The Benefits and Risks of Milk and Other Dairy Products

Over the years I have gone back and forth trying to decide if milk is important or not in my children’s diet. Here are some well known facts to help you decide if you want to remove or include milk in your kid’s daily diet:

• Cow’s milk and dairy products continue to supply important nutrients for growing children, especially calcium.
• Some children are not able to tolerate cow’s milk, either because of a ‘true’ allergy to it or because of a lactase deficiency that makes it difficult to digest lactose, a sugar contained in milk.
• Cow’s milk is probably the most common food allergen in the United States.
• Milk is mucous forming so children with colds or congestion should stay off of milk until well.
• Our bodies cannot digest ice cream. It putrefies in our system so it’s best to limit ice cream for a once-in-a-while treat.

 One of my daughters is lactose intolerant. After drinking milk she would get stomach cramps and bloating. I purchased lactase tablets at Trader Joe’s and if she would remember to take one before consuming milk in her cereal she would be fine. Some children are much more intolerant and a tablet may not help. It may help to give your kid’s *natural yogurt, kefir, or other fermenting dairy products instead of whole milk. These milk products are already partially digested through bacterial action which makes them low in lactose, and may not upset your child’s digestive system the same way that milk does.

If I had a choice I would only purchase raw milk, but in the state where I live I haven’t been able to find it (yet), only raw goat’s milk, which again is a viable option to those of you who have children with milk allergies. Raw milk is much easier for our bodies to assimilate and has much greater health attributes.

I have recently found a website that is a fantastic resource for raw milk facts.  Get informed and raise the bar on your children's health

by reading their article The Health Benefits of Raw Milk 

I have tried Rice milk, Soy milk, and even Almond milk over the years which works great in some families, but with 8 children who all like milk, save one, my compromise has been to continue to buy milk to be used on cereals and in recipes, but I don’t encourage a lot of milk drinking due to the mucous forming ability it has. I don’t serve milk with meals if I can get away with it.

I have read both sides of the milk issues. In some camps they are under the opinion that milk should be removed from the diet completely and in other camps they are under the opinion that milk should be daily consumed and often. Under the principle “all things in moderation” I say milk has its place just don’t over do it.

*Be careful the yogurt you purchase does not have added lactose to it

  Mom, You Work all Day. Shouldn't you be able to Enjoy your Evenings with your Kids?