Got More Milk? Cow’s Milk Protein may be Good for Infants

by Jennifer Adaeze Anyaegbunam

change.org

Earlier this month I covered a study that suggested early enrollment in the U.S. government’s food supplement program WIC prevented disadvantaged mothers from feeding their infants cow’s milk too soon. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics children under the age of one should not be given cow’s milk. This type of milk not only lacks a number of nutrients essential for healthy development, but also is hard for infants to digest.

A few Change.org readers responded to the post, highlighting a general controversy over the consumption of milk. A new study published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology however, suggests that “cow’s milk may do a baby good.”

According to Professor Yitzhak Katz of Tel Aviv University’s Department of Pediatrics, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, babies who were exposed to cow’s milk protein in baby formula during the first 15 days of life were 19 times more protected from developing the Cows Milk Protein Allergy (CMA) than babies who were exposed after the 15 day period. “Women who regularly (daily) introduced their babies to cow milk protein early, before 15 days of life, almost completely eliminated the incidence of allergy to cow milk protein in their babies,” says Prof. Katz.

CMA is not the same as lactose intolerance, which is the inability to digest the sugar lactose. The protein in cow’s milk is often the basis for commercial baby formulas. Some infants develop the allergy because their immune systems interpret the protein as something foreign to fight off. Most children outgrow the allergy, but it can be quite harmful to others leading to rashes, respiratory problems, shock and even death. Researchers say exposure to this protein within this early 15 day window has a vaccinating effect, boosting the immune system and providing more protection against the possibility of CMA.

If not exposed early, Dr. Katz recommends waiting until an infant is at least one year of age before introducing cow’s milk into the diet. Further research is needed to determine exactly how much formula is needed to achieve this vaccinating effect, but the doctor recommends a single bottle-feed at night for those mothers who breastfeed their babies.

What do you think?

Photo Credit: Daquella Manera