Don children need to drink milk?
Vegetarian Society of El Paso, healthy children imageNo. In children less than one year of age, cow’s milk may cause intestinal bleeding and promote anemia. It may also cause colic, even when consumed by a mother who is nursing her infant. Cow’s milk is very different from human milk, being lower in iron, vitamin E, and essential fatty acids and too high in sodium, potassium, and protein. The Committee on Nutrition of the American Academy of Pediatrics has therefore recommended that cow’s milk not be given to infants under one year of age. Does cow’s milk suddenly become healthy, then, for children over age one? No. Although controversial, milk consumption by children may increase the risk of juvenile diabetes. In adults, it has been linked in some studies with ovarian cancer and with lymphoma. And the saturated fat in milk can raise blood cholesterol levels. Children who do not drink milk, however, should consume at least four or five servings of calcium-rich foods every day.
No. In children less than one year of age, cow’s milk may cause intestinal bleeding and promote anemia. It may also cause colic, even when consumed by a mother who is nursing her infant. Cow’s milk is very different from human milk, being lower in iron, vitamin E, and essential fatty acids and too high in sodium, potassium, and protein. The Committee on Nutrition of the American Academy of Pediatrics has therefore recommended that cow’s milk not be given to infants under one year of age. Does cow’s milk suddenly become healthy, then, for children over age one? No. Although controversial, milk consumption by children may increase the risk of juvenile diabetes. In adults, it has been linked in some studies with lymphoma, with prostate cancer, and with ovarian cancer. Also, the saturated fat in milk can raise blood cholesterol levels. Children who do not drink milk, however, should consume at least five servings of calcium-rich foods every day.
