Friday 29 October 2010

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Organic Skimmed Fresh Cow’s Milk/Økologisk Skummet Mælk/脱脂鲜奶有机[yǒu jī zuō zhī xiān nǎi]


Danish authorities say from 9 months, British sources say from 1 year old. I prefer err on the careful side and give it to J when he turns 1 year old.

Nutritional Value:
Skimmed fresh cow’s milk has the same amount of nutrients found in full cream fresh cow’s milk, but with much less fats. Cow’s milk is a great source of protein, calcium, phosphorus, vitamin A, and magnesium. Milk will build your toddler's bones and teeth and help his body regulate his blood coagulation and muscle control.

Consuming calcium-rich food from young is said to lower risk of high blood pressure, stroke, colon cancer, and hip fractures in adulthood.

Skimmed milk, however, is of course low in fat and lacks fat soluble vitamin A and D. But J gets his daily vitamin D drops as recommended by the health nurse to all babies from newborn in Denmark, and vitamin A from his carrot puree.

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Additional Comments:
The Danish authorities and my health nurse recommend a small amount of full-cream fresh cow’s milk to babies from 9 months, because of the importance of fats to babies’ development. However, after analyzing it, I think I will not be following it. I intend instead to introduce skimmed fresh cow’s milk when J reaches 1 year old.

Why? Firstly, vegetable fats are superior to animal oils as animal oils are of the saturated type that would clog the arteries over long term. In the short term, babies are not afraid of clogged arteries. However, taste buds are cultivated from young and may be fixed for life. Baby will one day be an adult and he may be stuck with the liking for full cream cow’s milk to make a successful switch over to skimmed milk. I am a good example. I love full cream fresh milk until today, and have to try very hard to make myself drink skimmed milk. If J has some of the “Ng” genes, he will most likely be like me, and I don’t want him to have to struggle with the switch towards skimmed milk.

Secondly, the nutritional benefits of skimmed milk are as good as full cream milk. If there are any gaps such as the fat content and vitamin A and D, J is now successfully weaned to like olive oil, avocado (fats), carrots (vit A), beans and grains, and these food can step in as the first in line to fill in the gap. There are also other nutritious food such as chicken, cod fish (vit D) and eggs that can stand in as the second in line to fill in any other gaps.

Another workaround solution is simply to add 1 teaspoon of olive oil, or flaxseed oil, or any other vegetable oil such as corn oil, into 200ml of skimmed milk (this portion of mixing oil with food is according to Danish authorities baby food recipes). Or serve skimmed milk with avocado, which is very rich with good fats :-)

Thirdly, a baby's digestive system can't digest cow's milk proteins. Cow's milk also has too much sodium, potassium, and chloride, which can tax baby's kidneys. Cow’s milk also does not contain enough iron. This is why I tend to go towards the recommendation that babies should be given breast or formula milk for the whole of the first year.

Thus, for long term's sake, I will start J young as a baby to cultivate his liking for skimmed milk. Full cream cow’s milk or skimmed cow’s milk – the choice is yours.

References:
http://www.babycenter.com/0_cows-milk-when-and-how-to-introduce-it_1334703.bc

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