Which Milk Is Good for Babies of One Year Plus?

Knowing what to type of milk to transition your babe onto can be a tricky choice. Equally parents, we ever want our little ones to be consuming the healthiest choice to permit for proper growth and development. However, we are hearing a lot about what the healthiest pick could really could hateful. Questions I hear that oftentimes come include:

Are humans meant to drink another animal's milk?
Practice we really need dairy in our nutrition?
What if my kid has an allergy or intolerance to milk?

These questions are all valid and worth discussing. While the answers to some of these (similar do we really need dairy in our nutrition), can be elaborated on in some other blog post, we know that traditionally, cow's milk has been the near nutritionally well-rounded option. Yet, for many parents the decision is non ever as piece of cake as that. Many families desire to provide their child with a milk alternative for diverse reasons, including allergies and intolerances, for cultural/religious reasons, because they are following vegan diets, or simply because their baby doesn't like it! In these cases, it becomes admittedly crucial for your piddling ones to accept a safe milk substitution. And then let's intermission downwards the unlike milk options and their benefits.

Breastmilk

Let'south start with the nuts. The World Health Organisation recommends continued breastfeeding until 2 years of historic period to help see nutrients needs for toddlers. If you've decided that you're going to keep to breastfeed subsequently 12 months… amazing! Keep that going and know that there is no need to introduce some other blazon of milk if your toddler is nursing about four times per mean solar day. The quantity normally consumed in 4 nursing sessions is plenty to run into their calcium needs and provides them with tailored diet. If your babe/toddler is breastfeeding any less than 4 times a day, so I would expect to see if they're getting one-ii servings of dairy products a day to embrace their calcium needs (see the section below on "practise nosotros even need milk?"). If they're not consuming dairy products (or not enough), I'd highly consider adding in some other milk at mealtimes to provide the additional nutrients or speak with a dietitian about supplementation.

Moo-cow'south Milk – The Traditional Choice

By 12 months of historic period, (and once your baby is successfully eating atomic number 26-rich foods at least twice a day and bold you've weaned off breastmilk), is when I start recommending introducing whole (3.25%) cow's milk to your babe going on toddler. This is because full fat cow'south milk is a nutritional powerhouse that contains high levels of fat, protein, Vitamin D, calcium, and Vitamin A. Moo-cow's milk has e'er been a readily bachelor and cost effective option, and ensures that babies get all the above mentioned nutrients in sufficient quantities throughout their day. Children up to two years of age need a high amount of fatty in their diets to help maintain healthy weight gain likewise as to absorb Vitamin D and A into the body. It'southward as well a great and like shooting fish in a barrel way to become enough calcium in the diet to back up salubrious teeth and bone growth, every bit well for muscle control.

Giving moo-cow's milk to a baby earlier 12 months of age is not recommended, equally it's such a dense concentration of poly peptide and minerals, which can be hard on your baby'south kidneys. Your baby's digestive system besides can't properly digest cow'southward milk protein that early, and because it doesn't contain enough atomic number 26, too much cow's milk can also put your baby at risk for iron deficiency. However, once your baby hits one year of age, they are well adapted to handle it only fine and tin incorporate as office of a balanced and nutritious diet. It's always skillful to beginning at a deadening footstep when introducing cow's milk. This fashion, you can allow your baby to accommodate to the influx of nutrients and proteins coming from cow's milk. After 2 years of age, y'all tin speak to your pediatrician or dietitian well-nigh offering reduced fat milk or milk alternatives regularly, if that'southward what you all regularly drink at home, nevertheless I personally call back the fat is important for all growing kids and isn't typically needed to reduce.

Organic, Grass Fed, Both?

Now, there may be a bit of a debate on whether to get with conventional, organic, or grass fed milk option for baby/toddler. Generally speaking, we want to avert antibiotics or growth hormones added into milk, and luckily, in Canada, nosotros take rules effectually this that ensure all dairy products produced (organic or not) are completely gratuitous of both of these nasties! If a cow happens to get sick and is required to be given antibiotics, her milk is removed from the supply system for a regulated menses of time. Organic ways that the cow's are fed organic (natural) feed, that they are by and large allowed greater outdoor grazing access. If the cow is sick, any milk the cow's produce while taking antibiotics is kept out of the milk supply for an even longer period of time than with conventional milk. In the U.S., the guidelines for antibiotics and growth hormones are non the same unfortunately, and then you will need to purchase organic dairy products to ensure your baby is not getting any antibiotics in their system.

In terms of grass fed products, I exercise recommend them if information technology fits into your budget and y'all take admission to them, as grass fed moo-cow's accept a superior diet quality which yields in a higher amount of a encephalon healthy fat chosen CLA (conjugated linoleic acrid) and too is higher in omega-3 fatty acids. Don't worry if you tin can't get your hands on it though! Regular Canadian dairy milk or organic milk is just fine!

Do we even need milk at all?

Brusk reply…no. Just is it a super convenient class of calories and nutrients for babes and toddlers with generally smaller appetites and choosy eating? Yes. Hither'due south the affair…at that place is no pressure to offer milk to your baby after 1 yr. Some toddlers don't like it, and others don't drinkable enough (when moved onto an open cup) to be able to consider it a pregnant enough nutrition source.

When yous look at the recommended servings of dairy per day for toddlers, it's actually only two servings/twenty-four hours. Assuming offer dairy products is ok for you, you lot can make that upwards those servings any which way you similar! Not simply through milk, just how nearly yogurt? or cheese? or kefir? Honestly, as long as your kid gets two servings of full fat dairy (in general) a day, they'll exist ok to more hands meet their calcium, poly peptide and fat needs a day.

If your toddler isn't eating dairy, then special considerations need to be made to get enough calcium in the diet. Protein and fat can usually be more than easily achieved than calcium (via other foods), but in that location is e'er a manner to brand to happen with a little help. My Feeding Toddlers course is a great resource to get a breakdown of high calcium, protein and fat foods (as well equally other food lists) that will help you identify how many of each type of nutrient are needed to make up food needs. Working closely with a dietitian in general is a good thought to have your toddler's diet assessed and get recommendations for supplements, if needed.

Comparing Cow'southward Milk to Other Milk Alternatives

As was mentioned above, babies upwards to 2 years of historic period need good sources of poly peptide, fat, vitamin D, and calcium. I've put together this tabular array comparing the major nutrients institute in moo-cow's milk versus the most mutual milk culling (all unflavoured).

• Cows Milk = Natrel 3.25%
• Almond Beverage = Blue Diamond Unsweetened Original
• Kokosnoot milk = Silk Unsweetened Original
• Hemp Beverage = Hemp Yeah Unsweetened Original
• Soy Beverage = Silk Unsweetened Original
• Goat Milk = Liberte iii.25%
• Rice Beverage = Natura Unsweetened Original
• Cashew Beverage = Silk Unsweetened original
• Oat Potable= World's Ain Unsweetened Original
• Ripple Milk = Ripple Foods Unsweetened Original

If you compare the nutrient profiles of the nearly common milk substitutions to regular cow's milk, you volition the at that place are many variations in what each has to offer. Let's take a closer wait:

Almond Drink

Almond potable is one of the virtually commonly substituted milk alternatives for babies and children who can't have cow's milk. It's a tasty option that works well in many recipes as well equally when consumed on information technology's own. Although almond milk is close in nutrient content to cow'due south milk, it is still not close enough to meet a baby's needs! Protein levels in almond milk are significantly lower than in a serving of moo-cow'southward milk and the fat content also isn't at that place to support the absorption of vitamin D or provide healthy calories. With almond milk, there isn't unremarkably a concern about the levels of calcium and vitamin D equally about companies volition oftentimes fortify their products with these important nutrients. So all in all…think of almond milk as a liquid calcium supplement! You will demand to make sure you are offer enough protein and fat via other foods in the diet to make up for what's non being received through milk.

Coconut Beverage

Kokosnoot beverage is a great selection in that it provides lots of salubrious fatty which your child needs, especially up to historic period 2. Choosing a canned kokosnoot milk free of BPA in the canned lining is superior to the cartoned coconut milk, as this is watered downwards and contains less fat per serving. However, notation that kokosnoot drinkable contains virtually no poly peptide per serving, just calcium and B12 are comparable with cows milk. There is very fiddling Vitamin D, but can be offered through a Vitamin D supplement. My recommendation is to remember of coconut milk as just a loftier fat food.

Hemp Drink

Hemp beverage looks pretty good when information technology comes to the amount of fat and protein it provides. Information technology's especially unique in that information technology contains a good source of omega-3 fat acids, which are important for encephalon evolution in immature babes. Unfortunately, information technology however has it's cons, in that it's largely lacking Vitamin D, calcium and Vitamin B12. So ensuring you provide your toddler with a bit extra Vitamin D supplementation, as well equally either a calcium supplement or multiple foods high calcium and B12 a few times a day is recommended.

Soy Beverage

The milk alternative that is closest to cow's milk of course, is soy milk. There are many pro'due south to this milk – high protein, moderate fat, a good amount of vitamin D and vitamin B12. However, the main upshot I take with soy milk is that soy contains phytoestrogens, which mimic estrogen in the body. Although studies are non entirely conclusive as to whether or not these phytoestrogen significantly affect our hormone levels in our bodies, I would avoid drinking soy milk daily as the primary source of liquid nutrition. Soy milk can definitely be used in conjunction with some other blazon of milk if your babe can't tolerate cow's milk, I but wouldn't offer information technology equally a main beverage. Some other quick note – often times if it's cow'south milk protein your baby is allergic to, at that place can be high cross-reactivity to the protein in soy milk also, then be careful most that when trying it out initially. Nigh one-half of all children with a cow'south milk allergy may likewise be allergic to soy protein!

Goat Milk

Goat milk is a wonderfully close match to moo-cow's milk's nutritional profile. However, if the reason you aren't feeding your kid moo-cow'due south milk is because you would like to avoid animal products, and then this obviously doesn't solve the problem. In addition, be conscientious if your child has an allergy or intolerance to cow'south milk. Fifty-fifty though cows and goats are different animals, there is a high take chances the torso volition mistake the two protein structures and therefore about xc% of those with a cow'south milk allergy too cannot drink goat'due south milk. Otherwise, this is definitely the fashion to go for a milk alternative that's an like shooting fish in a barrel substitution!

Rice Beverage

Rice drink has essentially non-existent levels of protein. Furthermore, rice is known to contain loftier levels of inorganic arsenic, which is listed as the Earth Health Organization's 10 chemicals of major public business concern. For this reason alone, I would never recommend using a rice cereal for your baby on a daily basis, and because of the lack of nutrients it contains, it should besides not be used as a main source of drinkable diet.

Ripple Milk

Every bit you may have noticed, in that location is a milk exchange on the chart above that matches or surpasses cow's milk's nutritional benefits: Ripple milk. Ripple milk is a 100% plant based milk that is derived from pea protein. It is depression in carbohydrate, high in protein and contains more calcium than moo-cow's milk. I highly recommend this production if you lot are choosing an alternative to cow's milk – Simply – but if you are living in the United States! Unfortunately in Canada, regulations don't allow for the same fortification in non-dairy alternatives, meaning that it's non fortified in Vitamin D and calcium. However, information technology's still a great depression sugar and a good source of protein and fatty, so as long as you lot supplement the Vitamin D in your babe/toddler's diet and focus on calcium via other means, it tin can work great!

Then, What'south My Suggestion?

If and when choosing a milk exchange for your baby, it is best to consider whether or not you lot can brand upward for the missing nutrients via diet. Consider the following:

Is my baby a good eater? Is he or she very picky? Does she need extra calories via fat in milk?
Can I offer supplementing foods with the missing nutrients consistently?
What is realistic for my family'south lifestyle?

Some parents may accept an easier time with choosing a substitution that doesn't take equally much, for instance, protein, fat or Vitamin D as cow'due south milk, since these are normally plant in other foods like high fat cheeses and yogurts, meat, fatty fish and/or vegetarian protein options. Providing your child with these options daily will help them get the levels of nutrients that are necessary for proper growth and development. Still, I should say this: information technology is often easier said than washed! It can exist hard to make sure you are being consistent in giving your child enough of these foods (and that they will actually swallow them)… and these are non nutrients you want to be skimping on! And so I caution you lot to exist very deliberate well-nigh feeding your kid these options if they aren't getting moo-cow's milk. Supplements tin be used to help in these situations where getting nutrition through nutrient isn't an option.

If you're not sure if you lot'll be able to successfully and consistently accomplish this, my suggestion is simple – keep your baby on formula or breastmilk until up to ii years. If the baby is already on formula/breastmilk, they will be likely tolerating information technology well and are receiving the appropriate amount of nutrients they need. Then, at two years of age when information technology'southward less disquisitional, you tin switch your kid to your milk substitution of choice, keeping in listen the importance of continuing to make sure you supplement your child with an adequate corporeality of these nutrients via food. *A reminder that breastfeeding less than 4 times per day may crave calcium supplementation.

One more affair – all toddler should be on a Vitamin D supplement no matter what blazon of milk they are drinking, including breastmilk (although if drinking cow's milk, they will crave less supplementation). We talk all about this, along with all your toddler's nutrition needs in my Feeding Toddlers online form. Check it out and get on your way to raising a healthy and nutrient loving toddler!

wenzelmagireer.blogspot.com

Source: https://mylittleeater.com/besttypeofmilk/

Share this post