Goat milk, horse milk, soy milk: plenty of choice!
Goat milk, sheep milk, horse milk, donkey milk, soy milk, rice milk and even camel milk. You don’t have to be surprised anymore when you find these types of milk in the store. Many of these types are recommended as an alternative to cow’s milk in the case of cow’s milk allergy. But is that a good idea?
Gone are the days when supermarket shelves were almost exclusively filled with cow’s milk. Which different milk varieties can you get these days and why do you choose a particular kind?
Cow’s milk allergy
Cow’s milk allergy is a food allergy that is relatively common in infants and children. It is estimated that 2 to 3 percent of them suffer from complaints associated with cow’s milk allergy, such as skin complaints, stomach and intestinal complaints and respiratory complaints. The immune system of these children reacts to specific proteins in cow’s milk. All other milks would have none or less of these specific proteins.
camel milk
Camel milk is an interesting type of milk. The United Nations World Food Organization, FAO, has called for an increase in production. Not only for economic reasons, but also because of the health benefits.
Scientific research is currently being conducted into these health benefits. Due to the lack of the cow’s milk protein that causes allergic reactions, it is quite possible that camel milk is an excellent alternative to cow’s milk in case of cow’s milk allergy. But research is also being conducted into possible benefits of camel milk in, for example, intestinal complaints and diabetes.
Lactose intolerance
Soy milk and rice milk are also recommended as an alternative to animal milks lactose intolerance. Lactose intolerance occurs in people who have difficulty digesting milk sugar (lactose) because they lack the enzyme lactase, which plays a role in the digestion of lactose.
In large parts of the world, people have a lack of lactase, which is why little animal milk is drunk there. This deficiency is less common in the Netherlands. People who are lactose intolerant cannot tolerate animal milks such as cow’s milk, sheep’s milk and goat’s milk. Soy milk is an excellent alternative for them.
Reaction Nutrition Center
Spokesperson Roy van der Ploeg of the Nutrition Center about the different milk variants: “We advise against goat milk in case of cow’s milk allergy, because there is a great chance that you will allergic reactions gets. The chance is much less with other milk types, such as horse, donkey and sheep milk, so you could carefully try those types if you are allergic to cow’s milk.”
“In case of lactose intolerance, we advise against all animal milks, because they all contain lactose. Soy milk and rice milk are good alternatives, for both cow’s milk allergy and lactose intolerance. Many soy milks are added with vitamin B12 and calcium, so that you do not get a deficiency.”
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