milk changed its vitamin content. The study found that boiling milk decreased levels of all of the B vitamins by at least 24%. Folic acid decreased by 36% (5).
The body metabolizes medium-chain fats differently than other fats. Instead of storing them, the body absorbs them quickly and uses them as energy (9).
In the United States, commercially produced dairy milk that’s sold across state lines must be pasteurized. That does not always mean it’s boiled, but it’s heated to a high enough temperature — usually 161°F (71.7°C) for 15 seconds — to kill any harmful pathogens (2).
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FAQ
Does boiling milk ruin it?
Can you drink milk after it boils?
Is boiled milk spoiled?
Does heating up milk make it go bad?
What if boiled milk is spoiled?
If you see your boiled milk is spoiled not to worry. Refrigerate milk for a few hours and then strain water completely. Once this procedure is complete you will see small cheese remains; then add some sugar for taste and cook it for 10-15 minutes until the water is exhausted. Your yummy cheese sweet dish will be ready to serve.
Why is it bad to drink milk on an empty stomach?
It’s not! However, if living with diabetes and a rather sedentary lifestyle, drinking large amounts of milk, especially on an empty stomach, should be avoided since it may spike blood glucose levels. Otherwise, chocolate milk makes for a great post sports event beverage since it contains a good amount of carbohydrate to help replenish glycogen stores, and good amount of protein to help with muscle recovery, along with several micronutrients including electrolytes for hydration.
Is boiling milk bad for You?
Milk is an important source of vitamin A, vitamin D, thiamin, riboflavin, magnesium, calcium, and several other nutrients necessary for staying healthy and warding off illness. Many of these nutrients are sensitive to heat and could be damaged or destroyed altogether by boiling. Boiling is not the same as pasteurization, although they’re similar.
What happens if you let milk come to a boil?
That means, if you’re letting milk come to a boil, you’re surpassing the temperature at which the proteins in the milk break down and reducing the quality and taste of the milk. The broken down proteins are still a source of amino acids, though.