Instead, they can serve other foods to make sure their kids get the proper nutrition, Maguire said.įollow Tia Ghose on Twitter and Google+. Maguire has found that children seem to have good iron stores and vitamin D levels at around two glasses a day, which is the current recommendation of the American Academy of Pediatrics.īut if a kid simply hates the taste or has trouble digesting milk, parents don't have to push it. In the end, milk may not be a superfood, but it does provide valuable nutrients that can be hard to get into kids in other ways, Maguire said. Added sugar has been tied to a host of health problems, from obesity to diabetes to heart disease. "An 8-ounce glass of low-fat chocolate milk has the same number of calories from sugar as an 8-ounce glass of Coke or Pepsi," Lanou said. The health benefits of drinking flavored milks are even more dubious, Lanou said. "If you actually feed a child three servings of cow's milk, how are they going to have room for other healthful foods like those vegetables, legumes and lean proteins?" Lanou said. And some studies suggest low-fat and skim milk may not be an answer, because people feel less full after drinking it.Īnother problem is that filling up on milk can mean not eating other healthy foods on the plate, and this can be especially true of kids who are picky eaters. Whole, or full-fat, milk has high levels of saturated fat, which has been tied to health problems. A December 2014 study in the Archives of Disease in Childhood found that preschoolers who drink three or more servings of milk a day are likelier to be taller, but also more obese and overweight. The calorie-laden beverage could also promote obesity. Calcium can also inhibit the absorption of iron, which means drinking too much milk can lead to anemia, Maguire told Live Science. Three-fourths of the world's population has lactose intolerance or cannot comfortably digest lactose, a sugar found in milk. The amount of protein in milk can also be found in lots of other sources, including beans and eggs. "The best way for kids to take good care of bones is to go outside and play," Lanou told Live Science.Īnd although vitamin D is certainly an essential nutrient, it doesn't occur naturally in milk, so other fortified foods such as breakfast cereal, orange juice and soymilk are equally good sources, Lanou said. Several studies suggest that the impacts made on bones when kids exercise or do other physical activity is the main factor in bone growth. In general, the notion that kids need very high levels of calcium to keep their bones strong may be oversold, Lanou said. A 2013 study published in the journal JAMA Pediatrics found that children who live in countries with lower rates of milk consumption have lower fracture rates than those in milk-drinking countries. Michael's Hospital in Toronto.Ĭalcium can be found in many other food sources besides milk, including nuts, beans and greens, Lanou said.Īnd new research also raises questions about the notion that milk actually keeps bones strong. Picky eaters may struggle to get enough protein and calories in their diets, and milk is an easy, nutrient-rich way to deliver those calories, said Dr. Malnutrition is still a problem, even among children in the developed world. Vitamin D deficiency can cause rickets, a disease in which people develop bent and weakened bones, and has also been tied to other problems, such as muscle and nerve ailments.Īnd milk is a rich source of protein and calories, which is important for growing kids. Milk is also fortified with vitamin D, a chemical typically synthesized by the skin when people spend time in sunlight, but which can be hard to get from the diet, as it is naturally found in only a few foods such as fatty fish, egg yolks and beef liver. Most people have heard that the calcium in milk helps people grow strong bones.
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