Why is Dairy the worst source of Calcium for our kids?

I don’t give my kids any cow’s milk! Period!
For a good reason, of course…

Calcium, a mineral, is super important for our children’s growth and development, especially during the first years of life.

At this stage, they grow very fast and bones need to have adequate amounts of calcium in order to mature as a healthy child.

We, moms, are bombarded by marketing companies which convince us that dairy is the best source of calcium and that in order to meet our child’s growth needs we have to feed them 2-3 cups of milk a day!

OMG, I can’t even imagine myself doing that!

Dairy is indeed very high in calcium, BUT the quality of this calcium is very low. Since many moms are convinced that dairy is the best source of calcium in the world, I’ve prepared this blog post to illuminate you with some facts.

Why cow’s milk is so bad for our kids?

1. It’s pasteurized – which means it has no live enzymes in it. In other words, this food has no life force in it whatsoever (raw milk would be a much better option, but it’s illegal in most countries).

Enzymes help in the breakdown and assimilation of food in our body and many of them are present in raw foods; they die out once heated up.

2. It’s loaded with casein – which is used as GLUE in the wood industry! Our digestive systems cannot break it down, it damages the lining of our intestines and colon and creates inflammation in the body. Most people cannot digest dairy products, because of this.

3. Dairy creates mucus in our body which is why it is better to avoid it altogether during flu season, but especially if you or your child get sick. I’ve seen kids eat yogurt while recovering from a cold!

4. Cow’s milk was designed by nature for calves, not humans! – Think about this, we are the only animal on earth that, not only insists on drinking other mammals’ milk, we drink it in adulthood as well.

In nature, the mother’s milk is intended for babies only, not adults! Our bodies stop making the enzymes necessary for breaking down mother’s milk after the second year of life, if that is not a clue, then I don’t know what is 🙂

5. Skim milk is not nature’s food, it is a man-made food – there is no such thing in nature as skim and homogenized milk. Milk should contain fat for a very good reason – calcium cannot be absorbed without the fat!

So drinking skim milk does nothing for calcium, in fact when you ingest milk without fat, your body will leach calcium from the bones (in order to neutralize the acidity) which might lead to osteoporosis later in life. 

“Ironically, osteoporosis tends to occur in countries where calcium intake is highest and most of it comes from protein-rich dairy products,” says Dr. Campbell, head of the China Project, the most comprehensive large study ever undertaken of the relationship between diet and the risk of developing the disease.

6. Dairy is high in calcium but low in magnesium – calcium and magnesium are buddies and have to be present in the body together. The problem with commercial dairy products is that they are fortified with calcium (artificial calcium!) but low in magnesium. Magnesium is designed to offset the acidity of milk, but since it is not present in the right ratio our bodies cannot digest it properly. The result is the creation of extra mucus, recurring eat infections, strep throat, eczema, skin rashes, and so on.

If you cannot (or don’t want to) give up on dairy here are some better options: sheep’s milk (pasteurized but has less casein, it is high in fat and great for kids once in a while), goat’s milk products (pasteurized but has less casein), almond milk, hemp milk, coconut milk, rice milk, soy milk (ONLY from organic soy).

Better sources of calcium

1. Green vegetables – Kale, collard greens, broccoli, fennel, Artichoke, spinach, bok choy, spicy mustard green.
Greens have calcium absorption rates of over 50%, compared with 32% in milk!

2. Nuts and seeds – especially almond, sesame, chia, hemp seeds (in my household we consume these in the form of milk!) – tahini,

3. Fruits – oranges, blackberries, black currants, figs, dates,

4. Beans – Adzuki and Navy beans (best consumed soaked in water overnight)

5. Grains – buckwheat, amaranth, quinoa and millet

6. Dried spices – dill, basil, marjoram, thyme, oregano, poppy seed, mint, celery seed, sage, parsley and rosemary.

I hope you are convinced by now that diary is the worst source of calcium for our kids and choose to avoid it altogether as much as possible. Consume other sources of calcium that are in a perfect ratio of calcium/magnesium, digested, absorbed better, and support our kids’ immune system and natural growth.

Here’s a link to a video of me showing you how I make almond milk at home:

[youtube height=”300″ width=”600″]PLACE_LINK_HERE[/youtube]

Have a great weekend,

Dorit