How Important is Cow’s Milk for Kids?

Got milk? Maybe not, if you’re on trend with the latest federal data. What used to be an automatic addition to families’ weekly shopping list is being replaced by a widening array of dairy alternatives, such as soy, almond, rice, and hemp milks. Other parents are ditching the idea of milk altogether and just sticking to water, juices and other drinks. Since 1975, cow’s milk consumption has dropped 25 percent.

The problem: Kids who don’t drink cow’s milk often lose out on certain key nutrients, particularly vitamin D. Canadian researchers report that children who drink milk alternatives are twice as likely to have low levels of the vitamin, which is crucial for healthy bone development. (When vitamin D levels are low in our bodies, we’re unable to absorb bone-building calcium.) Five years ago, the American Academy of Pediatrics doubled its recommended daily intake of vitamin D for children from 200 IUs to 400 IUs. Virtually all cow’s milk sold in the U.S. contains D3, an animal-derived form of the vitamin that the body seems to absorb particularly well, and 3-4 cups will supply a child with his recommended 4oo IUs for the day. Many, but not all, alternative milks are fortified, and when they are, it’s usually with plant-dervied D2, which most experts believe to be a less potent source of the vitamin.

Most kids get a healthy dose of vitamin D during the spring and summer if their arms and legs are regularly exposed to the sun. But from now through March, sun-dervied D is in short supply in much of the U.S., meaning children in the northern half of the country must get their daily D through their diets. Kids can get some of the vitamin through fortified orange juices, cereals, yogurt, cheese and eggs, though those food sources rarely measure up to cow’s milk when it comes to the amount of D per serving. What does: fatty fish. Salmon, tuna, and mackerel contain as much or more vitamin D—the potent D3 kind, no less—per serving than milk. But these fish aren’t on kids’ menus for a reason. Milk is considered to be the “best” form of vitamin D mainly because most kids are happy to consume it; if they don’t or can’t, it’s tough to find an alternative children will get enough of.

If your child doesn’t drink a few glasses of D-fortified milk everyday and isn’t able to get enough vitamin D through the foods above, there is a solution: supplements. Yes, they are an added cost, and hard to remember to dispense in the chaos of a morning, but they can be an important investment, particularly now, when the leaves are starting to turn and the sun goes into hiding for several months. The supplement-review company Consumer Lab has rated Carlson Super Daily D3 400 IU for Kids highly. They are liquid, tasteless drops, so they should go down easy (or easily snuck into food or a drink). It’s $13 for 10 ml, and since only a drop or two is a daily dose for a child, the bottle will last awhile. (If your child already drinks fortified milk, be sure to consult your doctor before using a supplement, since there is a thing as too much vitamin D, points out HHK adviser Dana White, R.D. A blood test can confirm whether your child is getting adequate amounts.)

Also, if you have any recipes that have turned your kids into salmon or tuna lovers, please share below or here. I’m working on a post about helping kids like fish—many parents’ nutritional white whale—so your recipe could make it into an upcoming piece on the site.

photo credit: Hades2K via Photopin, cc license