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Does Your Child Need Milk?

February 7, 2008

Growing up in America, we are lead to believe that milk, notably cows milk, is a critical part of a healthy child’s diet. We have all seen the advertisements with celebrities with a milk mustache, and milk and cookies is an American as …you know… but do kids really need milk?

Cow’s milk provides your child with three critical ingredients: fat, calcium and vitamin D. It also provides them with a potential milk-protein allergy, microscopic gastritis or lactose intolerance. So are other sources of fat, calcium and Vitamin D worth trying too?

FAT: Fat is critical to a child’s early brain growth up until age 3. Fat from whole milk (4%) is a wonderful source of high quality fat, but so is avocado, nut oils, and non-mammalian milk products such as rice milk, oat milk or almond milk. Even substituting yogurt, cheese and butter,although made with milk, are easier to digest for most babies than bottles of whole milk.

CALCIUM: Calcium-fortified juices, notably orange juice, provide a readily absorbable source of calcium. Most experts believe that a child needs 1000 milligrams of calcium per day. So orange juice, which usually provides approximately 350 milligrams of calcium per 8 ounces, is close to the same amount of calcium in 8 ounces of whole milk. Other options include Calcium-fortified soy cheese, and yogurt.

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Source: Dietary Reference Intakes for Calcium, National Academy of Sciences, 1997

VITAMIN D: Vitamin D is an important vitamin: it supports bone growth,enhances calcium absorption and helps to prevent certain immune-mediated diseases such as autoimmune problems and some cancers.

The Current recommendation is 200 International units ( IU) for children although most experts would agree that this number is too low, and a goal for children should be closer to 800 IU per day.

Again, although milk is fortified with Vitamin D, there are many alternatives to fortified milk as a source for Vitamin D- including cheese and yogurt. And Sunlight is also helpful.

What is the difference between lactose intolerance and a milk allergy?

Lactose intolerance is a deficiency in the enzyme ( lactase) that is made in your intestinal tract and is required to break down lactose that you ingest. If you are deficient in this enzyme your intestinal tract struggles to break down and process the milk sugars. This condition is not dangerous, just unpleasant, and most people, even children, will learn to avoid the foods that cause the discomfort- the bloating, the cramping, the reactive diarrhea. For these children, their body is intolerant to milk, but not allergic.

Food Allergy is not equivalent to a food Intolerance. An intolerance is not immune mediated- in other words, it does not cause your body to generate an immune reaction to the food- or antibodies against a food. And, importantly, it does not lead to anaphylaxis ( allergic shock reaction)or require that you completely avoid the food altogether. An intolerance means that you will feel better if you avoid the food, your belly will be less bloated, your stool less erratic, you energy level better- but you are not going to end up in the ER if you eat the food by accident.

In fact, this topic is the topic of a whole book I am writing on children’s integrative health and nutrition- so email me any questions you might have!

Dr. Natalie Geary

Posted by NatalieGeary | Filed Under Nutrition 

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