Organic Whole Milk or Regular Whole Milk for My 1Yr Old

We eat mainly organic, especiall dairy, meat and fresh produce for all the already mentioned reasons.

Do your research on it and you will see how horrible the effects of the hormones, antibiotics, and pesticides are on the animals that use it, the animals that eat it (us), and the world in general.

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The experts say that if you're only going to go organic on one thing, you should go with dairy. Next is meats, then fruits/veggies, then grains.

Organic milk is definitely healthier - there are no chemicals or hormones (which includes no pesticides and fertilizers used on their foodstuff!). Also, it has more Omega3, more vitamins, more CLA (Conjugated Linoleic Acid), and more antioxidants.

Check out the website below for more on what the above things mean - it's pretty straight-forward and gives basic explanations (unlike some of them out there!) http://www.organicfacts.net/organic-animal-products/organ... of-organic-milk.html

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Goats milk has alot more nutrients in it I switched to it after my daughter turned one.
My dad is a nutritionist herbalogist, I also asked my pediatrition she said that it's good.
also put Flaxseed oil in the yogurt for better brain development, it is fish oil ,but don't
worry no mercury. Best Flaxseed brand is at Whole Foods ( Dr. Udo's) in the frigerator
section, it also fights diseases.

N.

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You've really hit the nail on the head. Since babies drink a large amount of milk, you don't want them drinking all those hormones. Trader Joes sell organic milk at a lower price as do lots of stores around town. It's a little more expensive, but long term it's worth it. -www.weelicious.com

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Everyone pretty much laid it out. Organic is the way to go. Also consider many of the practices used with Organic livestock of all kinds are a great deal cleaner. They have to be, or they would loose a too large a percentage of their animals to disease. No antibiotic use means animals have to be reared in ways that reduce their exposure to bacteria. And we all know where that bacterium comes from right? As a side line, raising them this way ends up being a great deal more humane. Doctors are very concerned that bacteria are becoming more and more resistant to our antibiotics. We as society should be taking a close look at the vast amounts of antibiotics we are consuming every day in our dairy, meat and poultry.

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If you are determined to feed your son cow's milk because that is how you and your husband were raised, definitely go with organic. Just keep in mind that cows milk was meant for baby cows, and many child health experts advise against it, especially during the first 3 years. I recommend doing your own research online. It is really the best way to go, and a good habit to develop in order to get a balanced grasp of any subject.

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Hi. I took the bottle away from my son as soon as he was done with formula at 1 years old. I then introduced a sippy cup with Organic Whole Milk. I know you said he loves his bottle, but you don't want your son drinking a bottle of milk all day. It is bad for his growing teeth. My sister had her son on a bottle with milk until he was 2 years old and by the time he was 4 years old he was having root canals. Anyways, just make sure you brush his teeth twice a day as well. Milk has a lot of sugar in it. Good Luck

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Lots of responses but thought I give my vote...go organic whenever you can... milk, formula, meats, produce etc.
http://www.organic.org/

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I can only speak from my experience. I consider myself to be normal, and not too out there on any side of an issue. I do organic as much as I can. If I need milk, and 7-11 is the easiest, then we have non organic for a couple days. Personally, I think the people that are suggesting no milk are in the minority. Talk to your pediatrician. I do not know your ethnic background, but many African and Native Americans are lactose intolerant. And that is a whole different issue.

I spent a lot of time in Japan-and The introduction of milk into Japan post WWII stopped osteoporosis (sp?). And I can tell you, I had no idea what that really meant until I saw it 1st hand. Elderly people pretty much bent in 1/2. So, my kids will drink milk.

Soy and raw I would really look into-their are risks to both

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If you must give him milk then yes, organic. You really want to stay away from the growth hormones in the foods these days. You'd be wise to do some research on milk before introducing it to your son. We buy organic milk from Costco, my son drinks it on occasion, maybe a a couple of glasses a week and my husband too. My daughter and I don't drink it at all. If it were up to me, I wouldn't buy it though. We get our calcium/vit d from other sources. The following was taken from www.milksucks.com (yes it is pretty one sided - but has some good information none the less);

Dairy products are a health hazard. They contain no fiber or complex carbohydrates and are laden with saturated fat and cholesterol. They are contaminated with cow's blood and pus and are frequently contaminated with pesticides, hormones, and antibiotics. Dairy products are linked to allergies, constipation, obesity, heart disease, cancer, and other diseases.

The late Dr. Benjamin Spock, America's leading authority on child care, spoke out against feeding cow's milk to children, saying it can cause anemia, allergies, and insulin-dependent diabetes and in the long term, will set kids up for obesity and heart disease, America's number one cause of death.

And dairy products may actually cause osteoporosis, not prevent it, since their high-protein content leaches calcium from the body. Population studies, backed up by a groundbreaking Harvard study of more than 75,000 nurses, suggest that drinking milk can actually cause osteoporosis.

Bottom line, skip it if you can. If not, then yes, buy organic.
Best wishes,
M.

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Hi Jes,
The list goes on, but I also just drink Organic and try to do so with other products as well. With regards to the milk and eggs, which I am adamant about in our home at least, there is the added hormone issue, the antibiotic issue (which can create resistance in your little one in case they do need them in the future) and for us, the treatment of the animals. I am a half and half type on the organic issue and waver on the meat issue too, which is also obviously a source of these items too. You can research it online and will ultimately have to decide for yourself. Best of luck to you.
U.

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check out the book "what to buy or not to buy organic" it's a great book & will talk to you about the benefits of buying organic dairy products.

i would be careful if you choose to go the raw milk route as organic pastures is being sued. there are two families whose children ended up with ecoli and one with kidney failure as well. we used to do raw for our son until we found this out. better be safe than sorry.

another great source for milk is almond milk. my son was first introduced to this at the age of one because he did not care for regular milk at all. eventually he switched to cow's milk.

best,
A.

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Hey there Jes. I just read your response in the "So what happened?" section and saw you were thinking about giving him soy since "milk is bad". I just wanted to let you know, unfortunately to make things even more complicated, Soy isn't a good substitute either. Soy mimics estrogen so giving your baby soy is the equivalent of giving him 3-4 birth control pills a day. If your thinking of going organic milk because of the hormones in regular milk, soy is definetly worse as far as hormones are concerned. I've seen in some of the other responses that some people say they don't drink milk at all and that is probably the best. Humans are the only specices that drink another animals milk and the only specices that drink milk after being weened. I do drink milk myself, but if your conserned about it, you can most certainly cut it out completely. Just be sure that your son gets his calcium from other sources, such as OJ with calcium, almon, Tofu, Rhubarb, Sardines, Collard greens, Spinach, Turnip greens, Okra, White beans, Baked beans, Broccoli, Peas, Brussel sprouts, Sesame seeds, Bok choy, and Almonds, and of course other dairy products such as cheese, yogurt and such, but again you'd have the debate of organic verses non-organic. Just try to stay away from soy especially for a boy. Good luck!

The last couple years I have become more conscious about what I eat and what I want my baby to have. Organic is the way to go (as others here have said) but you also might want to look at alternatives. There is dairy in nearly everything we eat! Because of all the research recently and the simple fact that it lasts a lot longer, my husband and I have switched to soy milk. For my son, I decided that I would rather him have mostly Almond milk because of the protein and there has been some interesting research & findings in regards to soy lately. (I like the almond milk. Very yummy and a little sweater than soy) He will eat whatever, though. When we are not at home, the restaurants and fast food places have whole milk. At home he has almond, when we run out, he has soy. He doesn't seem to mind and isn't picky (but I know that I'm lucky).

What an education I just got by reading your responses! I had never heard of "raw" milk and will stay away from soy milk.

On the issue of organic vrs. regular... if you can afford the $$ or organic, I'd say go for it! However, please realize that the types of people who responded here may not represent the average population. My family all drink regular cows milk and we are very healthy. My folks started me and my sisters on evaporated milk somewhere btwn 8 and 12 months and later switched to liquid (family on a budget!), and none of us ever had problems with our hormones or early menstruation (I didn't start till I was 15!).

My personal analysis is that Organic is great if you can, but if you are not taking in excessive quantities of a particular food/food group, then you'll be fine anyway.

WOW! Alot of response. SOMETHING THAT NOBODY ELSE MENTIONED: ALTERNATIVE TO COW DAIRY: most people believe that when they have difficulty with milk products that it is lactose intolerance, however, cow milk Protein is really a much greater challenge for us biologically. If you want to give your child milk INSTEAD OF SOY or some other alternative, you might want to consider ORGANIC GOAT"S MILK. the protein in goat's milk is the most similar to human milk protein than from any other animal, and is EASILY DIGESTED AND ASSIMILATED. Except for Pure Whole Milk Organic Yogurt, the only dairy I feed my 21 month old son is goat's milk cheese, which he loves. It is a great source of protein, fat and calcium and it tastes good, and it is made purely with no rennet, no additives. You can find rBST Free or organic Goat dairy products at your health food store. CHEERS TO YOUR HEALTH!!

Hi Jes, I only drink organic milk, and I give it to my daycare kids. Here's my experience, I love drinking milk before I go to bed at night, but everytime I drak regular milk, and night i would wake up with the worst headache, nausea, and eventually throw up, but I can drink organic milk late at night and i am fine in the morning, it's healthier. J.

I recently just started buying organic milk for myself because I noticed that the expiration dates were a lot longer than regular milk. I got tired of throwing out spoiled milk.

I read your update.....Talk to you pediatritian before cutting out milk completely. A lot of the opinions against cows milk come from people that have more of a vegan outlook on food. This is a very contravercial subject believe it or not. When you go into your 12 mo well baby visit the dr will tell you how much milk (or other dairy)a day your child needs. Bring up this subject then. Until then, buy the organic whole milk.

BTW, I also buy the Trader Joe cheese, eggs, creme cheese, yogurt,...the hormones and antibiotics can be in any dairy.

milk is one of the worst things you can ever give your children. the enzymes that are in cows milk are made for a baby cow. the only thing that I would ever give your child is goats milk. the goat is a much smaller animal and the enzymes wont be to much for a small child. I have lived by this and my children come from a family were everyone has so many allergy's. My children who are now adults have never had cows milk unlike the cousins and my girls are the only ones who have not had the allergy's the rest suffer from. They never got sick as children either. I breast feed them until they were both 2 years because of the family history. I learned that cows milk also lines the intestinal track with mucus and wont allow the nutrients to get through the wall were all of the food nutrient we eat based on different ph levals make it into our systems.

Organinc milk comes from cows that are not given hormones or antibiotics. (We buy the kind without the hormones because we have two daughters.) I've heard that the hormones may be linked to early puberty (in girls) and also fertility problems (also in girls) down the line. I've also heard that the antibiotics that may be in the milk may be the reason that people are not responding to antibiotics as well as they used to. If you're in doubt at all, I would go with organic. :)

If it's not part of your lifestyle to go organic it's useless to try for your child. The benefits of organic is no chemicals, preservatives, dyes, etc....the way we all should eat. In all reality it won't really matter what you do for your child if you aren't doing it for yourself because they learn by example and when they get to the age of wanting to do everything you do they won't eat or drink anything other than what you eat or drink. We eat pretty healthy but we don't worry about dyes or preservatives but our son is 4 and he wants to eat what we eat for the most part so all the super healthy things I did for him really didn't matter in the long run. The only way to enforce organic is to live organic. Best wishes.

Hormones is enough! But consider the huge benefits offered by natural vitamins and minerals that would otherwise be cooked to death by ultra pasteurization. Without turning this into a gigantic homework assignment I recommend you take a minute or two and Google the process. In a very short period you'll be an expert yourself. You don't have to read through every page but become familiar with the process and that way you can make an educated decision. I am sure you will get six million opinions and they are all very logical and each person is very convinced of their opinion being right. For them, it is. You need one that is just for you. The above is a short cut to achievement of that goal. Good luck. You'll do what is best for your family!

Jes,
This is a case of the more you know, the uglier it gets! Any livestock treated with RSBT, a growth hormone, increases the animal's productivity. This is why it was promoted to farmers. Unfortunately it has a devastating effect on the animal, over-taxing its system, causing disease and early death. One chronic problem for cows is mastitis (infection of the utters)which then promotes the use of antibiotics, which ends up in the milk product, AND YOUR CHILD! So does the pus..... (Growth hormones are also suspect in the precocious puberty that is rampant among young children).
There are very large lobbying groups that have curtailed the notification of stating on products "These animals have not been treated with rBST" and if you look on products that DO treat their animals with hormones, it now says "There has been no difference shown between rBST treated and non-rBST treated products" or something to that effect. This is strictly not true-- there is a huge difference in what you are ingesting BEYOND the milk, butter, cream, etc. You can goggle this for more information. The bottom line is that anything organic does not use these growth enhancing hormones, pesticides, etc.Animals and their by-products remain pure and real-- nothing more! I hope this helps!
S.

I saw your response about maybe going to soy milk instead of regular /organic milk- sorry but more research to do :) Soy milk is not recommended for boys because of the high amounts of estrogen in it. Stick with organic milk, if you do cut down on the amount of milk your son is drinking make sure he is getting enough other healthy fats in his diet. They need fat for proper brain development!

Just in the last 2 months or so did I start buying organic milk and everything else organic. I did not notice anything different with my daughter (20 mos. now) drinking organic whole milk.

Well, I think it's not just that the organic milk doesn't have hormones (something very important, in my opinion), I think the cows are also fed an organic diet, too. That's important also because then the cows are not eating food that has been treated with nasty pesticides that could potentially get into the milk you give your baby. Also, your baby's body would absorb more of the bad things (hormones, pesticides, etc.) than an adult would and would not have as easy a time getting rid of them. In general, things that are organic are way better for you, your child, and the environment as a whole. I say, go for organic for sure, and you and your husband should try it, too. Trader Joe's is a good place to shop for organic things since they are WAY cheaper than Whole Foods. Good luck! :)

Organic milk doesn't have hormones and the cows are fed pesticide free organic grasses. You can also buy organic whole milk with DHA, just like in most formulas. Dairy is important to children, I have never been told by a doctor to cut it out. My daughter just turned 1 and loves yogurt, cheese and milk AND it's good for her. The only reason you would need to cut out dairy is if there are allergies involved.

Go organic. Give him as much of a headstart as you can from all the chemicals and hormones his body is going to consume in his lifetime.

M.

Hi Jes,
you are in CA which actually gives you the opportunity to buy RAW whole organic milk.. which is even better!! No hormones, not processed or homonogized. You can read about all of the benefits etc at http://www.westonaprice.org/children/index.html

My son was adopted and he was on the raw whole milk formula from 1mo-1yr at which point we did switch him over to regular raw whole milk.

C.~

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