Difficulty: Easy
Correct Answer: Vitamin C
Explanation:
Introduction / Context:
Milk is often described as a nearly complete food because it provides several important nutrients such as proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals in good amounts. However, no single food is perfect, and milk too has its nutritional limitations. Understanding which nutrients are abundant in milk and which are present only in small quantities is important for planning a balanced diet. This question asks you to identify the vitamin that milk supplies poorly compared with other nutrients listed in the options.
Given Data / Assumptions:
Concept / Approach:
Milk provides good amounts of calcium, which is essential for bones and teeth, and it is one of the main calcium sources in many diets. Milk also contains significant amounts of protein, especially casein and whey proteins, making it valuable for growth and tissue repair. Lactose is the principal carbohydrate in milk, providing energy. However, milk is relatively poor in vitamin C compared with fruits and many vegetables. Vitamin C is a water soluble vitamin that is easily destroyed by heat and light, and milk does not supply enough of it to meet daily requirements. As a result, dietary guidelines often recommend combining milk with vitamin C rich foods such as citrus fruits as part of a balanced meal.
Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Evaluate the nutrient content of milk for each option. Milk is well known for its high calcium content, which supports bone health.
Step 2: Recognise that milk is also a good source of high quality protein, containing all essential amino acids needed by the body.
Step 3: Note that lactose, the natural sugar in milk, is a carbohydrate, so milk does provide carbohydrates for energy.
Step 4: Compare this with vitamin C content. Milk contains only small amounts of vitamin C, which are further reduced by processing and storage.
Step 5: Conclude that among the options, vitamin C is the nutrient for which milk is considered a poor natural source, making option a the correct answer.
Verification / Alternative check:
Nutrition tables for common foods show that 100 millilitres of milk provides significant amounts of calcium and protein but only a small fraction of the daily recommended intake of vitamin C. In contrast, fruits such as oranges, lemons and guavas provide far higher levels of vitamin C. Nutrition textbooks and exam oriented science books often explicitly state that milk is a poor source of vitamin C and iron. They also emphasise that a diet based mainly on milk, without fruits and vegetables, can lead to vitamin C deficiency. These references confirm that vitamin C is the correct choice in this question, while calcium, protein and carbohydrate are supplied reasonably well by milk.
Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Option b, calcium, is incorrect because milk is actually praised as an excellent source of calcium, especially for children and adolescents.
Option c, protein, is wrong because milk contains high quality proteins and is widely used as a protein rich food in many cultures.
Option d, carbohydrate, is also incorrect, as lactose in milk provides a significant amount of carbohydrate energy per serving.
Common Pitfalls:
A common mistake is to focus on what milk does not contain at all, such as plant fibre, instead of comparing the specific options given. Another pitfall is to assume that because milk is a liquid and often associated with bones and calcium, it might not be rich in protein or carbohydrates, which is not true. To answer correctly, learners should recall the standard nutrition fact that milk is a poor source of vitamin C and iron, while it is rich in calcium, protein and lactose. Linking this fact with the options makes it easy to select vitamin C as the correct answer.
Final Answer:
Among the listed nutrients, milk is a poor source of Vitamin C.
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