milk debate

Belle_Fille
Belle_Fille Posts: 469
edited September 24 in Food and Nutrition
i posted this on my profile for opinions but im going to post here now.
im not a big milk drinker (in fact i never drink it) and neither is my boyfriend. We only use it to cook with, or in cereal (the rare times we do drink it) my 14 month old is still on breast milk, but my 3, almost 4 year old loves milk! we only allow 2 cups a day, the rest is water (her pedi says 2 cups of water a day is great, and is what he always suggests so no- that is not up for debate)
but im looking for healthier choices for her. right now we buy 2% but am considering switching to skim milk, or almond milk.

i guess this is kind of like a poll.
which do YOU use (if you use either of these) and which would you suggest?

Replies

  • GinaKurtz
    GinaKurtz Posts: 228 Member
    Skim for us. I've thought about almond, but we're both picky (husband and I) so I'm afraid to spend the money on it & not like it...
  • 3LittleMonkeys
    3LittleMonkeys Posts: 373 Member
    A child under 2 needs whole milk. After the age of 2 you can switch to skim.
  • 3LittleMonkeys
    3LittleMonkeys Posts: 373 Member
    Sorry re-read your question. LOL

    I don't drink milk. But we buy skim. That is what my husband, 7 year old, 5 year old and 2 1/2 year old drink. I prefer Almond milk or Soy milk.
  • Caper88
    Caper88 Posts: 418 Member
    I am a big skim milk drinker. I have never had the almond. I use to drink 2% but now I find it taste way too fatty. There is 90calories in skim compared to 110 in 2% for the brand I drink
  • Belle_Fille
    Belle_Fille Posts: 469
    A child under 2 needs whole milk. After the age of 2 you can switch to skim.
    my child that is under 2 needs breast milk and nothing else.
  • joybell32
    joybell32 Posts: 252 Member
    When I transitioned all of mine from breast/formula to milk, I went straight to skim milk. (I didn't know about almond) I compared the lables of 2% vs whole vs skim. the only difference was the fat/calories. The dr. did suggest that i do the whole because of the healthy fat for brain development, but they wouldnt drink it. Too rich for them i think. Good luck to you!
  • tamarawisniewski
    tamarawisniewski Posts: 24 Member
    I buy Kalona Supernaturals Organic Vat-Pasturized milk (available at Whole Foods), 1%, 1/2 %, 2%, or Whole Milk. It is as close to pure, raw milk as I can get. My kids love milk, and I feel good buying this product.. There is a wonderful website that discusses the advantages of milk (and nutrition in general) for children : NourishMD.com
  • annie_p
    annie_p Posts: 319 Member
    Well...I have a 1/2 gallon of skim milk that I use for cereal or smoothies, husband drinks 1%(2% if he has it his way) and Rylin drinks Whole. He was on 2%, but the doctor said to switch him to whole because he wasn't gaining weight like he should. Sooo...I'm a terrible example!

    I do however LOVE vanilla soy milk. Either 8th Continent or Silk are my favorites. Never tried almond milk though.
  • hahahollylol
    hahahollylol Posts: 160 Member
    we mainly use raw whole cows milk.....but I would much prefer almond milk. :heart: it!!!!
  • jwd28
    jwd28 Posts: 765
    If you want to switch I would recommend starting NOW. A 4-year-old is going to start wanting what they're used to and rejecting things that seem different. I recently switched to almond milk for myself and my 5-year-old wouldn't touch it. My 2-year-old LOVES it. I attribute it to my 5-year-old being old enough to have already developed stronger opinions...

    Best of luck!
  • ShrinkinMel
    ShrinkinMel Posts: 982 Member
    milk(commercially produced) has hormones, puss(yeah gross huh?) and who knows what else in it. I've never liked the taste skim is all I could handle because its more like water. LOL A lot of studies say it actually causes osteoporosis. Read the soy milk label compare it to cows milk. It has so much more nutrients. There is a lot of debate on soy as well but I figure soy milk doesn't hurt me or my daughter nearly as much as it could with all the soy in processed foods and packaged foods. I say if you are going to drink cows milk at least make it organic hormone free kind.

    I started drinking soy milk when my daughter was a toddler it took a little bit to get used to it but I love it now. I alternate between soy and almond but am thinking of adding in coconut and hemp milks next. We are both lactose intolerant to some extent.

    I started my daughter due to the lactose intolerance but in future I will not use cows milk with kids should I become blessed with more. I will do soy or almond milk supplemented with flax oil(boosts the fat for kids that need it) like I did with her. Hopefully next time I can also make it closer to 2 years with nursing. She stopped at 11 months when supply was very low. :(
  • mamawildbear
    mamawildbear Posts: 93 Member
    I really don't know anything about almond milk but our pediatrician recommended against skim milk for kids because they need the fat in milk for brain development. My kids are now 8 and 10 years old and we are all still drinking 1% milk. Hormone free milks are available many places (in TX all HEB and Hill Country milks are hormone free). I would never do soy milks because soy beans are full of phytoestrogens and no one completely can predict what all those estrogens will do to developing children.
  • ciaobella47
    ciaobella47 Posts: 95 Member
    Waaaaay back, like 4 years ago, current wisdom was, up to 2 years= whole milk, 2-3 years= 2%, 3-4 years= 1%, 4+ years= Skim. The way this stuff changes though, it could be completely irrelevant. lol

    Between the four of us we drink about 1.5 gallons of milk per week. My husband and I drink Skim and the kids (4 and 7) drink 2%. While my kids have healthy appetites and eat enough calories in nutritious foods, they are both very thin. My ped says keep them on 2% for the extra fat.
  • ShrinkinMel
    ShrinkinMel Posts: 982 Member
    I really don't know anything about almond milk but our pediatrician recommended against skim milk for kids because they need the fat in milk for brain development. My kids are now 8 and 10 years old and we are all still drinking 1% milk. Hormone free milks are available many places (in TX all HEB and Hill Country milks are hormone free). I would never do soy milks because soy beans are full of phytoestrogens and no one completely can predict what all those estrogens will do to developing children.

    What other stuff do you eat. Anything with soybean oil or whatnot will have the same thing and its in most EVERYTHING people eat at the grocery store aside from meats(fresh) and produce. Do you avoid those too? The soy thing doesn't really scare me. I'm more apt to believe hormones from cows is going to cause issues with girls. If you look at how early they hit puberty today I have a hard time believing soy would make it worse. A lot of girls are starting their periods at 10-11 over the 13-14 that used to be more common. What do you think cows are pumped full of to produce enough milk to be hooked to that machine and squeezed dry. Surely more than they'd have produced for a baby cow.

    Whatever you feel is best for your family is good but a vegan friend said it well to me once if cows milk is meant to grow a cow 100 lbs in a year why would I give it to my child 3 times or more a day.


    soy or almond milk with a tablespoon of flax oil added can have up to 18 grams of GOOD healthy fat far better than 8 grams with most of it being saturated fat. The math is out there. I never add that much to one cup but surely it can be done. I aimed to get up to 8-10 grams when my daughter was a toddler because she was already a slow gainer.
  • mamawildbear
    mamawildbear Posts: 93 Member
    I'm guessing you didn't actually read my post because I said I feed my children hormone free milk. I also said that "I" would never switch my kids to soy milk. You can do what you like. There are plenty of soy milk drinkers out there but my personal decision is that hormone free cow's milk is perfectly healthy for my kids.
  • tegan1105
    tegan1105 Posts: 2
    I think that most of you should stop worrying about how much fat or calories are in whole/2%/1%/skim, as most kids lead lives far more active then their parents and will burn the extra calories. I noticed most of you never mentioned the calcium? Or do you want your children to have weak bones? I dont know how it works everywhere else, but in Australia skim milk has far less calcium and I personally would rather cut calories somewhere else where my bones arent going to be affected in the long run. So think I will continue giving my kids full cream milk.
  • Ninetta
    Ninetta Posts: 71 Member
    I really don't know anything about almond milk but our pediatrician recommended against skim milk for kids because they need the fat in milk for brain development. My kids are now 8 and 10 years old and we are all still drinking 1% milk. Hormone free milks are available many places (in TX all HEB and Hill Country milks are hormone free). I would never do soy milks because soy beans are full of phytoestrogens and no one completely can predict what all those estrogens will do to developing children.

    What other stuff do you eat. Anything with soybean oil or whatnot will have the same thing and its in most EVERYTHING people eat at the grocery store aside from meats(fresh) and produce. Do you avoid those too? The soy thing doesn't really scare me. I'm more apt to believe hormones from cows is going to cause issues with girls. If you look at how early they hit puberty today I have a hard time believing soy would make it worse. A lot of girls are starting their periods at 10-11 over the 13-14 that used to be more common. What do you think cows are pumped full of to produce enough milk to be hooked to that machine and squeezed dry. Surely more than they'd have produced for a baby cow.

    Whatever you feel is best for your family is good but a vegan friend said it well to me once if cows milk is meant to grow a cow 100 lbs in a year why would I give it to my child 3 times or more a day.


    soy or almond milk with a tablespoon of flax oil added can have up to 18 grams of GOOD healthy fat far better than 8 grams with most of it being saturated fat. The math is out there. I never add that much to one cup but surely it can be done. I aimed to get up to 8-10 grams when my daughter was a toddler because she was already a slow gainer.

    Very well said and I completely agree with you on the many issues you introduced as a result of drinking cows milk. It's unfortunate that 'tradition' gets in the way of good science....it's so seldom this even happens anymore.

    I definitely think these are all valid issues that people need to consider.....it's hard to come by 'natural' these days even when they are USDA approved.....that doesn't necessarily mean that something is good for you.

    Thank you for sharing :)
  • mamawildbear
    mamawildbear Posts: 93 Member
    I think that most of you should stop worrying about how much fat or calories are in whole/2%/1%/skim, as most kids lead lives far more active then their parents and will burn the extra calories. I noticed most of you never mentioned the calcium? Or do you want your children to have weak bones? I dont know how it works everywhere else, but in Australia skim milk has far less calcium and I personally would rather cut calories somewhere else where my bones arent going to be affected in the long run. So think I will continue giving my kids full cream milk.

    Like!
  • pwiggy
    pwiggy Posts: 17
    We love the reduced fat soy or skim milk. The almond and coconut milk are out of the question as one of mine is allergic to almonds and several other tree nuts, consumption may be fatal- so we will skip that option.

    We avoid milk with hormones, but I am not sure that is what is contributing to early puberty- The combo of all the phytoestrogens, the hormones or any combonation of multiple abuses to our food system could be contributing to the issue. IMHO.

    Good luck with your choice and know that what ever you decide is what is best for you and your family.
  • Pebble321
    Pebble321 Posts: 6,423 Member
    I think that most of you should stop worrying about how much fat or calories are in whole/2%/1%/skim, as most kids lead lives far more active then their parents and will burn the extra calories. I noticed most of you never mentioned the calcium? Or do you want your children to have weak bones? I dont know how it works everywhere else, but in Australia skim milk has far less calcium and I personally would rather cut calories somewhere else where my bones arent going to be affected in the long run. So think I will continue giving my kids full cream milk.

    Really, skim milk has less calcium?? I always thought it had more because they took out the fat and left the other stuff including calcium so there was a higher concentration. Guess I'd better start reading labels!
  • MeredithLee11
    MeredithLee11 Posts: 192 Member
    I was always a 1% fan growing up. I recently switched to almond milk (Silk or Almond Breeze Original, not the unsweetened ones). I rarely drink it straight, but it tastes great with my Carnation instant breakfast or to make chocolate milk or hot chocolate. I've also made waffles with it, and they tasted great. I love that it's only 60 calories a cup and fortified with Calcium and D. The only thing I lose out on is the protein in dairy milk, but I get enough protein from other things in my diet.
  • writtenINthestars
    writtenINthestars Posts: 1,933 Member
    I just want to throw out there that the almond milk is pretty good. And the chocolate almond milk is DELICIOUS!

    That is all :)
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