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Some non-dairy milks are labeled "not a substitute for infant formula". This is important because infants fed them in place of formula or breast milk have suffe
by schoen 9y ago
Some non-dairy milks are labeled "not a substitute for infant formula". This is important because infants fed them in place of formula or breast milk have suffered severe malnutrition and even died. Babies' and small children's nutritional requirements are different from adults'.
This study is looking at "children aged two to six" (ages at which formula or breast milk would no longer be necessary to sustain life), and the article highlights that non-dairy milks' nutritional content is different from dairy milk, which may have developmental consequences. One possibility is that non-dairy milk meant to consumption by small children should be fortified more (or differently), or that vegan diets for children commonly require more supplementation. I think there's evidence that fortification of dairy milk has had great health benefits, while apparently for particular purposes non-dairy milks are starting out at a disadvantage even if they have some health benefits in other ways.
In the course of my first decade of veganism, I developed significant D and B₁₂ deficiencies which I've recently successfully cured with dietary supplements. I don't think that vegan advocates will do ourselves or our cause any favors by pretending that these deficiencies are rare or difficult to acquire; in fact, they're relatively common and often associated with a vegan diet. (I'm thinking of all the effort that John Robbins spent pointing out that adults can easily get adequate proteins and amino acids from vegetable sources, because this is something people reflexively call into doubt. From what I've heard since, I think he was right on that point, but the same can't be said for B₁₂!) The good news is that these deficiencies also easy to detect and, for many people, they're also easy to cure.
When we're talking about childhood nutrition, the stakes are higher, and it's essential to be better informed and more attentive. A few years of deficiency in these vitamins in my 30s has probably not hurt me for the long run, but it might be a different story if the same thing had happened when I was three or four.
- slothtrop 9y agoYou're one of the good ones. It's as though, for some, this perspective jeapordizes veganism as a movement, which is ridiculous.
- emmelaich 9y agoYeah, there are very good arguments for veganism but raw health isn't typically one of them. I'd say reducing cruelty to animals is the best one. But almond or soy instead of cow's milk? That's nuts. [hah pun not intended]
- wickawic 9y agoWhat do you mean by that? I would consider the treatment of dairy cows to be at least comparable to raising cows to kill them.
- wmeredith 9y agoWhat? They're not force fed and then slaughtered.
- stevula 9y agoSlaughter is not necessarily the worst part of their life.
- emmelaich 9y agoI think it's very possible to raise dairy cows without stress. Of course you have to milk some dairy cows or their bladder will get sore (and maybe burst). It's possible to do a lot better than we do when slaughtering; but even with the best methods there's going to be up to a second of bewilderment if not pain and terror.
- Xoros 9y agoThere is a farm near where I lived some times ago, in France south west, where the cows are choosing when they want to be milked (assuming it's the good word for it). The farmers owned 2 or 3 machines where the cow goes when it wants to give milk, and get out whenever it feels about it. There's a video on their website where you can see it http://www.lafermeduramier.fr http://www.lafermeduramier.fr The cows can go outside whenever they want and sleep on some kind of mattress. I think they're having quite a cool life
- Swizec 9y ago> while apparently for particular purposes non-dairy milks are starting out at a disadvantage even if they have some health benefits in other ways It's almost like alternative milks have around 30 calories per cup and real milk has 160 calories. That's a huge difference because you're likely to give your child "a glass of milk", not ask them to drink 5 glasses because the alt milk has basically no nutritional value. Source: my gf swears by alt milks so I have a fridge full of them. I borrow them sometimes when I run out of real milk. PS: Yes I'm comparing to "full" fat 3.5% milk. Not that watered down stuff that seems to be super popular for some reason. And while I'd love to use real full fat milk, 3.5% is the most I have easy access to in the absence of owning a cow.
- maxerickson 9y agoThe sweetened versions have more calories. (for the ones that are 30 calories/cup unsweetened, something like 60 calories per cup). Cows milk also has quite a lot more protein than most alternative milks.
- derefr 9y ago> And while I'd love to use real full fat milk, 3.5% is the most I have easy access to in the absence of owning a cow. You could add cream to your milk.
- schoen 9y agoIt varies quite a bit: Silk Unsweetened Almondmilk is 30 kcal/cup, while their Unsweetened Soymilk is 80 kcal/cup (still less than dairy milk, but by a factor of 2 instead of over 5). As maxerickson pointed out, sweetened ones also have more calories, but that's not necessarily a great nutritional improvement (e.g., Silk Chocolate Soymilk is 120 kcal/cup, with a whole bunch of refined sugar in there). I think you can choose a nutrition profile quite a bit closer to dairy milk in many respects if you specifically want to, but it's going to depend on how your particular product was processed, sweetened, and fortified.
- schoen 9y agoJust to be clearer on the B₁₂ point, it is possible to get B₁₂ from vegan sources, but not readily from vegetables or other plants. Vegan B₁₂ comes from cultured micro-organisms, and vegans who don't supplement it will generally be deficient, as I was.