09/02/2024
Should babies have cow’s milk once weaned?
For a long time, it has been believed that a baby should be offered cow’s milk to replace breastmilk once they have weaned of the b**b. However, no other liquid is as nourishing as breastmilk, so our job is not to replace breastmilk or formula with other liquids but rather offer them a variety of nutrient dense foods, being mindful to include certain nutrients they are no longer getting from breastmilk, like calcium, DHA, and probiotics.
There are few things to consider when it comes to milk:
• Pasteurized cow’s milk is hard for babies to digest. The process of pasteurization kills the enzyme (lactase), which helps with the digestion of lactose.
• It is one of the top allergenic foods and known to cause gastrointestinal discomfort, eczema, earaches, congestion, and runny nose.
It’s recommended to wait until baby is 12 months old before introducing cow’s milk. Other dairy products can however be introduced earlier or at 10+ months.
I recommend starting with plain organic kefir and yogurt. it’s fermented and rich in probiotics so easy on the digestion and you get the benefits of the good bacteria.
Even though yogurt is from cow’s milk it contains less lactose than milk. It also contains live bacteria that helps break down lactose.
For those who choose to offer cow’s milk quality is key so choosing whole, pasture-raised, grass-fed, organic or raw when possible.
Keeping in mind that too much milk consumption can cause iron deficiency in babies.