How Healthy Is Milk?

Wholesome image is hotly debated nationwide

Your Child’s Needs

Pre-age 1—Only breast milk or formula, not cow’s milk

Ages 1-3—500 milligrams (mg) of calcium daily (1 1/2 cups of milk). Switch to low-fat or nonfat only after age 2; babies need saturated fat for brain development.

Ages 4-8—800 mg of calcium daily (2 1/2 cups of milk)

Ages 9-18—1,300 mg of calcium daily (3 cups of milk and added servings of calcium-rich foods). These are peak bone-building years.

For strong bones, children also need vitamin D and daily exercise!

One day it’s good for you, the next it’s not. Milk’s wholesome image is getting tainted today by those who claim the all-American drink is laden with hormones, antibiotics and pesticides. Here are the facts, from clinical dietitian Donna Boden and family medicine physician Jyoti Gopal, M.D., of Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network:

Don’t worry about antibiotics and pesticides. The United States has strict testing methods and regulations, and milk must be free of antibiotics to be sold. It does not have to be free of pesticides (even organic milk may have some pesticide residue), but the government tests to ensure that pesticides are within acceptable limits.

Hormones are another story. All milk contains natural hormones. What’s stirring up the debate is the use of a synthetic hormone to increase milk production. The synthetic hormone rBST (recombinant bovine somatotropin) has been used ever since the Food and Drug Administration pronounced it safe in 1993.

“Some studies suggest rBST is linked to early puberty,” Boden says. “But more conclusive research shows that the hormone can’t be absorbed in your digestive tract, and early puberty is likely due to rising obesity.” “If you’re still concerned about artificial hormones, you can opt for organic milk, which is free of rBST,” Gopal says.

The bottom line: milk really is good for you. Dairy products are a major source of nutrients in the American diet. Milk provides vitamins A and B12, potassium, niacin, riboflavin and protein, and is an especially good source of calcium, vitamin D and phosphorous, essential to bone health throughout your lifetime. If you’re worried about fat intake, choose nonfat or low-fat milk (1 or 2 percent). The other nutrients are identical.

Not inclined to drink milk? Buy yogurt, cheese and other dairy products instead. “If you’re lactose intolerant,” Gopal says, “you can take Lactaid or use lactose-free dairy products, which are increasingly available.” Other alternatives are soy, rice and almond milk. They don’t contain lactose and are also suitable for people allergic to the proteins in cow, sheep and goat milk.

Want to Know More? Click here for nutritional differences between cow’s milk and other types. For information about free osteoporosis screenings, call 610-402-CARE.

Published from Healthy You Magazine, May-June 2008