Milk or Half-and-Half? Here's How Their Nutrition Facts Compare

If you like drinking your coffee with cream, you're likely familiar with half-and-half. Half-and-half is an emulsified product made of half whole milk and half cream. That means it's fattier than any type of milk, with a fat content that typically ranges between 10.5 and 18 percent.

So how do you know if you should choose milk or half-and-half? Take a look at the nutrition facts of both to make an informed decision.

According to the USDA, every ounce of standard half-and-half has:

• 37 calories
• 3.1 grams of fat
• 1 gram of protein
• 1.4 grams of carbohydrates

Half-and-half's fat content is primarily saturated fat. Each ounce has 2.1 grams.

If you used the same one-ounce splash of whole milk in your coffee instead, you'd get the following, per the USDA:

• 19 calories
• 1 gram of fat
• 1 gram of protein
• 1.5 grams of carbohydrates

A little more than half of whole milk's fat content is saturated fat, at 0.6 grams.

Half-and-half is half whole milk and half cream, but this cream can be heavy cream (36 percent or more fat) or light cream (18 to 30 percent fat). This means the amount of fat in your half-and-half can vary substantially. In addition, you can also find two other types of half-and-half: low-fat half-and-half and fat-free half-and-half.

Despite its name, fat-free half-and-half still has fat: About 0.4 grams of fat per fluid ounce. Unlike other half-and-half products made up of whole milk and cream, this type of half-and-half is composed of nonfat milk that has been thickened with various additives, like corn syrup. This results in a high-carbohydrate product that also contains more sodium than other milk or half-and-half products.

Low-fat half-and-half is made from milk and cream like most other half-and-half products. It has about a half to a third of the fat content compared to standard half-and-half products.

Otherwise, low-fat half-and-half has similar nutrition to standard half-and-half.

Half-and-half products have more fat than skim milk and 1 percent milk. However, nonfat half-and-half has less fat and less saturated fat than 2 percent milk and whole milk. Whole milk is the fattiest type of milk, but both low-fat and standard half-and-half products can have more fat (including saturated fat) than milk.

The three macronutrients in every food are fat, protein and carbohydrates. As you can see above, the protein and carbohydrate contents of milk or half-and-half are quite similar. The biggest difference between the two comes down to fat content.

Adults should aim for about 3 cups of dairy a day, to help ensure you're getting plenty of bone-protecting calcium, per the USDA.

If you're just using a splash of half-and-half or milk in your coffee, you probably don't expect it to contribute too much to your calcium goals, but every little bit counts.

In an ounce of whole milk, you'll get slightly more calcium, at 34.5 milligrams and 3 percent of your Daily Value (DV). In the same amount of half-and-half, you'll get 32.3 milligrams, or 2 percent of your DV.

You'll get similar amounts of potassium, zinc and magnesium. But keep your serving size in mind: You're probably only using a small amount of half-and-half, whereas you might take in more milk throughout your day, such as in your breakfast cereal or oatmeal or even by the glass.

Whole milk is generally healthier than half-and-half. That said, nutrition experts generally recommend consuming low-fat and nonfat dairy products when possible.

These have less saturated fat, which is a smart move for your heart health. So while whole milk is healthier than standard half-and-half, low-fat or fat-free half-and-half could be your best bet (if you're not open to low-fat or skim milk, that is).

Just be aware that some nonfat half-and-half products may have added sugars, including corn syrup, which is also linked to a higher risk of heart disease, per a 2015 study in the ‌American Journal of Clinical Nutrition‌.

Given the volume of nutrients in milk, it's probably best to use nonfat or lower-fat milk products when possible to minimize saturated fat intake. However, whole milk has no unhealthy additives and still contains an acceptable amount of saturated fat —as long as you're not consuming multiple cups of whole milk a day.