Your Opinion on Cow's Milk

I LOVE cow's milk and dairy products, but realize nature makes it with baby cows in mind, not humans, and on a certain level, it's unnatural that we drink it. I tolerate dairy fine, but I know many people who do not, to varying degrees.

There are numerous non-dairy foods that are high in calcium, and it sounds like you are aware of many of them: salmon, spinach, white beans, broccoli, and almonds, to name a few. Also, many juices and cereals come fortified with calcium.

Have you considered goat's milk, yogurt, & cheese? (I can not tolerate the taste of goat's milk, but like the yogurt and cheese.) Goat's milk is high in calcium, and it is often tolerated better by those who can not drink cow's milk. It's biological make up is very similar to breastmilk.

My friend and her daughter both have a hard time with cow's milk, but can tolerate cheese, yogurt, etc because of the cultures in them. Have you thought about goat/sheep/soy milk? I feel (and this is just my opinion) that as long as you are giving her other foods with calcium (whether natural or fortified) she will still get what her growing body needs. Talk to your doctor to be sure, but I don't see why cow's milk has to be the primary source of calcium for our bodies.

My 1 1/2 year old son, is allergic to all dairy. His eczema will flare up, and he sometimes vomits after drinking milk. Our pediatrician said cows milk is kind of over rated, and there are many other good sources of calcium; fortified rice milk, soy milk, oat milk, almond milk, green leafy veggies, etc. If your daughter eats other types of dairy (cheese, yogurt), and replaces cows milk with non dairy milk, I would think she'd get enough calcium.

Since my son doesn't tolerate any dairy, I also give him calcium supplements. I use a powder made by Kirkman Labs (recommended by our pediatrician), which I mix into his rice, soy or coconut yogurt, and sometimes he gets these fruity vitamin chews that contain calcium. So you could use supplements for an added boost.

I don't mind cow's milk because I know how well kids have grown historically drinking cow's milk, and I can't get past that.

Before the birth of my twins I was a vegetarian who drank soy milk, not because I was anti-cow, but because I was anti-mass-cow-production treatment, if that makes sense. My boys drank soy milk from 12 months - 2 due to lactose intolerance and did well. Soy milk is now fortified with Vitamin D and calcium to match or exceed cow's milk, and soy protein has been shown to be beneficial. If you think cow's milk is the problem, try soy or another alternative.

Dairy is just a great source of calcium and historically children have grown well with dairy consumption (cow or otherwise), which is why it's so recommended. Plus it's so standard in American culture. But there is no rule that says you have to give it to her, I would just be leary of giving up all forms of milk completely.

Good luck!

My opinion on cows milk is.... its not necessary. My oldest has a dairy protein allergy that was spurred by an introduction to formula in the ohspital nursery against my wishes and without my knowledge. Since then he has reacted to all dairy protein. He specificaly reacts to anything over 1% milk and really reacts to ice cream. However cheese and yogurt do not bother him as much, as hte proteins are broken down and so processed they are almost non-existent.

We use alot of almond milk since I'm kind of anti-soy. My boys also eat lots of veggies, fruits, and greens. After all, the cows get their calcium from greens.... so we can do the same!

Both of my boys are very healthy eaters, and neither has any deficiencies from not drinking alot of cows milk. If you do some research online, you will find alot of information about the 'anti-cows milk' movement.