Cow’s milk for babies: why is it dangerous for my child?

Before you give your baby cow’s milk

According to the Research Institute for Child Nutrition (FKE), breast milk is the healthiest food for babies in the first months of life because it contains all the important nutrients, minerals and vitamins that a child needs for healthy growth. However, if you cannot or do not want to breastfeed , then your baby should be fed with a special infant milk formula instead. This industrially produced baby milk is largely based on the composition of breast milk and supports the development of your child just as well as this. You can find out more about the various milk products in our articles ” Bottles: Which milk for the baby?” ” and ” HA Nutrition and Co.: Special Milk Food for Babies “.

Too much protein in cow’s milk is not good for the baby

You should definitely refrain from feeding your child cow’s milk instead of breast milk from birth. Because cow’s milk has a completely different composition than mother’s milk, which can lead to dangerous malnutrition in the long run. Above all, the high protein content, which is around three times higher than that in breast milk, is of concern.

Disadvantages of cow’s milk for the baby

• When the body absorbs too much protein, part of it that cannot be processed directly is converted into urea. Because urea is excreted through the kidneys, overproduction of this metabolite can severely impair kidney function over time .
• The intestines and the digestive system of infants and babies only mature to their full capacity within the first years of life. The tissue is therefore still particularly permeable after birth, even for large molecules. Exogenous protein can therefore not be processed and excreted so easily by the intestine. Because of its high protein content, cow’s milk is a particularly frequent trigger of early allergies and intolerances . There is a particularly high allergy potential if other family members are already suffering from cow’s milk intolerance.
• According to a long-term study by the FKE, the early consumption of cow’s milk promotes the later development of obesity . Because a permanently high intake of proteins, which also includes the protein contained in large quantities in cow’s milk, causes long-term metabolic changes, such as an excessive release of insulin. Accelerated cell division also results in the formation of new fat cells and thus the growth of fatty tissue.

Important nutrients are left behind

What cow’s milk contains in terms of protein, it unfortunately lacks elsewhere. The high protein content leads to a crowding out of other important nutrients, with the result that a balanced diet and the overall quality of nutrient intake suffer.

• For example, cow’s milk contains only very small amounts of vitamins A and C.
• Iron , which plays an important role in the mental and physical development of babies, is also not sufficiently available .
• Iodine , which is very important for the functioning of the thyroid gland, is only present in traces.
• Polyunsaturated fatty acids , such as those found in breast milk, are largely responsible for the development of nerve and brain cells. However, cow’s milk contains very little of it, which is why brain development cannot be optimally promoted with a diet containing cow’s milk.
• It is true that cow’s milk contains an extraordinary amount of calcium , which is important for the development of bone substance. However, this calcium can only be optimally utilized if the organism is also supplied with sufficient vitamin D. However, this is only present to a very small extent in cow’s milk.

Professional societies advise against cow’s milk for babies

Especially in early childhood development, it is very important that the body is supplied with all the important proteins, nutrients and trace elements in a balanced way. Since this balance cannot be achieved by feeding cow’s milk alone, the risk of malnutrition is very high. A large number of relevant specialist organizations in the field of nutrition, including the German Society for Nutrition (DGE), the Research Institute for Child Nutrition (FKE) and the German Society for Child and Adolescent Medicine (DGKJ), but also the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) and the The World Health Organization (WHO) therefore advise against feeding the baby cow’s milk as a substitute for breast milk in the first few months of life.

Cow’s milk for the baby only with the introduction of supplementary food

According to the recommendations, infants before the age of five months should not consume cow’s milk at all. According to the FKE’s “nutrition plan for the first year of life” you should slowly start using small amounts of cow’s milk to prepare a milk-cereal porridge at the earliest when you introduce supplementary food . This is even important to ensure a sufficient supply of calcium over the long term.

Cow’s milk as a drink for your baby should only be introduced towards the end of the first year of life, when the milk-cereal porridge is slowly being replaced by a snack with a cup of milk . In this case, however, no other dairy products such as yoghurt or quark should be fed, since an excessive intake of protein can also impede the absorption of other important nutrients in infancy.

From the second year of life , the FKE recommends a quantity of 350 to 400 milliliters of milk per day . For children between the ages of one and three, a daily protein intake of around 2.2 grams per kilogram of body weight is optimal. Since cow’s milk contains about 3.3 grams of protein per 100 milliliters and your child also consumes protein through other foods, this amount of milk is usually sufficient to provide your child with an adequate supply. Preferably use semi-skimmed milk (1.5% fat) to easily reduce fat in your child’s diet .