The best and healthiest food for a newborn is breast milk. Its composition during lactation changes by the functional features of the baby’s digestive system, which determines the adequate absorption of nutrients in the conditions of the GI tract development. For many reasons, breastfeeding may not be possible, or breast milk is not enough. In these cases, there is a problem of its replacement and solution together with the pediatrician. The choice of baby formula begins with the choice of milk – the usual cow’s milk or the increasingly popular goat’s milk?
Often parents are surprised by whether it is possible to give a child cow or goat’s milk considering this product is natural and natural for the baby. If you compare goat’s and cow’s with breast milk, you can see that the composition of these products has significant differences.
Why can’t babies under one year old drink milk?
Answering which one is better for your little one – cow’s or goat’s it is important to note that the benefits of this product for the infant’s body are appropriate to speak only after one year. With almost the same caloric content, cow/goat milk includes a lot of protein, carbohydrates, and a high percentage of practically all micronutrients. This is easily explained by the fact that the physical development of calves and goats is much faster than that of humans. We belong to a different biological species, and the development of children is radically different from that of animal cubs. Continuing the comparison of goat’s and cow’s milk with breast milk, it is worth mentioning that the latter provides the baby’s physical growth and mental development.
Is cow’s milk bad for babies?
Cow’s milk contains a lot of protein and minerals. Under a year, the infant’s gastrointestinal tract does not have enough enzymes to digest casein, and cow’s milk protein, unlike goat’s and breast milk, is very abundant. Also, it can traumatize the walls of the intestine, which threatens not only GI distress but also anemia. The proteins of cow’s milk are often a trigger for allergies in food hypersensitivity in infants. Because of these facts, babies under one year of age should not receive whole cow’s milk.
Cow’s Milk Formula
About 80% of the sold formulas are based on cow’s milk protein. The proteins are specially processed so that the baby’s digestive system can easily break them down and absorb them. Most baby formulas are fortified with iron, which the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommended to prevent iron deficiency anemia in babies under one year of age. Many of these formulas also contain docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and arachidonic acid (ARA), which are essential for brain and vision development.
Goat’s milk formula
When breastfeeding is not possible because of an allergy to cow’s milk protein, frequent regurgitation, digestive disorders, the pediatrician may recommend using goat’s milk formula. In their first year of life, babies’ digestive system does not produce enough enzymes to digest certain substances. Goat’s milk formula can be better than cow’s milk, as it is absorbed more quickly by the baby’s body. In this nutrition, the amount of phosphorus is reduced, protein is partially broken down, and essential micronutrients are also added to a baby formula based on goat’s milk. In addition, goat’s milk formula can be recommended if the baby is poorly gaining weight or prone to frequent infections.
What baby formula is better? Cow’s vs. Goat’s milk formula
The opinion that goat’s milk is closer in composition to breast milk than cow’s milk and therefore more nutritious for newborns is partly mistaken. The proteins of goat’s and cow’s milk are different in structure – the former is easier to digest in the immature infant’s stomach. Why?
Once in the baby’s stomach, goat’s milk forms a less dense substance than cow’s milk. Therefore, it is easier to digest. But in the intestine, when it is broken down into enzymes – both goat’s milk and cow’s milk. Therefore, even though goat’s milk is well digested in the baby’s stomach, there may be problems with its breakdown.
Goat’s milk fats indeed form smaller droplets than cow’s milk fats. And in this way, they can be more easily absorbed by the baby’s body. Since baby formula only partly consists of milk, many vegetable oils are added to the fat composition.
It is a misconception that goat’s milk contains many more vitamins and nutrients than cow’s or even breast milk. Both are almost identical in structure and are equally enriched with minerals, so much so that the infant’s body is simply unable to absorb them all. The milk included in baby food is artificially stripped of some vitamins and minerals and supplemented with others to become as similar to breast milk as possible.
The proteins of cow’s and goat’s milk have different components, and therefore, goat’s milk formula can be a great alternative for babies who are allergic to cow’s milk protein.
The proteins of cow’s and goat’s milk have different components, and therefore, goat’s milk formula can be a great alternative for babies who are allergic to cow’s milk protein. One of the best examples with that is myorganiccompany which gives organic formulas for special little ones.
But this is not always the case because both proteins are foreign to a small growing body. The only milk that will be absorbed in the baby’s body without any consequences is breast milk. It is dominated by albumin, while the leading enzyme is casein both in goat’s and cow’s milk.
Manufacturers sometimes bet on the increased content of beneficial substances in their product: omega acids, probiotics, and prebiotics. Quality baby formula from a good manufacturer contains all the same acids, minerals, and vitamins.
So the only main advantage of goat’s milk protein over cow’s milk can be only its different composition. The baby may not be allergic to the formula, but goat’s milk is not helpful and completely safe for allergic babies.
Where to buy quality infant formula?
Buying quality food for your child is the choice of responsible parents who think about the health of their little one. And since the baby needs food every day, it is considered great luck to find a reliable store offering a wide range of high-quality infant formula. Here at organicsbestshop.com, you will be helped by expert consultants to find the best formula for your baby!
