What is ReMilk (in Australia)? Is it Healthy?

(ad-gifted). ReMilk is a new type of milk that’s recently launched in Australia. Remilk’s USP is that it contains less sugar (and more protein) than other milks on the shelf – but, is that a good thing, how do they do it and, is ReMilk keto-friendly? We answer all these questions – and more.

What is ReMilk Made From?

Essentially, it’s normal cows milk – just with less sugar.

Once it reaches the factory the milk is passed through filters that removes half the sugar that’s naturally found in the milk.

Some water is also removed which concentrates the protein increasing the amount per glass.

Nothing else is changed, so the milk contains all the same ‘good-for-you’ nutrients and the same levels of fat as traditional full-cream or lower-fat milks.

ReMilk (Australia) vs Remilk (Israel)

Now some of you might be reading this and thinking – eh? I thought Remilk was dairy-free.

That’s another product and another start-up based in Israel – it has no capital M in the middle.

If you’re looking for the cow-free one, then head over to them here.

If you’re looking for ReMilk Australia, keep reading…

What Are the Benefits of ReMilk?

So, normally 100ml of low-fat milk contains 5g of carbohydrates (mostly in the form of sugars). The same amount of low-fat ReMilk contains 2.5g of carbs (2.3g of sugar).

That according to the ReMilk team could see you saving around 400 teaspoons of sugar per year in your daily diet if you switched from one to the other.

‘Woo hoo, sign me up,’ you might be thinking. However, there’s a but…

While it’s good to reduce sugar in your diet, the natural sugars found in milk shouldn’t be the first thing that you try and elimate to do this.

Natural sugars are processed in a very different way in your body than the added sugars found in things like biscuits and sweets – or, snuck into even seemingly healthy foods like baked beans, pasta sauces, coleslaw and bread.

(Seriously Australia, you have no idea how sweet everything is here compared to the UK – pasta sauce tastes like eating sweets when you first get here!).

That’s where the sugars in your diet should go from first, not milk.

It’s also more important to cut back on quickly absorbed sources of fruit sugars like those in juices.

So, while I think that ReMilk can have a place in a healthy diet, don’t think that swapping to it negates any excess sugar you’re consuming from processed foods or juices.

If you’re wolfing down orange juice, biscuits, all the sauces in a jar and cans of baked beans on a daily basis, these are the places in your diet to look to cut back on sugar before you get to the milk.

The above might make you think I’m anti ReMilk – I’m not, but I do think the message on how it can play a role in healthy eating might be a bit distorted by the ‘losing teaspoons’ message.

There are, however, a lot of other good things about ReMilk.

The Good Side of Remilk

For starters, the main sugar in milk is lactose – and, as we know, lactose can upset tummies and lead ot gas or bloating, in some people (see more reasons for why you bloat after eating here).

Because of the sugar-removal process, there’s no lactose in ReMilk.

What this means is that ReMilk offers another alternative to those who can’t digest lactose effectively, and it’s one lower in natural sugars than traditional lactose-free milk.

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Not everyone who has issues drinking milk has a problem with lactose, you can also have issues digesting one of the proteins in milk – check out our guide to A2 milk to find out more about this.

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This is important as many people who can’t digest lactose, often turn to plant-based milks instead – the problem is, not only are these usually not as nutritionally complete as milk – some of them have a LOT of added sugar.

But at this point, I had a question…

What’s the difference between ReMilk and any other lactose-free milk on the market then?

So I asked them… and this was the answer from Luke Marget, co-founder and joint CEO of ReMilk’s creators Made.

‘Regular milk and regular lactose-free milk actually contain the same amount of sugar but contain different types of sugar.

The sugar in regular milk is lactose, but lactose-free milk has a natural enzyme added during processing to convert the lactose sugar to other types of sugars (glucose and galactose).

With ReMilk, we start by removing half the natural sugar, then we convert the remaining lactose using a natural enzyme to also make it lactose-free.

So, we’ve gone the extra mile!’

Another benefit of ReMilk.

It has more protein than normal milk. This means that, theoretically, ReMilk might also be a bit more filling than traditional milk as protein fills us up.

100ml of traditional low-fat milk has 3.8gm of protein, while 100ml of Light ReMilk has 5g – it’s not a huge difference, but it, combined with the lower sugar, it could help keep you fuller for longer.

What Does ReMilk Taste Like?

Now, I drink milk as a healthy way of satisfying sugar cravings.

At night, when I want something sweet, I have a glass of milk rather than reaching for a Carmello Koala, so I was interested to see what happened if I swapped my normal nightly treat for a glass of ReMilk – would I crave sugar afterwards?

The milk comes in two forms, low-fat and full cream. And at first, I went full cream.

It reminded me of when I’m doing The High-Fat Diet and find myself drinking cream to bump up the fat calories!

It’s not sweet, but it’s very satisfying – and the fact that it tastes like cream, did make it feel like a treat.

The lower-fat milk, tastes just like normal milk – but, a little less sweet (doh!) – but, just the idea that was drinking a glass of milk satisfied my sweet craving anyway.

I didn’t notice the lack of sugar.

For me, therefore, swapping to ReMilk would cut down some of the sugar in my diet – but, would it also cut down my calories?

How Many Calories Are There in ReMilk?

Let’s look at the label…

Per 100ml

The ReMilk Full Cream contains 55 calories

Traditional full-fat milk contains 67 calories

Winning!!

However…

The ReMilk Light contains 55 calories per 100ml

Traditional semi-skimmed milk contains 49 calories per 100ml

So, it seems that ReMilk light contains a few more calories.

Now, I admit seems confusing when you think that the sugar is taken out and so you’d assume it would have fewer calories, but if you compare the exact nutritional breakdown of the two, the difference in calories comes from that extra gram of protein that you find in ReMilk.

So don’t panic!

A whole load of complex digestive stuff occurs when you eat protein.

That means that while yes, on paper ReMilk looks like it contains more calories, but by the time your body has done it’s thing, the amount of extra calories you’ll actually absorb from it are negligible – and probably offset by the fact that you’ll theoretically less likely to nibble afterwards.

Is ReMilk Keto-Friendly?

Depending on how strict your keto diet is, milk might be one of those things you’re having to cut back on, because it is, relatively high in natural sugars. So, would ReMilk work on a keto diet?

According to Luke Magret, ‘yes ReMilk Full Cream Milk is considering keto-friendly. It’s naturally lower in carbohydrates (50 per cent less than regular milk), contains a healthy dose of natural fat and is high in protein.’

But, you probably need the numbers to be sure so…

A 250ml serve of Full Cream ReMilk would add just 6.7g of net carbs to your daily quota – compared to 11.7g drinking a glass of normal full fat milk.

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If you’re interested in keto eating, you might want to look at our guide to getting your micronutrients on keto.

Or, check out our guide to keto-friendly ways to beat keto flu if you’re new on keto and feeling a bit tired or achy.

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Is ReMilk Suitable for Diabetics?

Another group who want to watch their sugar content of their diet are those living with diabetes. And, according to Advanced Sports Dietitian Simone Austin, ReMilk could play a role here.

‘Firstly, because it has half the carbohydrate of standard cow’s milk but also, ReMilk also has more protein than standard cow’s milk and protein can reduce the glycaemic index of a food.

Glycaemic index is how quickly the glucose can be absorbed into the bloodstream, the lower the index the slower this happens.’

Is ReMilk Gluten-Free?

Yes, there’s no gluten in it.

Is ReMilk Healthy?

So, what does all of this mean?

It’s definitely not unhealthy. It contains all the good stuff of milk, with less lactose – and that makes it brilliant for those who can’t stomach lactose (literally and figuratively).

It’s also good for those who want to watch their sugar for medical reasons, and those doing keto.

As for the rest of us, as I said, milk is not the first place to look to cut sugar in your diet, but, if you’ve eliminated all the added and free sugars, and you still feel the need to cut back, then there’s no detriment to picking ReMilk as it still has all the beneficial elements of milk, just less of the sugar.

Where Can You Buy ReMilk?

It’s available in selected Woolworth’s stores across Australia

See more at their website.

So, there you have it – my quick analysis of ReMilk and it’s benefits. But have I missed a question? Is there anything else you’d like to know about this new way of drinking milk? Let me know in the comments and I’ll do my best to answer it…

If you are looking for some different alternatives to milk, you might also want to look at our guide to flax milk.

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