FoodtopsyFrançais
A glass of milk

Skim milk

Checked by us One serving: 263 g (about 250 mL) · 89 kcal

Lots of vitamin B12, riboflavin and calcium. Rich in 1 more nutrient: see Good for.

Nothing to watch for most people.

Worth knowing for some people: lactose intolerance.

Good for

How we counted this

What one serving (263 g) gives you.

Your body needs enough of each of these. Past enough, more doesn’t help. Amounts are what the food databases list, not what your body absorbs, unless a row says it was measured.

The words: “A lot” means one serving gives 20% or more of Health Canada’s daily amount, “Some” 10% to 19%, “A little” 2% to 9%, “Almost none” under 2%. Strongest word first; within a word, protein and fibre lead, then the biggest share.

A milligram (mg) is a thousandth of a gram, and a microgram (µg) a thousandth of a milligram: 1,000 µg make 1 mg.

18 more nutrients below “a lot”

Watch out

How we counted this
Checked for cadmium and lead: fine at normal amounts.
  • Cadmium

    Nothing to watch

    You’d need more than 100 servings a day, every day, of this food alone to use up what an average adult’s intake leaves under the limit.

    Learn more

    One serving carries 0.04 µg

    How we got this

    A serving a day adds 0.2% to what an average adult already takes in: a share of that intake, not of the limit. With that serving every day, an average adult would be at about 71% of the limit.

    An average adult already takes in about 71% of the limit. One serving a day fits in the room left.

    Counted from zero, with no allowance for what adults already take in from other food, 1,200,000 g a week would reach the limit.

    Why this rating: Eating it daily comes to 1,842 g a week, which stays within the 360,000 g of room left before the limit.

    The dataset’s rating: Nothing to watch: under the limit

    A daily serving adds 0.21% to an average adult's cadmium intake (EFSA 2012 adult median, 1.77 µg/kg body weight/week; Canadian adults in 2007: 1.2-1.75), far from doubling it, so no cap.

    Health Canada, Canadian Total Diet Study – Trace Elements (2005–2018 composites) · grade A

    Every food with cadmium

  • Lead

    Nothing to watch

    You’d need more than 100 servings a day, every day, of this food alone to double the lead an average adult already gets. No dose is known to be safe, so doubling is where we flag.

    Learn more

    A serving a day adds 0.1% to what an average adult already takes in. There is no limit to take a share of.

    One serving carries 0.06 µg

    How we got this

    The dataset’s rating: Nothing to watch: doesn’t double average intake

    No cap: no safe limit is set for lead, so no grams figure. A serving of skim milk carries 0.059 µg, which adds about 0.12% to the average adult's intake (an estimate, lower bound); far from doubling it.

    Health Canada, Canadian Total Diet Study – Trace Elements (2005–2018 composites) · grade A

    Every food with lead

For some people

Worth knowing

No limit applies, so none is rated.

  • Sugar

    13 g of sugar in a 263 g serving, natural and added together.

    Learn more

    Shown, not rated. The food tables we read give total sugar, and few give added sugar, so the site can’t yet tell sugar added in making a food from the sugar in fruit or milk.

Better options

How we counted this

“Better” here always means better at something the row names: more of one nutrient, more nutrients per serving, or the goal you pick. It never means better in every way.

Every amount below is for the same weight, 263 g, the size of one serving of this food, so a swap compares like with like. A serving of another food can be bigger or smaller.

Compared with the other dairy foods we’ve checked.

A food is listed only if it gives clearly more: at least a fifth more than this food, and at least 10% of the daily amount more.

More of what it’s good for

More vitamin B12

More riboflavin

Amounts as listed, not adjusted for how much gets in.

For calcium: Parmesan would lead, in the same 263 g, but is left out (portions too different to compare by weight).

None of the 5 other dairy foods we could compare gives clearly more nutrients per serving.

Your goal

Your goal changes only this list, not what the food gives you or what to watch.

None of the 5 other dairy foods we could compare gives clearly more nutrients, protein and fibre per calorie.

Why some foods aren’t suggested

Left out: Parmesan (portions too different to compare by weight).

Bring a tracker export or describe your usual week. The same rules check all of it.

The numbers

Open every value

Name in the database: Milk, skim (0.1% milk fat)

How the serving was set: 250 mL = 263.1 g (Health Canada D.11; FDC 249 g per cup)

Listed nutrients, per 100 g

For each nutrient, the value this page uses is marked “used”. A row marked “second database” is another database’s figure for a matching food, kept so you can see how far databases disagree (they can differ in the samples analysed, lab methods and rounding). Its own cells are worked out from it, but none of the page’s words or scores are.

NutrientPer servingPer 100 caloriesHowSourceGrade
Omega-3: ALA0.001 g0 g0 glisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #171269C
Calcium122 mg320.98 mg358.82 mglisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #171269C
122 mg320.98 mg358.82 mgsecond database · not usedCanadian Nutrient File 2026 #114C
Carbohydrate4.96 g13.05 g14.59 glisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #171269C
Choline15.6 mg41.04 mg45.88 mglisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #171269C
Energy34 kcal89.45 kcal–FDC Energy (kcal) usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy)–
Omega-3: EPA + DHA0 g0 g0 glisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #171269C
Fat0.08 g0.21 g0.24 glisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #171269C
Cholesterol2 mg5.26 mg5.88 mglisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #171269C
Fatty acids, total saturated0.056 g0.15 g0.16 glisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #171269C
Fibre0 g0 g0 glisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #171269C
Folate5 µg13.16 µg14.71 µglisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #171269C
Iron0.03 mg0.08 mg0.09 mglisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #171269C
Magnesium11 mg28.94 mg32.35 mglisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #171269C
Niacin (B3, niacin equivalents)0.789 mg2.07 mg2.32 mglisted usedCanadian Nutrient File 2026 #114C
Phosphorus101 mg265.73 mg297.06 mglisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #171269C
Potassium156 mg410.44 mg458.82 mglisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #171269C
Protein3.37 g8.87 g9.91 glisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #171269C
Riboflavin (B2)0.182 mg0.48 mg0.54 mglisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #171269C
Selenium3.1 µg8.16 µg9.12 µglisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #171269C
Sodium42 mg110.5 mg123.53 mglisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #171269C
Sugars5.09 g13.39 g14.97 glisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #171269C
Thiamin (B1)0.045 mg0.12 mg0.13 mglisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #171269C
Vitamin A61 µg160.49 µg179.41 µglisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #171269C
Vitamin B120.5 µg1.32 µg1.47 µglisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #171269C
Vitamin B60.037 mg0.1 mg0.11 mglisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #171269C
Vitamin C0 mg0 mg0 mglisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #171269C
Vitamin D1.2 µg3.16 µg3.53 µglisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #171269C
Vitamin E0.01 mg0.03 mg0.03 mglisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #171269C
Vitamin K10 µg0 µg0 µglisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #171269C
Water90.84 g239 g267.18 glisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #171269C
Zinc0.42 mg1.11 mg1.24 mglisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #171269C
NutrientPer 100 gPer servingPer 100 caloriesHowSourceGrade
Beta-carotene0 µg0 µg0 µglisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #171269C
Copper0.013 mg0.03 mg0.04 mglisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #171269C
Ash0.75 g1.97 g2.21 glisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #171269C
Sucrose0 g0 g0 glisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #171269C
Glucose0 g0 g0 glisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #171269C
Fructose0 g0 g0 glisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #171269C
Maltose0 g0 g0 glisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #171269C
Alcohol, ethyl0 g0 g0 glisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #171269C
Caffeine0 mg0 mg0 mglisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #171269C
Theobromine0 mg0 mg0 mglisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #171269C
Energy143 kj376.23 kj420.59 kjlisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #171269C
Galactose0 g0 g0 glisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #171269C
Fluoride, F3.1 µg8.16 µg9.12 µglisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #171269C
Vitamin A, IU204 iu536.72 iu600 iulisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #171269C
Carotene, alpha0 µg0 µg0 µglisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #171269C
Vitamin D (D2 + D3), International Units47 iu123.66 iu138.24 iulisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #171269C
Vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol)1.2 µg3.16 µg3.53 µglisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #171269C
Cryptoxanthin, beta0 µg0 µg0 µglisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #171269C
Lycopene0 µg0 µg0 µglisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #171269C
Tocopherol, beta0 mg0 mg0 mglisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #171269C
Tocopherol, gamma0 mg0 mg0 mglisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #171269C
Tocopherol, delta0 mg0 mg0 mglisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #171269C
Tocotrienol, alpha0 mg0 mg0 mglisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #171269C
Tocotrienol, beta0 mg0 mg0 mglisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #171269C
Tocotrienol, gamma0 mg0 mg0 mglisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #171269C
Tocotrienol, delta0 mg0 mg0 mglisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #171269C
Vitamin K (Dihydrophylloquinone)0 µg0 µg0 µglisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #171269C
Folic acid0 µg0 µg0 µglisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #171269C
Folate, food5 µg13.16 µg14.71 µglisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #171269C
Folate, DFE5 µg13.16 µg14.71 µglisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #171269C
Betaine1.9 mg5 mg5.59 mglisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #171269C
Tryptophan0.043 g0.11 g0.13 glisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #171269C
Threonine0.144 g0.38 g0.42 glisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #171269C
Isoleucine0.174 g0.46 g0.51 glisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #171269C
Leucine0.319 g0.84 g0.94 glisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #171269C
Lysine0.282 g0.74 g0.83 glisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #171269C
Methionine0.088 g0.23 g0.26 glisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #171269C
Cystine0.021 g0.06 g0.06 glisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #171269C
Phenylalanine0.175 g0.46 g0.51 glisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #171269C
Tyrosine0.17 g0.45 g0.5 glisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #171269C
Valine0.221 g0.58 g0.65 glisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #171269C
Arginine0.096 g0.25 g0.28 glisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #171269C
Histidine0.102 g0.27 g0.3 glisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #171269C
Alanine0.114 g0.3 g0.34 glisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #171269C
Aspartic acid0.288 g0.76 g0.85 glisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #171269C
Glutamic acid0.757 g1.99 g2.23 glisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #171269C
Glycine0.067 g0.18 g0.2 glisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #171269C
Proline0.332 g0.87 g0.98 glisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #171269C
Serine0.203 g0.53 g0.6 glisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #171269C
Hydroxyproline0 g0 g0 glisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #171269C
Vitamin E, added0 mg0 mg0 mglisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #171269C
Vitamin B-12, added0 µg0 µg0 µglisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #171269C
SFA 4:00.004 g0.01 g0.01 glisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #171269C
SFA 6:00 g0 g0 glisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #171269C
SFA 8:00.001 g0 g0 glisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #171269C
SFA 10:00.002 g0.01 g0.01 glisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #171269C
SFA 12:00.001 g0 g0 glisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #171269C
SFA 14:00.008 g0.02 g0.02 glisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #171269C
SFA 16:00.025 g0.07 g0.07 glisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #171269C
SFA 18:00.009 g0.02 g0.03 glisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #171269C
MUFA 18:10.018 g0.05 g0.05 glisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #171269C
PUFA 18:20.002 g0.01 g0.01 glisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #171269C
PUFA 18:30.001 g0 g0 glisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #171269C
PUFA 20:40 g0 g0 glisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #171269C
PUFA 22:6 n-3 (DHA)0 g0 g0 glisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #171269C
MUFA 16:10.003 g0.01 g0.01 glisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #171269C
PUFA 18:40 g0 g0 glisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #171269C
MUFA 20:10 g0 g0 glisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #171269C
PUFA 20:5 n-3 (EPA)0 g0 g0 glisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #171269C
MUFA 22:10 g0 g0 glisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #171269C
PUFA 22:5 n-3 (DPA)0 g0 g0 glisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #171269C
Fatty acids, total monounsaturated0.022 g0.06 g0.06 glisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #171269C
Fatty acids, total polyunsaturated0.003 g0.01 g0.01 glisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #171269C
Lactose5.09 g13.39 g14.97 glisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #171269C
Lutein + zeaxanthin0 µg0 µg0 µglisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #171269C
Manganese0.003 mg0.01 mg0.01 mglisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #171269C
Niacin (B3, preformed)0.094 mg0.25 mg0.28 mglisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #171269C
Pantothenic acid (B5)0.357 mg0.94 mg1.05 mglisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #171269C
Retinol61 µg160.49 µg179.41 µglisted usedUS food database (USDA SR Legacy) #171269C

Change the amount to rescale the first column. Nutrients a database doesn't list are missing, not zero.

Absorption studies

Studies of how much of a nutrient gets in; those done in animals are marked. This page quotes a figure only from a study that passes our screen: adults, graded A, of this food in this preparation, with a test dose on record and a source that has passed our evidence check. The exception is calcium on our calcium card: its figure comes from the card’s own study, checked with the card, and is marked “used” even where that study misses a step of this screen. The others are listed so nothing is hidden, each with the first check it fails.

No study of this food passes the screen yet, so no absorption figure is quoted.

StudyNutrientAbsorbedTest dosePeopleGradeOn this page
Fairweather-Tait 1989: calcium absorption from 136 mL skimmed milk, double-label stable isotope (30 mg 44Ca oral, 3 mg 42Ca intravenous)

skimmed milk (UK, not vitamin-fortified as sold in Canada) · skimmed milk, 44Ca added as extrinsic label, after an overnight fast

full text read

Calcium45.5 %150 mg5ANot used: it tested a different variety or form of the food.

Hazard rows as the dataset rates them

  • Cadmium · Nothing to watch: under the limit · A daily serving adds 0.21% to an average adult's cadmium intake (EFSA 2012 adult median, 1.77 µg/kg body weight/week; Canadian adults in 2007: 1.2-1.75), far from doubling it, so no cap. · Health Canada Total Diet Study, trace elements · A
  • Lead · Nothing to watch: doesn’t double average intake · No cap: no safe limit is set for lead, so no grams figure. A serving of skim milk carries 0.059 µg, which adds about 0.12% to the average adult's intake (an estimate, lower bound); far from doubling it. · Health Canada Total Diet Study, trace elements · A
  • Milk allergy · Worth knowing · Milk is a Health Canada priority allergen · Health Canada, priority allergens · A

Oxalate, phytate and gut-tolerance measurements

  • lactose: 5.09 g/100 g · fresh weight · fluid, nonfat (skim), with added vitamins A and D · grade B · US food database (USDA SR Legacy)
  • lactose: 4.06 g/100 g · fresh weight · fluid, skim, 0.1% M.F. · grade B · Canadian Nutrient File 2026

Sources

Body map 2026-10-25.1: each nutrient’s job comes from an agency fact sheet, linked beside it under Good for.

The plain words: “a lot” means one serving (100 g when the food has no serving size) gives at least 20% of the daily amount (the reference intake), “some” at least 10%, “a little” at least 2% (the cut-offs are ours, one set for every page: 20% and 10% are borrowed from the US labelling terms “high” and “good source” and applied to Health Canada’s daily amount, whereas Health Canada’s own shopper rule says 15%; provisional: they may change in a later method version). The daily amount is Health Canada’s Dietary Reference Intake for adults 19–30; where men and women need different amounts we use the higher one (protein: 56 g for men, 46 g for women). The percentage printed under each nutrient is the printed amount as a share of that daily amount, rounded to the nearest whole number, and the word is read from that percentage, so the amount, the percentage and the word always agree. Calcium with a measured absorption is scaled by how well it gets in compared with milk.

The scale: “Nothing to watch” means a serving a day stays under the limit at ordinary amounts; “Go easy” means a serving a day can push past the limit for adults who already take in the most, or fewer than 2 servings reach it; “Limit it” means once a week or less. The dataset’s own rating is under “How we got this”. Provisional: the scale may change in a later method version.

Measured absorption under Good for: grade-A studies in adults that tested this preparation of this food, as a share of the listed amount (the share digested, for protein), quoted once each source has passed our evidence check; animal studies and other variants stay in the table above. Provisional: this screen may change in a later method version.