Whole milk v semi skimmed

[KRPC]

Can anyone tell me why 'they' recommend using whole milk for a baby between age 1 and 2 yrs old rather than semi skimmed. I can't see what the difference is other than more saturated fat and why is that good for anyone? I can't find any research on the subject.

KRPC do you realise that "full fat milk is only 4% fat and therefore a LOW FAT PRODUCT"?

No as far as i know there arent any organic low fat yogurts without crap or sugar in. this is because chidlren need fat and relaly should be having full fat milk until at least 5 years!

Does that mean you will not give your child anything ever that is not a low fat product? cheese for example? or even minced meat?

He has full fat organic little rachels, the low fat yog is for me, i dont like the texture of full fat but they don't make a full fat without sugar not that i've found anyway.

And I've got no problem with fat, he has lots of it, I just tend to avoid high sat fat for me and he's now getting to the age where he's going to be eating more and more 'adult' food I want to check out the facts rather than the 'perception is reality situation, that appears to be so common with baby feeding' lets face it, it's not that many years since they were recommending spoon feeding a baby at 3 months and heinz make a chocolate pudding SUITABLE from 3 months, this area is not as cut and dried as many perceive, and there is not that much research done or certainly published in the area, believe me I've been looking. It could be that full fat milk is recommended because that ensures enough fat is given for a baby that eats the average diet for a family in the UK, my question is, if you are concentrating specifically on the baby's diet and feeding different food stuffs can you substitute with other lower sat fat foods, surely the cholesterol in an avocado for example is better than that from a full fat dairy product such as milk (it's not processed for a start), however that would mean ensuring baby eats avocado or an equivalent every day, not something most v busy parents have time or often the inclination to do, however if you were prepared to put in the time and effort would it be OK or is there another reason?

Calcium for healthy bones perhaps?
I wouldn't stress too much, it sounds like your little one is going to have a very healthy diet.

Whole milk tastes of milk, semi-skimmed tastes of water with wee in it.

This is crazy to want to give your dc semi skimmed milk as it has less fat they need it for development, their bodies don't store it like ours. I cant believe someone would put their dc's health at risk, not like its a new study is it. Oh and my dd's have Gold Top!

Saturated fat is not only in milk you know, are you going to cut out all dairy and meat & christ knows what else, if so you better get good health insurance.

Sainsburys Kids' Thick & Creamy Yogurts are gorgeous (I think this is relevant)

I must admit I agree with much of what KRPC says. My DD's diet is supplemented by a lot of healthy non animal source fats like avocados, nuts, seeds, olive oil etc. I remember being quite horrified to discover my friend's HV insisting her small for age child got fed lots of cream and mascarpone as soon as he was weaned. I live on the continent and we're told to add olive oil to everything but to avoid mascarpone and over-rich dairy until over a year or even later if possible as deemed to be too heavy going for a small child's digestion, as well as not being a particulalry healthy habit to promote for later life.

Fats are essential for energy and brain development, yes, but not particularly the saturated variety.

However, whilst milk is a very useful source of nutrients for toddlers, I do believe there is too much obsession with dairy in the Western world and that's no good thing, particularly if you look at the health timebob we've created for ourselves. Calcium can be obtained from many vegetable sources and fish, in fact this is upheld by the fact that many Asian populations consume very little or no dairy past weaning age, yet have much lower incidences of osteoporosis than Westerners. One study also showed a possibile correlation between high consumption of animal protein and higher incidence of osteoporosis, suggesting even that it is the very milk you drink that leaches calcium from your bones. This may also explain why statistically vegetarians tend to be less susceptible to osteoporosis.

Don't most vegetarians eat more dairy, not less, than meat eaters?

I'm going to point it out again - whole milk is not high fat, it's flipping 4%!!!!

I think we do have an obsession with dairy - but it's gone the other way!

People now seem to regard milk and other dairy products as dangerous and something to be avoided. We have a whole mantra of 'low-fat food', which is why toddlers are being given low-fat yoghurts full of sugar and goodness knows what else.

Like many of us have said, whole milk is not a high-fat food and I would not be concerned unless someone were really drinking masses of it.

Some dairy products are slightly different - I do watch how much hard cheese we eat because the saturated fat content is higher. And butter of course - I wouldn't suggest someone ate huge quantities of that!

I'm not sure about the comments about vegetarians - most vegetarians I know consume vast amounts of cheese.

How do you semi-skim your breast milk?

I don't think children's bodies work in the same way an adult's does. They're systems are more efficient and can process the saturated fat. I'm not an expert its just what I've read. But you have to admit that the Gov on one hand tell you sat fat is wrong and then on the other to give it to your children so it must be confusing. I think sat fat is fine in moderation and part of a well balanced diet. I'd be more worried about refined sugar to be honest.

Vegitarians eat dairy & eggs to compensate meat protein, Vegans on the other hand dont eat any animal products whatsoever, I was vegan for 15 years and have poor bone dencity. I have been on a strict no fats/milk or saturated fats diet for many years and now have osteo-arthritis, as I said before my children drink Gold Top which is the fullest fat milk you can buy.

As someone pointed out it's only 4% fat..... even Rosemary Conley would permit that. And I think I can vaguely remember that the absorption of nutriets in the milk is affected by the removal of fat from the milk - ie you need the fat to absorb all of the calcium and vitamins. May be wrong. If you are concerned by dairy products avoid them but I wouldn't worry about ss milk versus ff.

I'm dairy intolerant but have no calcium problems(yet) I get plenty of greens, eat lots of fish and meat though. What signs did you have Hillary that you were low in bone density?

Hi Rebelmum1 I had a fall on my horse and broke my leg, when they xrayd me it showed I had low bone density the consultant advised I didn't ride anymore as my bones would be prone to breaking more easily. I didn't eat the proper foods or take supplements to keep calcium levels up, didnt occur to me but I only 9 when I made the descision, not much info back then.

As long as you know what to eat you are ok I suppose but I still wouldn't give a baby/toddler semi skimmed milk, just in case.

Hillary, It's interesting you think I would be putting his health at risk by giving him ss milk, as I said before if I could find the right info and it confirmed your feelings I def go with ff, but I feel I may possibly be putting his health at risk (albeit on a low level) by giving ff milk, thus the request for futher info. Do you feel the same way about people who give their young children chocolate, chicken nuggets, high sugar breakfast cereal etc?

Hi KRPC, its a descision only you can make but not something I would do, I feel milk is a natural whole substance with no addatives, something which has been given to babies and children for generations with no ill effect, whereas SS is only a more recent thing.

I don't agree with giving chicken nuggets or sweets etc to children, I cook the old way of making everything from scratch, we grow our own veg & we only eat organic, porridge for breakfast etc.. I dont totally disagree with sweets or chocolate but not as a regular thing as there is no health benefit in sugar sweets and reconstructed meats.

We do eat meats and my children do eat saturated fats but only from natural sources.

haven't tead the whole thread but my friend asked once a the docs when she wanted to go on a diet if she should take extra calcium etc if she was using ss milk but the doc told her that ss actually had more in it than whole milk!!

Whole milk is a higher source of Omega 3 though not just calcium especially if its organic

Funny how the low-fat police have managed to persuade us that our natural diet - ie one that we evolved to eat over thousands of years - is bad for us. There is heaps of evidence showing that sat fat is not the huge baddy it's made out to be. There was a recent study that concluded that women who ate low-fat dairy products were more likely to suffer fertility problems (compared to those who consumed full-fat ones). Why take chances with your child's health? North Europeans have been drinking full fat milk for a hell of a long time! I'm sure unpasteurised milk is even better

I'm with you Hillary all the way. I cook from scratch too and have really limited sugar which is usually in the form of maple syrup and honey in baking. Just planted onions and have organic veg box and organic meat from a local supplier.

It is a bit of myth that nations (usually Asian) where they don't drink milk have higher bone density. They do tend to fewer fractures, but that seems to be because they have fewer falls due to having stronger muscles and better balance because they do a lot of squatting as they sit on the floor, not on sofas and are more active. Osteoporosis is almost always only diagnosed after fall and a fracture. I have seen a couple of studies showing low bone density in older Asian women, but because they have stronger muscles they don't tend to fall and break their bones.

There is thought that semi-skimmed rather than beneficial could be damaging. here