Why Milk is important for your Child?
Milk is always considered an important drink for children because of its nutritional value and its role in growth and development of baby. As we all know calcium is required for healthy bones and teeth, so among various dairy products like cheese, yoghurt, etc., milk is considered to be rich source of calcium. If we talk about protein source, so those not having protein in form of eggs and meat, milk is a good alternative for protein source.
Benefits of milk: –
- Important and rich source of calcium
- Source of protein
- Stimulates bone and teeth growth
- Boosting of cognitive performance
- Considered to be complete food
- Vit A (boost immune system)
- Vitamin B2 (provides energy)
- Vitamin B3 (provides energy)
- Phosphorus (supports bone structure)
- Vit D (support bone health and heart health)
It has been found that beside role in growth of bones and teeth, milk prevents from getting other medical problems also like ovarian cancer, kidney stone, insulin resistance syndrome, breast cancer, colon cancer, hypertension etc.
Many studies have been conducted on the role of milk in growth and found that those children consuming milk on daily basis were found to be taller by cms as compare to those not drinking milk. Cow’s milk is natural source of insulin like growth factors and growth hormones which are suspected to play role in growth.
Milk and intelligence:-
It is considered that milk makes child smarter. Though it stands same as study conducted showed there is improvement in short term memory among children drinking milk which could be due to growth factors in milk which along with linear growth of body also helps in growing brain.
Avoid cow milk for children less than 12 months of age:- according to American Academy of Pediatrics, babies up to 12months of age should be served only breast milk not cow’s milk as it is hard to digest cow milk proteins and baby even misses certain essential fatty acids available in breast milk. Some babies have lactose intolerance so they may develop gastric issues also like loose stool etc.
Which milk?
In market there are usually two types of milk: skimmed milk (without fat) and full fat milk. So if your baby is 2yrs or lesser, prefer whole milk which is not reduced in terms of fat because high level of fat is required in proper development of brain. If your child is 2yrs or more and if having any family history of diabetes, hypertension and he is overweight, so better avoid full fat milk and prefer skimmed milk.
What if your child develops intolerance to cow’s milk?
There are non-dairy options available in milk also like plant derived like soy milk, coconut milk, pea milk, almond milk etc. these products are sometimes fortified with vitamins and minerals which could be beneficial for growth at Cuddles child clinic sector 57, child specialist in gurgaon.
