I still breastfeed my son at 15 months - only 2 times a day. He eats really well and loves yogurt over all things so I think he's getting a lot of calcium. I have heard so many different things about cow's milk - good and bad. Do I need to start giving him cow's milk daily? or is it not necessary at all as some say? Confused about this. I drink milk sometimes but only as an addition to coffee for example- otherwise drink soymilk. I do not think I am lactose intolerant but notice I breathe better and digest better by eating less dairy in general.
L.:
lots of info online about cows milk... but NO human beings do not NEED to drink cows milk.. they need liquids for hydration and food for nutrition.
P., RLC, IBCLC
Breastfeeding and Parenting Solutions
We are the only mammal that drinks the milk of another. It's not natural. We are the only mammal that continues to drink milk after weaning, also not natural. I agree with the other posts, switch to something else. Rice milk that is fortified is just as good. Don't use the vanilla (too much sugar).
Dairy is also mucus forming. It causes problems with sinuses, asthma and skin. Stay away if you can. Be careful about soy or rice cheeses. Most have casien in the them which is a milk protein. Defeats the purpose of staying away from dairy.
There is a soy cheese without it. You can find it at Whole Foods. Can't think of the name of it.
You should begin giving your baby whole cows milk at age 1. If you are concerned about hormones, there are brands you can purchase at the grocery store that are hormone-free, such as Oberweis. If you have dairy concerns, discuss them with your ped. He or she will have the best advice to insure you are giving your baby the appropriate levels of milk and dairy to supplement his current diet.
The issue with cows milk is that is has a lot of unnatural
hormones and is causes alot of mucus build up. Calcuim is important and you can get it in your food. Becareful of to much Soy Milk do to the building up of Estrogen levels this as been shown in the studies to increase chances of some types of cancer. Consider looking into Rice Milk which tastes like Skim milk or Almond Milk. Or if you are convinced to use Milk get organic. I applaud you for getting more information and educationg yourself.
Also watch foods that are high in Red dies #40 Blue and yellow dies in your children foods.
Blessings
Maca Marge
A lot of kiddos are actually allergic or intolerant to cow's milk (although pediatricians push for it). Our daughter always had eczema and we had no idea why until we had her tested due to an allergic reaction to accidental ingestion of something tainted with peanuts at her daycare. She was allergic to milk (caused the eczema), eggs, fish, and peanuts. She is 20 months, we have her on Rice Milk (she very very much disliked Soy), soy yogurt, rice cheese and most other dairy free alernatives. She gets a lot of calcium from other sources and we use natural fats like olive oil when we cook veggies. She is thriving ;) Don't worry about pushing the milk...
It all depends on whose website you go to and what their agenda is. How much time do you have to dedicate to this 'battle' and how worked up do you want to get over it?
Most pediatricians recommend whole milk because of the fat content and calcium. If you find that milk is not an appropriate choice for your family, it certainly isn't difficult to find foods that would have fat for brain development and calcium for strong bones.
I had this issue too - my girl refused to drink cow milk - she said it wasn't milk, until about 6-8 months ago - she is 32 months. We are still breastfeeding - once a day, but I think that had to do with why she didn't want it. On top of the fact that we don't really need cow milk, what we need is the calcium and fat from dairy products - and there are obviously other ways to get that. Yogurt is excellent. Don't worry about the milk unless you want him to drink it and he wants to as well!
Like Patricia said, humans do not NEED cows milk. It was intended, like most species, that once our young are weaned from our milk, they don't drink it anymore. We are capable of getting the same vitamins and nutrition from other sources of food in our diet.
There are tons of things we do that are not "natural" and there are tons of "natural" things that are not good for us. So "natural" is not synonymous with best. That being said, the main things that a child gets from milk - whole milk, are nutrients, calcium and often vitamin d. They can get that other ways too. So if your child likes milk, great. If he or she doesn't you can usually get those items through yoghurt and cheese and maybe a supplement. I do give my little one organic whole milk with omega-3 added to it as she drinks tons of it. She is almost 2. If your child doesn't like milk you may need to keep an eye out for products that vitamin D enriched as a lot of children these days are becoming deficient in vitamin D and are actually developing symptoms of rickets. Good Luck.
