What Is The Healthiest Milk For Children?

Milk has always been considered a highly nutritious food, something that people should definitely include in their diet. But we’ve all wondered at some point: what’s the healthiest milk for kids?

During the first months of a baby’s life, nothing is better for him or her than breast milk. However, as babies grow, parents should seek additional food alternatives to promote their baby’s growth and development.

There are many different types of milk on the market. Talk to your doctor to find out which milk is best for your child or baby. You should consider several varieties to ensure ideal health for your child. Many dairy products for children contain, for example essential nutrients like calcium and vitamin D. However, every product is different.

What is the healthiest milk for children: whole, semi-skimmed or skimmed milk?

Choosing the healthiest milk for children was a lot easier four decades ago. It was normal for babies to switch directly from breast milk to whole milk. The only difference was in the form of the milk: either in powder form or in liquid form.

However, thanks to new production methods in recent years, manufacturers can now produce low-fat skimmed milk especially for children.

Is Whole Milk Better for Kids?

Adults are different from children. When drinking whole milk, children get more vitamin D, without experiencing too many negative effects from the high fat content of this classic product.

Babies or children with lactose intolerance cannot drink regular milk.

Whole milk contains more nutrients

Whole milk is slightly less processed. Therefore, the milk contains many nutrients. Cow’s milk contains a lot of:

• calcium 
• egg white 
• vitamin D
• vitamin B12

All these nutrients promote good nutritional status in children and infants. Sufficient vitamin D is very important, because it further contributes to good calcium absorption. This is beneficial for the development of the child.

Should you opt for semi-skimmed milk?

Parents of overweight children should opt for semi-skimmed milk. This allows them to enjoy all the benefits of milk without gaining weight. In these cases, the main goal is to feed the child while helping your child to keep their weight stable. Because they are still growing in length, the ratio between length and weight will return to a good ratio.

Among these semi-skimmed milk options, you should opt for varieties that are high in vitamins and minerals with no added sugars. So be sure to look at the nutritional value table on the labels and choose the best variant.

In all these cases semi-skimmed milk is recommended. This type of milk contains only 1.8% fat and still contains the essential nutrients that children need.

Skimmed milk is for adults

Skimmed milk is especially recommended for adults who want to lose weight or maintain a healthy diet.

You should never put children on a strict diet to lose weight. It is necessary for children to include high quality food in their diet. If you are severely obese, your doctor can refer you to a dietitian. They can prepare a suitable diet plan for the child.

On the other hand, skim milk has a lighter taste and sometimes small children and babies may appreciate this milk more. That makes it easy to include this drink in their diet. However, it is not recommended to choose skim milk for children under 1 year old.

Other Foods Rich in Calcium

There are also other foods with a high calcium content:

• orange juice
• Spinach
• rice
• nuts
• fish
• Eggs
• etc

There is one food in particular that children love that also contains this mineral: chocolate. Other dairy products such as cheese and yogurt also contain calcium, of course.

In short, it is important to maintain a balanced diet and include healthy food in your children’s eating habits.

Milk is very important for the growth of your child. Choosing the healthiest milk for children is an important decision that all parents should make based on the advice of their pediatrician.