We know milk is a great beverage, an ideal vehicle for probiotics, and that its components have a myriad of uses, but who would have thought that ordinary whole milk could help with CAT scans?

At a conference of radiologists in Chicago last month, research was presented showing that milk does just as good a job as a contrasting agent as the standard drink provided by medical supply companies. And it does so at a fraction of the cost.

Lisa Shah-Patel, a resident in radiology at St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital in New York, reported that not only is there little difference between milk and the standard agent, VoLumen, but patients appear to prefer milk over chalky-tasting agents. There also may be fewer adverse events with milk. VoLumen costs about $18 a dose.