Milk is a nutritious drink suitable for all ages. It is rich in protein and calcium and can fortify bones. It is vital for growing kids. Bolanle Tijani, a Registered Dietician and Director of Dietetics at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) advises that every child needs to drink at least 250 ml of milk daily. This will help their brain development.
Milk and its nutritional facts
Milk is a highly nutritious fluid. People of all ages benefit from it. It is especially good for growing kids. Most people in the world consume either cow’s milk or buffalo milk. While some drink goat’s or camel’s milk. Nowadays, stress is on plant based foods for health of self and environment. Hence, increasingly people are consuming soy milk, oats milk, almond milk, potato milk and the like. This is also good for people who are allergic to soy or dairy milk or have lactose intolerance.
Milk is good for children (Source: Cleveland Clinic Health Essentials)Each 100 grams of cow’s milk with 1% fat has 42 calories. Total fat is 1 grams while saturated fats are 0.3 grams. Cholesterol is 5 mg. And carbs are 5 grams. There is no dietary fiber in it while sugar (lactose) is 5 grams. Protein in this amount is 3.4 grams.
It has calcium, cobalamin and magnesium in it. This helps in strengthening bones and teeth. Sodium is 44 mg while potassium is 150 mg. The two important nutrients of milk that assist in growth and development in children are proteins and calcium.
Bolanle Tijani and her advice
Bolanle Tijani, dietitian from Lagos states that every child should drink at least 250 ml of milk in a day. This is equal to one glass or two cups of milk. She added that this helps brain growth and development of the child. Reiterating the WHO recommendation, Bolanle said:
“Every child must have a cup of milk that is about 250ml daily. Having more than that is okay.”
Milk (Source: Pinterest)She added:
“Milk is a whole meal. It has almost all the nutritional values, especially calcium which is good for strong bones.”
“Milk is classified as a high biological value protein; this implies that the protein will be completely available for the child to utilise.”
Furthermore, it aids brain development in children. It has both saturated and polyunsaturated fats. Bolanle continued:
“Milk also contains a source of vitamin D and carbohydrates.”
Bolanle’s request to Nigerian government
Considering the benefits of milk for children, Bolanle feels that the government of Nigeria should provide milk to all children free of cost. One sachet of milk has 100 ml of milk. She wants the government to give each kid two sachets of milk per day. She says so since poor parents are unable to give this amount of milk to their kids daily:
“However, that is not feasible at the moment as some families cannot afford it,”
Milk is nutritious (Source: AE Dairy)Milk also has choline and vitamin D. It can reduce bowel cancer risk too, states the Cancer Research UK.
Read here: Potato milk: the new milk substitute trend that has health and environmental benefits!
There is a growing movement against milk due to various reasons. Veganism is rising but kids should have a balanced and wholesome diet including milk.