Melatonin is synonymous with milk nutrition or Milk Melatonin cures depression
Dr. Shanker Suwan Singh
Milk is a complete diet which is obtained from the lacteal secretion of healthy dairy animals. Milk is used 15 days before calving and 5 days after calving. Nutrition is the science related to food elements. Under this, the effect of food elements on the human body is studied and analyzed. In other words, all the processes related to the body’s diet are called nutrition. Nutrition is also related to food and the social, economic and psychological effects of that food. There is a close relationship between diet and health. All those elements of food which perform essential functions in the body are called nutrients. If these nutrients are not present in our food in proper quantity, then the body will become unhealthy. Carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins, minerals, salts and water are the main nutrients. There are some elements in our food which are not nutrients such as chemicals that give colour and fragrance. When these essential elements are present (in the right proportion) as per the requirement of our body, then that condition is called best nutrition or proper nutrition. This best nutrition is very essential for a healthy body. Malnutrition is the name of the condition in which nutrients are not present in the body in the right proportion or there is an imbalance between them. Therefore, we can say that malnutrition means both over-nutrition and under-nutrition. Under-nutrition means lack of one or more nutrients in the diet. Example- lack of vitamin A or lack of protein etc. Over-nutrition means excess of one or more nutrients in the food. Example, when a person consumes more energy than the energy consumption in a day, it gets accumulated in the body in the form of fat and due to this the person becomes a victim of obesity. Milk is such a food in which all the nutrients are found in balanced quantities. Milk is the best food available to us from the nutritional point of view. The body needs more than thirty different substances for its food supply. No single food supplies them all, but milk supplies almost all of them. Milk is an energy rich food. Milk provides instant energy to the body. Amino acids and fatty acids are present in milk. Milk is a complete diet. Life is incomplete without milk. Milk is an opaque white liquid which is produced by the mammary glands of females. The newborn baby depends on milk till it is unable to consume other substances. The components present in milk are water, solids, fat, lactose, protein, minerals and fat less solids. If we talk about the water present in milk, the highest amount of water is found in donkey milk at 91.5%, mare at 90.1%, human at 87.4%, cow at 87.2%, camel at 86.5%, goat at 86.9%. The water content in buffalo milk is 82-83%. Buffalo milk contains more fat and protein than cow milk. Milk contains calcium, magnesium, zinc, phosphorus, iodine, iron, potassium, folates, vitamin A, vitamin D, riboflavin, vitamin B-12, protein etc. Cow milk contains 3.14 mg cholesterol per gram. Cow milk is thin. Which is easily digested in the body. No single food item supplies everything, but milk supplies almost everything. According to Ayurveda, fresh cow milk is considered the best. In the Puranas, milk has been compared to nectar, which makes the body healthy and strong as well as protects from many diseases. Cow milk helps in reducing internal bile-related problems like heartburn, ulcers and skin rashes. It is mostly said to consume cow milk instead of buffalo milk because buffalo milk is considered to be hot in Ayurveda. According to Ayurveda, it is best for adults to drink milk before sleeping at night. Whereas children should drink milk in the morning itself. The immunity or energy of a person who drinks milk before sleeping at night increases. The state of complete or proper digestion is called immunity or energy. Buffalo milk contains more fat than cow milk. Apart from this, buffalo milk is also a good source of nutrients like calcium, phosphorus, magnesium and potassium. At the same time, cow milk is a good source of vitamins. Cow milk is a rich source of melatonin. The pineal gland located in the brain is a small endocrine gland that secretes the melatonin hormone. This melatonin hormone helps in promoting sleep. Based on scientific facts, during winter, the concentration of melatonin in the total daily milk is, on an average, 74.7% higher than in summer. Therefore, drinking milk in winter is more beneficial. An amino acid called tryptophan is found in milk. Tryptophan plays an important role in the production of serotonin and melatonin. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that affects mood, cognitive reasoning and memory. Tryptophan found in foods has been shown to improve sleep and mood in the elderly. Milk collected from cows milked at night contains more tryptophan and melatonin than milk collected from cows milked during the day. Based on scientific facts, the average concentration of melatonin in cow’s night milk is 14.87 pg/mL(picogram/millileter), while it was measured at 6.98 pg/mL (picogram/millileter) in total daily milk. Drinking milk keeps depression and stress away. Therefore, we can say that melatonin is synonymous with the nutrition of milk.
Author
Dr. Shanker Suwan Singh
Assistant Professor
(Selection Grade)
(Department of Food Science and Technology/Dairy Technology)
Sam Higginbottom University of Agriculture, Technology and Sciences
Naini, Prayagraj (U.P.)
