Why is cow's milk bad for babies?
Why is cow's milk bad for babies?
Feeding your baby cow's milk can pose health risks. This food is not suitable for infants in full development. Knowing how to choose a specific type of infant milk for babies according to their age also means understanding their specific nutritional needs.
BABY'S NUTRITIONAL NEEDS
During the first year of life, babies grow very quickly: on average, they triple their birth weight! Their brain goes from around 350g to over 1Kg. This extraordinary development requires respecting the infant's specific nutritional needs.
INFANT'S RAPID GROWTH
By the age of 3, babies' birth weight will have quadrupled and their size will have doubled. Infants' nutritional needs during the first three years are particularly important. Infants need:
A lot of carbohydrates and lipids. Fatty acids are very important for the development of the nervous and brain systems, as well as vision. With carbohydrates, these 2 major nutrients cover the child's energy needs. The infant can thus maintain its temperature, ensure the various functions of its body, support growth mechanisms. Energy needs are at their highest during the first year of life.
High-quality proteins, especially from 0 to 6 months. The mother's milk proteins, or the animal proteins contained in infant formula, are the most effective. They provide all the essential amino acids that allow the child to develop well. Essential molecules of life, amino acids are links that assemble into proteins so that tissues develop and baby's metabolism functions.
Fibers that regulate intestinal transit and the feeling of hunger (or satiety). Some have prebiotic properties: they nourish good intestinal bacteria. They thus allow the development of the microbiota, that is to say the intestinal bacterial flora.
Minerals and trace elements such as calcium or phosphorus which will constitute the mineral structure of bones or teeth, magnesium essential for metabolism or neuromuscular transmission for example, or iron which conditions the efficiency of the blood to transport the oxygen that baby breathes, to the organs…
Many vitamins, organic molecules essential for metabolism, and which the body does not know how to synthesize.
COW'S MILK UNSUITABLE FOR BABIES
Although it is rich in calcium, cow's milk is low in iron, which could lead to so-called "iron" deficiencies in infants. There is then a risk of delaying the baby's growth.
It contains too few essential fatty acids and amino acids that are not synthesized by the child's body. Finally, it is too rich in proteins, but also in salt: the child's sodium needs are then exceeded. Feeding cow's milk would be conducive to the later development of cardiovascular diseases.
The Anses study also shows that other animal milks (goat, sheep, mare, etc.) and plant-based drinks wrongly called plant-based milks (soy, almond, rice, etc.) are also totally unsuitable for the nutritional needs of children.
COW'S MILK: WHAT AGE IN CHILDREN?
Before the age of 1 year, cow's milk is strongly discouraged for feeding a child. Between 1 and 3 years, it is preferable to use a much more suitable preparation to avoid deficiencies, enriched with iron and essential fatty acids (see the paragraph "Growing-up milk").
It is from the age of 3 years that the kidneys reach sufficient maturity to be able to filter the blood properly, that its brain is well developed, and that its growth is less sustained. It is then possible to give it pasteurized or sterilized cow's milk, whole or semi-skimmed.
Warning: The risk of bacterial development in raw milk contraindicates its use in children who could contract an infection. Even after 3 years, milk from other animals remains unsuitable.