Give 2 cups of cow's milk daily to keep children healthy: Study

A new study carried out Pediatrician of St. Michael's Hospital, Canada has revealed that two cups of cow's milk per day is perfect to maintain level of Vitamin D and iron stores in children's body.

Dr. Jonathon Maguire who leaded the research says that "parents always asked How much milk should I be giving my children? We started to research the question because professional recommendations around milk intake were unclear and doctors and parents were seeking answers".

Dr. Maguire and his team carried out the research on more than 1,300 children aged two to five years. They studied the affect of cow's milk on stores of iron and vitamin D in body.

"We saw that two cups of cow's milk per day was enough to maintain adequate vitamin D levels for most children, while also maintaining iron stores. With additional cow's milk, there was a further reduction in iron stores without greater benefit from vitamin D," he added.

They also found that children who drank more cow's milk had higher Vitamin D stores but lower iron stores. So two cups per day is perfect.

The researchers recruited healthy children during routine doctor's appointments between 2008 and 2010. Parents were asked to fill out an extensive questionnaire about their children's milk drinking habits and other factors that could affect iron and Vitamin D stores. A blood sample was obtained from each child to determine body stores of iron and Vitamin D.

The research followed children from birth with the aim of understanding and preventing common nutrition problems in the early years and their impact on health and disease later in life.

"Vitamin D deficiency in children has been linked to bone health issues and iron deficiency has been linked to anemia and delays in cognitive development," Dr. Maguire said.

"Being able to answer parent's questions about healthy cow's milk intake is important to avoiding these potentially serious complications of low vitamin D and iron stores," he stated.

The study also recommended that cow's milk should not be started before one year of age.

(with inputs from ANI)