Why is milk important in a child’s diet?

April 25 05:25 2021 by admin Print This Article

Folk wisdom in India has always encouraged the daily drinking of milk, at any age. However, in recent years, an increasing number of adults are rejecting the health benefits of milk, citing various research studies. While adults can still do away with drinking milk, denying milk to a growing child is a recipe for disaster (unless the child is lactose intolerant). Milk offers various health benefits and is indispensable to the health, growth and nutrition of an infant, a child or a teenager. Doctors and research both corroborate this opinion. Once a child is weaned away from the mother’s milk, a significant part of his/her diet must be milk.

But why is dairy milk (cow or buffalo’s milk) so beneficial? What is so special about cow’s milk that one cannot get the same nutrition from other sources? The answer is simple. Nature has picked and chosen various ingredients of a healthy diet and packed them all in one food. So this way, you don’t have to consume a variety of foods to get the same combination of nutrients. In fact, milk is 87 percent water and just 13 percent solids. But these solids pack a punch.

One cup of whole milk contains:

• Water: 88%
• Calories: 149
• Carbohydrates: 11.7 grams
• Protein: 7.7 grams
• Sugar: 12.3 grams
• Fat: 8 grams
• Fibre: 0 grams

This means, cow’s milk is a complete meal in itself. It’s quite common for farmers and the labour class in North-India to drink a glass of milk for breakfast and head out to work. For children, this combination of nutrients is indispensable for good health, normal growth and prevention of various ailments such as rickets.

So what are these ingredients and how do they nourish a child?

• Protein: The protein found in milk is of 2 types: 80 percent is insoluble milk-protein called casein and 20 percent is soluble ones called whey-protein. Both the types are rich in essential amino-acids and are easy to digest. While casein helps in absorption of calcium and phosphorus from the food consumed, whey-protein help in building muscle or sustaining lean-muscle.
• Calcium: As everyone is aware, calcium is required for good bone and teeth health at any age. It reduces the risk of fractures and osteoporosis later in life. Children who do not drink cow’s milk and also do not make up for this by calcium from other sources are at increased risk of bone fractures in childhood and adolescence. According to various sources, young children should consume 800 milligrams (mg) of calcium per day, adolescents – 1300 mg, adults – 1000 mg and adults over 51 years of age – 1200 mg. It is difficult to meet this target unless milk is a part of the daily diet.

• Phosphorus: Together with calcium and vitamin D, phosphorus is required for good bone health. It helps the body make protein and regulates how fats and carbohydrates are utilized.
• Potassium: This regulates fluid balance, muscle contraction and blood pressure in the body. Potassium deficiency can cause muscle cramps, fatigue and fluctuations in blood pressure. It also helps prevent water retention, kidney stones and stroke.
• Magnesium: This plays a role in generating energy and maintaining a regular heartbeat. It regulates nerve function, muscle function and blood-sugar levels. It is required for good bone health and a healthy immune system.
• Vitamin A: This protects your eyes from night blindness and age-related decline, may lower your risk of certain cancers, supports a healthy immune system, reduces the risk of acne, supports bone health and promotes healthy growth and reproduction.
• Vitamin D: The sunshine vitamin helps the body absorb calcium from the food we consume and maintaining phosphorus levels in the blood. It also helps fight inflammation and improve overall immunity.
• Vitamin B12: This helps the body make DNA, prevents anaemia and keeps the nervous and vascular systems healthy.
• Vitamin B2 or Riboflavin: This converts the carbohydrates from the food we consume into ATP that produces energy required by the body.
• Vitamin B3 or Niacin: Like Riboflavin, Niacin also helps convert carbohydrates into energy. It also metabolizes fats and proteins, improves circulation, nervous-system function and cholesterol levels.
• Vitamin B5 or Pantothenic acid: This helps convert carbohydrates, fats and proteins into energy, and makes red blood cells.

A word of caution

Despite the health benefits of milk, do not overdo it. Excessive milk consumption can interfere with iron absorption and make your child anaemic. Also, the fat from milk can make your child obese and childhood obesity opens a Pandora’s Box of health issues in adulthood. Switch to low-fat dairy milk and restrict the quantity to 1 or 2 glasses per day.

Conclusion

It’s interesting how much of the religious rituals and traditional sweets in India are all based on milk. This is because the health-benefits of cow’s milk are eternal and no amount of research can deny that. Further, till 50 years ago, milk was procured from small-time dairy farmers and mass commercialization of dairy was absent. Such organic milk from grass-fed cows was rich in beneficial fatty-acids and devoid of pesticides, urea, preservatives, toxins, hormones, antibiotics, GMOs and fertilizers, traces of which can be found in branded milks of today.

So, as far as possible, try to purchase organic milk from local dairy farmers. You can garnish the milk with healthy foods like seeds and nuts, wheat, rice or lentil flour, or make sweet dishes based on milk. Adults anyway consume milk this way.

But for children, drinking 2 glasses of milk up to a certain age, and then 1 glass of milk thereafter should be a mandatory part of their diet. Do not compromise on this or give in to your child’s tantrums. You can flavour the milk in healthy ways. He/she will enjoy the milk, and you will have the satisfaction of watching your child grow up into a healthy adult.

Kauvery Hospital is globally known for its multidisciplinary services at all its Centers of Excellence, and for its comprehensive, Avant-Grade technology, especially in diagnostics and remedial care in heart diseases, transplantation, vascular and neurosciences medicine. Located in the heart of Trichy (Tennur, Royal Road and Alexandria Road (Cantonment), Chennai, Hosur, Salem, Tirunelveli and Bengaluru, the hospital also renders adult and pediatric trauma care.

Chennai – 044 4000 6000 • Trichy – Cantonment – 0431 4077777 • Trichy – Heartcity – 0431 4003500 • Trichy – Tennur – 0431 4022555 • Hosur – 04344 272727 • Salem – 0427 2677777 • Tirunelveli – 0462 4006000 • Bengaluru – 080 6801 6801