Currently, more and more Chinese families are beginning to recognize and understand the importance of children drinking milk from an early age, and the children's beverage market has become a battleground for businesses. The wide array of dairy products leaves many parents at a loss. However, faced with the dazzling variety of dairy-containing beverages on the market, how should parents and children truly understand and approach them? Milk beverages cannot completely replace milk.
For children in their adolescent development stage, milk beverages may come in many flavors, which can satisfy their taste buds.
However, reporters from the Market learned from relevant national food quality and technical supervision departments that the main nutritional difference between milk beverages and pure milk lies in their protein content. Relevant nutrition experts remind parents that although milk beverages contain certain nutrients needed by the body, their content is far less than that of pure, fresh milk. Therefore, from the perspective of a child's nutritional needs, parents should not let their children drink milk beverages as a long-term substitute for milk.
In addition, some不合格 milk beverages currently on the market do not list their protein content, and their labels are incomplete. Consumers cannot distinguish between milk beverages and lactic acid drinks, which often leads to misconceptions about children's milk consumption. How to distinguish milk from milk beverages?
Research by nutrition experts shows that milk beverages are made from fresh milk or dairy products as raw materials, mixed with water, sugar solutions, acidulants, etc. Compared to pure milk, there are certain nutritional differences, and more nutrients need to be supplemented by milk.
Experts remind parents that milk beverages are allowed to be made with added water. From the ingredient list, besides fresh milk, these products generally also contain water, sweeteners, and flavorings. Because national standards require ingredients to be listed in descending order, "water" will be listed first. According to national standards, the milk content in milk beverages must not be less than 30%, meaning the water content must not exceed 70%. Because milk beverages are produced through both fermented and non-fermented methods, their nutritional parameters differ from those of pure milk. Mr. Song Kongang from the China Dairy Industry Association explains that liquid milk, which mainly refers to milk, can be divided into sterilized milk, pasteurized milk, and flavored milk, but milk beverages cannot be classified as liquid milk. For consumers, the biggest difference between liquid milk and milk beverages is their nutritional content. If you drink milk beverages instead of milk, the nutrients you intake will be significantly different.
It is worth mentioning that on the packaging of some milk beverages, terms like "Active Milk" or "Fresh Milk" are often written in large, vague fonts. Only upon closer inspection will you find a line of small text next to it that says "Milk Beverage."个别个别 products don't even have this, and only have an extra "water" in the ingredient list, requiring careful distinction. Therefore, we can see that there is a difference between milk and milk beverages. When parents buy dairy products for their children, they should fully recognize the importance of balanced nutritional supplementation.
The benefits of milk for children's growth.
It is measured that every 500ml of milk can meet 50% of the daily animal protein requirement, 60% of the daily calcium requirement, and 16% of the daily energy requirement. Therefore, milk is the food closest to the body's natural needs.
According to experts, milk can prevent the human body from absorbing toxic metals like lead and cadmium from food. At the same time, the iron, copper, and vitamin A in milk have a positive effect on children's skin. More importantly, the easily absorbable calcium rich in milk can enhance bone growth and plays a positive role in preventing rickets. In addition, long-term milk consumption significantly promotes children's intellectual development and greatly improves the efficiency of brain work. The magnesium it contains can make the heart and nervous system more resistant to fatigue. All of this undoubtedly has a positive impact on children's intellectual development.
Experts suggest that when parents select dairy products for their children, they should choose pure milk as much as possible and try to reduce the selection and consumption of milk beverages to ensure the improvement of their physical fitness.