Breast milk is the most beneficial for a baby in the first year of life. But if for any reason a woman cannot establish lactation, it is necessary to choose the right formula for the baby. And here parents are faced with a difficult choice.
The shelves of pharmacies and children’s stores are replete with assortment, from which the eyes are scattered. What is suitable for your child, the pediatrician advises, and time will show.
1. What milk is the most useful?
Asked whose milk is healthier for babies, the answer will be unambiguous – the mothers. But if it so happens that you have to use a formula, you can choose one that is based on cow’s or goat’s milk. There is much debate about which one is better and healthier.
But still more appreciated is the milk of goats that eat natural grass. The result is an environmentally friendly product that contains free amino acids, nucleotides, omega-3, and other elements responsible for the mental and physical development of the baby.
2. Five advantages in favor of goat milk formula
1. What is the difference between goat’s milk and cow’s milk in terms of composition? One of the differences between this milk is that it has no allergies. What explains it? Just like with cows, it contains caseins. Casein alpha 1s usually causes allergies in dairy products, but not in goat milk. So for those who are allergic to cow’s milk, goat milk is a great alternative.
2. Pure goat’s milk is strictly forbidden in the diet of infants, but they make excellent formulas based on it. Formulas based on goat’s milk are adapted, that is, they are as close as possible to breast milk. This is achieved by artificially adding the right substances in certain ratios. Goat’s milk baby food contains more phosphorus, as well as calcium, than cow’s milk formula.
3. Goat milk when digested by hydrochloric acid turns into a soft porous clot, so the baby’s stomach is easier to digest than cow’s milk formula. The latter turns into a dense mass of curd in the stomach, which makes it difficult to digest. Thus, goat milk reduces the likelihood of burping in children, resulting in food passing easily into the intestines.
4. Goat milk contains smaller fat droplets than the fats in cow’s milk, and therefore, they are easier for children’s intestines to digest. However, this only applies to babies over 6 months of age, because by this age the infant’s digestive system can only cope with the fats that the mother’s breast milk contains. The element of fat in children’s food is adapted in this regard. Most of the fats are replaced with vegetable oils, and in certain cases, fish oil is added to the product.
5. Goat milk affects increasing the level of hemoglobin in the blood. It also has a high content of sialic acid. This substance belongs to the elements of the immune system structure. B vitamins – choline and biotin – help to slow down the aging process of the body. Goat milk strengthens hair, nails, and teeth. Consumption of goat milk helps normalize the work of such organs like the lungs, liver, and stomach.
3. Myths about goat milk
Since ancient times, mankind treated goat milk with special respect.
So, according to the myths of Ancient Greece, it was fed by Zeus the Thunderer himself. And Roman doctors used it to prevent many diseases. However, certain myths require refutation.
Myth No. 1: “Goat milk stinks.” It depends on the conditions of the goat and the storage of milk. If the animal is kept clean, in all probability there will be no unpleasant smell. In addition, if the milk is covered after milking, the liquid will absorb all odors, but if left uncovered, the unpleasant aroma will escape.
Myth No. 2: Goat milk is bitter. It depends on where the animal grazes and the variety of grasses it eats. If the goat’s main diet is wormwood, there is no point in being surprised by the unpleasant aftertaste.
Myth No. 3: Goat milk makes you fat. No, it doesn’t. 67% of goat milk contains unsaturated fatty acids. They prevent the deposition of cholesterol.
4. So which baby formula to choose?
From the above material, we learned about the benefits of goat milk-based formula. Most young moms recommend Holle goat milk formula. It is an organic product for the consumption of babies and has many years of experience in the field of baby food and many positive reviews of satisfied parents and active babies.
It contains a whole complex of vitamins: A, B (1, 2, 6, 12, 3, 9), C, E, D, PP, and H. It is rich in phosphorus and potassium, magnesium and iodine, sodium and manganese, copper and fluoride. This formula has different stages, for different-aged babies, because as a child grows up, the composition of the infant formula has to change as well.