Is whole milk as nutritious as formula?

whole milkMany parents consider whole milk to be incredibly nutritious for newborns. It contains both calcium and bacteria useful for digestion. That is the main reason why parents feed their kids with whole milk from an early age. The question is, do kids need to have whole milk as the source of the main nutrients from birth?

Feeding with whole milk

Unprocessed cow or goat milk for newborns is not just harmful, but even dangerous. So in case of lack of breast milk, it is best to choose an adapted formula e.g. HiPP formula stage 1 which is suitable from birth and also contains lactic bacteria that is extracted from breast milk. The formula contains vitamin D, which prevents the development of rickets. If you give a child whole milk and vitamin D separately, rickets develops very often.

The amount of calcium and phosphorus in whole milk is almost 4 times more than in breast milk. So this excess amount cannot be fully absorbed causing different kinds of digestive problems and the development of disease in the future. Breast milk contains about 30% of casein while whole milk has approximately 80%. The excess protein overloads the child’s immature kidneys and promotes the laying of more fat cells in the first year of life. This significantly increases the risk of obesity and diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular illnesses.

Adapted formula or whole milk?

Pediatricians recommend starting whole milk feeding when a kid turns 12 months. If you decide on the whole milk, it is better to use a small amount, then this product will no longer cause harm. Still, infant formula is the best option, in which the amount of phosphorus is reduced, and the amount of calcium and vitamin D is increased. You can try Holle stage 2 as a part of mix feeding. The amount of iron in cow milk is insufficient and regular consumption will lead to anemia while with the adapted formula a child will receive the amount of iron it needs.

To sum up, it is not recommended to feed an infant with whole milk at least one-year-old. If you wish to try, the recommended safe dose for a 1-year-old is about half a glass a day.

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