No Bones about Nutrition and Safety
How does milk compare to other things you might drink?
Each day we have a lot of beverages to choose from. But when you consider the nutritional package that only milk offers, we think you'll agree it should be a part of your daily drink lineup. See for yourself with this head-to-head comparison of popular drinks and fat free skim milk.
 
Nutrients
Fat free skim Milk
Orange Juice
Bottled Water
Diet Soda
Sports Drink
Bottled Iced Tea
Cost per gallon $2.15 $5.22 $4.37 $6.19 $5.33 $8.43
Cost per 8 oz. serving $0.13 $0.33 $0.21 $0.38 $0.34 $0.52
Calories
80
120
0
1
50
110
Fat 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0%
Carbohydrates 4% 9% 0% <1% 6% 9%
Protein
16%
4%
0%
0%
0%
0%
Calcium
30%
2%
2%
0%
0%
 0%
Potassium
11%
12%
<1%
<1%
<1%
 1%
Magnesium
8%
<1%
1%
0%
0%
0%
Sodium
6%
0%
<1%
<1%
5%
<1%
Vitamin A
25%
<1%
0%
0%
0%
0%
Vitamin C 4% 130% 0% 0% 0% 0%
Vitamin D 25% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0%
Phosphorous 20% 0% 0% 2% 2% 0%
* Prices used are the average price at three major grocery stores in Jackson, Michigan on July 2, 1998.  Some brand names used in the nutritional source information were unavailable and similar or store brands were substituted.  The standard unit sizes were used for pricing: Milk--gallon, Orange juice--½ gallon, water--20-22 oz., soda--20 oz., sports drink--32 oz., and iced tea--16 oz.  If additional cost details are desired, contact: bivens@msue.msu.edu 
*These statistics are based on a 1 cup serving of each beverage. 
*Fat free skim Milk fortified with Vitamin D 
*Source: Tropicana Pure Premium Original Orange Juice, Evian Natural Spring Water, Diet Coke, Gatorade, and Snapple Lemon Flavored Iced Tea. 
*All percentages reflect daily values (DV) based on a 2000 calorie diet.