Food & Nutrition
mamatotwins0812
member
Cows milk vs. coconut, rice, almond etc.
mamatotwins0812
member
Hi all. I usually hang out on the multiples board but thought this might be a good spot to ask this question 
. My guys just turned one (today) and I'm now contemplating the cows milk vs. non lactose milk for them. Personally I don't drink milk for several reasons but want what's healthiest for my babies. Our pedi said he is fine with any just as long as they have the same fat content as cows milk. I was just wondering if anyone here has made a choice other than cows milk and if you found that the nutrition and fat content is the same. I'm having a hard time finding concrete info anywhere so figured I'd check here to see too. Thanks .
. My guys just turned one (today) and I'm now contemplating the cows milk vs. non lactose milk for them. Personally I don't drink milk for several reasons but want what's healthiest for my babies. Our pedi said he is fine with any just as long as they have the same fat content as cows milk. I was just wondering if anyone here has made a choice other than cows milk and if you found that the nutrition and fat content is the same. I'm having a hard time finding concrete info anywhere so figured I'd check here to see too. Thanks . Fraternal twin boys born at 33 weeks 4 days
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Re: Cows milk vs. coconut, rice, almond etc.
I'm not a fan of rice milk or almond milk, as both of them is high in sugar and LOW in protein (compared to cow's milk). Almond milk, in addition, has lots of other added ingredients if you look at the ingredients' list. In particular, almond milk is pretty high in salt (180mg in 1 serving).
Copying from Blue Diamond's almond milk, here is its ingredients list:
Ingredients: almondmilk (filtered water, almonds), calcium carbonate, tapioca starch, sea salt, potassium citrate, carrageenan, sunflower lecithin, natural flavor, vitamin a palmitate, vitamin d2 and d-alpha-tocopherol (natural vitamin e).
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Personally, if my kid could have cow's milk that is what I would give (organic).
Like someone else said, the alternatives are all inferior for one reason or another. Rice milk has no nutritional value at all, really. Almond milk isn't much better, it's extremely low in calories, protein and fat. Hemp appears to have some fat but is still lacking in protein (and I'm assuming calcium/vitamin D). Soy is probably the closest to cow milk overall, but if you look at a case of soy formula you will see a disclaimer on there saying soy milk is not appropriate for kids under 2.
None of the alternatives are as well balanced as whole cow's milk... Sometimes it can be made up dietarily but I wouldn't offer a milk alternative without adjusting the rest of the diet accordingly.
The "official" recommendation from the Registered Dietician we saw was breast milk, cow milk or formula until age 2.
I drink unsweetened vanilla almond milk more often than cow's milk simply because I'm not a huge dairy fan and it contains MUCH more calcium than cow's milk. You could possibly vary the types of milk you give your child... to receive different nutritional benefits.
This is what we eventually started to do. We also did coconut, almond, and goat's milk (powdered). We were looking for the least processed and most nutritional option. A lot of the milk alternatives are high in vitamins, but it can be mostly added vitamins--not much different than taking a vitamin supplement.