Growth milk, cow’s milk, almond milk: here are which milks to give to young children… or on the contrary to avoid.
- The first months of his life, the baby’s diet must be exclusively milk through breastfeeding or infant milk.
- The prevention of iron deficiency must be based on systematic and prolonged consumption of growing-up milks.
- Animal and vegetable milks are not suitable for babies.
“In the first months of life, the baby’s diet must be exclusively milk through breastfeeding or infant milk”, recommends Inserm in the preamble in a press release. At 1 year old, the diet is completely diversified, but the child should still ideally consume 2 bottles of infant milk per day, “because it approaches a period of intense growth which requires very specific contributions to avoid deficiencies, especially in iron”, say the experts.
Favor iron-enriched infant milks to avoid deficiency
In France, the prevention of iron deficiency must be based on “a systematic and prolonged consumption of milk foods for young children, more commonly called “growing-up milks”, enriched in order to reach the recommended average daily nutritional requirements, i.e. 5mg from 1 to 3 years old”, continue the scientists.
VSThis prevention is all the more important when iron deficiency affects the youngest children, “it is strongly suspected of causing adverse neurocognitive effects, such as reduced learning and memory abilities or visual or auditory neurosensory impairment”adds Inserm.
To reach these conclusions, researchers from the EPOPé team (Perinatal and Pediatric Obstetrical Epidemiology Team) and the Center for Research in Epidemiology and Statistics (Inserm, University of Paris UMR 1153) studied the association between a diet with or without growing-up milk and the occurrence of iron deficiency in 561 infants aged 2 years.
Before 3 years: beware of animal and vegetable milks
ANSES (National Health Security Agency) regularly reminds that the nutritional profile of cow’s milk is not suitable for toddlers, for whom it is necessary to use milk specifically designed according to their age.
This also applies to milk from other animals (goat, sheep, mare), as well as vegetable juices (almond, hazelnut, oat, rice, chestnut, etc.), which should be avoided before the age of 3. “Indeed, too lean, not enough calories and low in calcium, iron, zinc, etc. – they do not provide the baby with everything he needs”, concludes Inserm.
.
