Isn't yogurt milk??

[juliasdad]

So, I've read plenty that says that giving cow's milk to a 6-month old, or even 9-month-old, is a no-no.

I've also read plenty that says that yogurt is one of the best starter foods.

Am I missing something? Given these two apparently conflicting recommendations, I'm assuming that the only issue with cow's milk is the lactose in it and that the bacteria in yogurt consume enough lactose as to render it a non-problem. But it seems pretty dubious to me that lactose is the problem, since it is present in mother's milk as well, and since babies have better lactase enzyme activity than do older children and adults.

So, what's wrong with cow's milk and why isn't yogurt a problem?

Signed,

Confused in the dairy aisle

[egoldber]

It is true that people/babies who have difficulty tolerating "regular" milk and dairy products can often tolerate yogurt. BUT I think the dirty little secret is the there isn't anything in particular wrong with cows milk. BUT peds and other health care professionals do NOT want people giving their babies so much cows milk that it reduces their consumption of breastmilk or formula. I asked my ped about this when he suggested starting yogurt and this is what he told me.

Babies who drink a lot of milk often do not consume as much other stuff that is better for them. Cows milk, while an OK food, is NOT an adequate substitute for beastmilk or formula for young babies.

HTH,

[Rachels]

Also, there really is a potential lactose issue. Abby gets terrible belly pain if she or I have most dairy, but she does fine with yogurt. The milk proteins are already broken down in yogurt.

-Rachel
Mom to Abigail Rose
5/18/02

[parkersmama]

From what I've read/heard it's not the lactose that's the problem. There is lactose in breastmilk and babies digest it just fine. Lactose is a sugar rather than a protein (I believe). It's the proteins (caesins) in cow's milk that cause babies to have an intolerance to it. Their intestinal lining are still too immature to digest the cow's milk proteins. Most babies who have this problem (not all do) outgrow it between 6 mos. and one year. Wesley had a terrible intolerance to milk in my diet. I had to completely cut out dairy from my diet while he was being exclusively breastfed. Once he hit around 6 months and started on solids he seemed to outgrow the problem and was able to even have yogurt himself. He drinks 2% milk now like it's going out of style and doesn't have any problems which further indicates that it wasn't the lactose. Most people who are lactose intolerant do not "outgrow" the problem.

But I do think that giving regular milk to a baby too early can cause them to develop milk allergies especially in families that have a history of allergies. It's one of the "avoid it" foods for the first year since allergies to it are so common.

Denise
mom to:
Parker, 9/1/1997
Wesley, 3/9/2000
and #3 (a girl!) due 4/29/2003

[daisy1234]

It is the proteins in cow's milk that are unable to be digested due to the immaturity of the gut. It can be a serious situation if cow's milk is given under a year. Because infants can't digest the proteins ..it can cause intestinal bleeding which could lead to anemia...which in turn could effect the child's ability to learn.
Yogurt usually can be introduced earier because from what I understand the proteins are somewhat broken down. If food allergies run in your family it is prudent to wait until after 1 year or longer to introduce dairy! Also keep in mind that after a year in is best to limit milk to 2 cups per day and watch that baby doesn't get a whole lot of other dairy products. Too much calcium can interfere with iron absorption as well as fill

[egoldber]

Well, I'm still confused! LOL! :) Casein, the protein in cow's milk, makes up a large portion of the proteins found in most infant formulas, including Similac and Enfamil. So the majority of babies in this country DO get at least some casein (i.e., cow's milk proteins) as part of their daily diet.

This is actually what my ped told me when I asked about dairy. (I simplified the converstion above.) He had advised me that I could start yogurt and cheese at (I think) around 7-8 months. I was surprised, since I had also heard to avoid dairy products and milk until one year due to milk allergies. That is when he said that since formula is essentially a "dairy product" with casein and Sarah had been supplemented with formula until 6 months and on formula exclusively since 6 months with no problems, that other dairy products were fine. And that is when he also made the comment that there was nothing particularly "wrong" with milk for that matter, just that it would NOT be a good idea to use very much of it and CERTAINLY not as a replacement for breastmilk or formula.

(And I didn't give Sarah cow's milk until she was a year, but yogurt and cheese have been dietary staples since she was 8 months. And ABSOLUTELY if you or your baby has an intolerance, these products probably should be avoided.)

So here's a question. If your child has been using a milk based formula, do the same "rules" about avoiding dairy still apply?

Signed,

Curious in the dairy and baby products aisle,

[juliasdad]

Ah, it's all becoming a bit clearer! The recommendation against
cow's milk has little to do with lactose (after all, mother's
milk has more lactose than cow's milk)... it's all about
the proteins. And in that regard, yogurt wouldn't be as
bad because both the fermenting bacteria, and the resulting
acidic environment, would help to denature these proteins so
that they're broken down a bit for baby.

>Casein, the protein in
>cow's milk, makes up a large portion of the proteins found
>in most infant formulas, including Similac and Enfamil. So
>the majority of babies in this country DO get at least some
>casein (i.e., cow's milk proteins) as part of their daily
>diet.

Three points:
1) Cow's milk contains a LOT of protein... a lot more than
breastmilk. I'd assume that even if a large portion
of the proteins in formula are casein-type, the total
proportion is probably still close to what breastmilk
would provide (rather than cow's milk).
2) Casein isn't just a cow's milk protein... it's present
in breastmilk as well, just in lower amounts. Calves
can digest this stuff pretty easily because of all of
the rennet in their guts (remember, cheese was discovered
by accident, when people used to use animal bladders
to carry liquids, and they were surprised when they
tried carrying milk to their destination that the contents
had separated into a solid mass of curd!)
3) I wonder if the casein proteins in these formulas aren't
at least partly denatured.

>So here's a question. If your child has been using a milk
>based formula, do the same "rules" about avoiding dairy
>still apply?

If all of the above is on track, then it would seem the answer
is less.

Thanks, all... I'm no longer confused (but very possibly wrong)!

-dan

[egoldber]

OK, still confused. :) But with allergies, isn't ANY exposure generally a trigger? I know that people who have to do a dairy elimination diet have to read labels very carefully for even trace quantities of dairy, including casein and whey.

[parkersmama]

I think that cow's milk formula-fed babies are more prone to milk allergies. I fall into that category. I had terrible milk allergies as a child but outgrew them as I got older. Because of my history of allergies, I held off on all cow's milk products except yogurt with my children until they were 1. I also had a wheat allergy and was careful about giving them wheat products early on. Dairy (caesins) and wheat (gluten) are two of the hardest to avoid...they are in everything!! When Wesley had his sensitivity to the dairy in my diet and I tried to cut out dairy, it was practically impossible. I even found that soy cheese had caesins in it! Luckily, he seemed able to tolerate a tiny bit of the milk protiens in my diet but I had to avoid milk, cheese, and ice cream completely until he got older. It was horrible!

It does seem terribly confusing because I think that cow's milk is not inherantly bad for babies but it's certainly not as good as breastmilk or formula. As many people point out, cow's milk is the perfect food for calves and breastmilk is the perfect food for babies...that's just how we are designed. That being said, I don't think having some cow's milk in a baby's diet is the end of the world and won't really hurt unless it's the mainstay of their diet or they develop an allergy to it. I don't think I've cleared up any of the confusion at all! LOL!

Denise
mom to:
Parker, 9/1/1997
Wesley, 3/9/2000
and #3 (a girl!) due 4/29/2003

[kfcboston]

Hmmmmm......so can a mom with a BFed baby with a dairy sensitivity eat frozen yogurt? Or am I just daring to dream? :-)