Note: The Top 10 Mistakes in Drinking Milk
Introduction: Milk, rich in nutrients, provides energy for human health and is an indispensable food in our daily lives. However, people often overlook the healthy ways to drink milk and, carelessly, adopt incorrect methods that reduce its nutritional value. Be aware of the following ten common mistakes when drinking milk.
One: The Thicker the Milk, the Better
Some parents believe that the thicker the milk, the more nutrients their children get, but this is not scientific. So-called "overly concentrated milk" refers to adding too much milk powder and too little water, making the milk's concentration exceed the normal standard. Some parents, fearing that fresh milk is too bland, add milk powder to it. In fact, the concentration of milk for infants and young children should be proportional to their age, increasing gradually according to their age in months. Even for newborns within one month, the proportion of water added to milk should be gradually reduced based on their digestive capacity. If infants and young children often consume overly concentrated milk, it can cause diarrhea, constipation, loss of appetite, or even refusal to eat. Over time, their weight may not increase, and it could lead to acute hemorrhagic enteritis. This is because the organs of infants are delicate and cannot withstand excessive burden and pressure. When milk powder is mixed too thickly, or when milk powder is added to fresh milk, the concentration of nutrients increases beyond the digestive and absorption limits of the infant's gastrointestinal tract. This not only makes it difficult to digest but may also damage the digestive organs. Therefore, when feeding milk to infants, the amount of water added should be determined based on the quality of the milk and the child's age.
Two: The More Sugar Added, the Better
It is a common misconception among parents that unsweetened milk is hard to digest. Sugar is added to increase the calories supplied by carbohydrates, but it must be done in moderation—generally 5-8 grams of sugar per 100 ml of milk. If too much sugar is added, it is more harmful than beneficial for an infant's growth and development. Excessive sugar in the baby's body can cause water retention, making muscles and subcutaneous tissues soft and weak. Such a baby may appear plump but will have poor physical resistance, a condition medically known as "mushy" physique. Excess sugar stored in the body can also become a risk factor for certain diseases, such as cavities, myopia, and arteriosclerosis.
What kind of sugar is best to add to milk? Sucrose is the best choice. When sucrose enters the digestive tract, it is broken down by digestive juices into glucose, which is absorbed by the body. Some parents specially buy glucose for their children, but this is unnecessary. Glucose has low sweetness, and using too much of it can easily exceed the recommended amount, and the child might refuse it because it's not sweet enough.
There is also the question of when to add the sugar. Some parents mix sugar with milk and heat them together. This causes lysine in the milk to react with the sugar at high temperatures (80°C–100°C), producing a harmful substance called glycosylated lysine. This substance is not absorbed by the body and can be harmful to health, especially for children. Therefore, you should first let the boiled milk cool down to lukewarm (40°C–50°C) before adding the sugar to dissolve it.
Three: Adding Rice Soup or Porridge to Milk
Some parents believe this practice can provide complementary nutrition. In fact, this is very unscientific. Milk contains vitamin A, while rice soup and porridge are primarily starch-based and contain lipoxidase, which destroys vitamin A. Children, especially infants, if they have an insufficient intake of vitamin A, may experience delayed development and become weak and prone to illness. Therefore, even for nutritional supplementation, the two should be consumed separately.
Four: Adding Chocolate to Milk
Some parents think that since milk is a high-protein food and chocolate is an energy food, eating them together must be very beneficial. This is not the case. Liquid milk combined with chocolate causes a chemical reaction between the calcium in the milk and the oxalic acid in the chocolate, forming "calcium oxalate." As a result, the originally nutritious calcium becomes a harmful substance, leading to calcium deficiency, diarrhea, delayed development in children and adolescents, dry hair, an increased risk of fractures, and a higher incidence of urinary tract stones.
Five: Feeding Infants Yogurt
Yogurt is a healthy drink that aids digestion, and some parents often use it to feed their babies. However, the antibiotics produced by lactic acid bacteria in yogurt, while inhibiting the growth of many pathogens, also destroy the conditions for the growth of beneficial normal flora in the human body and can affect normal digestive function. Infants and young children with gastroenteritis, as well as premature babies, may experience vomiting and necrotizing enteritis if fed yogurt.
Six: Exposing Bottled Milk to Sunlight to Increase Vitamin D
Some parents, influenced by advertisements, learned that calcium supplementation requires vitamin D, and that sun exposure is a good way to get it. Consequently, they put bottled milk out in the sun. In fact, this practice is not worth the loss. The milk may gain some vitamin D, but it loses vitamin B1, vitamin B2, and vitamin C, as these three nutrients break down in sunlight, losing some or all of their value. Moreover, lactose in the milk can ferment under sunlight, causing the milk to spoil.
Seven: Killing Two Birds with One Stone by Taking Medicine with Milk
Some believe that taking medicine with something nutritious is beneficial, but this is extremely wrong. Milk can significantly affect the body's absorption rate of drugs, causing the drug concentration in the blood to be significantly lower than in those who take medicine without milk, over the same period. Taking medicine with milk can also easily form a film on the drug's surface, causing chemical reactions between the calcium and magnesium minerals in the milk and the drug, forming insoluble substances. This not only reduces the drug's effectiveness but may also be harmful to the body. Therefore, it is best not to drink milk one to two hours before or after taking medication.
Eight: Adding Orange or Lemon Juice to Milk for Flavor
To make children love drinking milk, adding a little orange or lemon juice seems like a good idea. However, orange and lemon are both high-in-fructose fruits. When the fructic acid in them meets the protein in milk, it will cause the protein to denature, thereby reducing its nutritional value.
Nine: Milk Must Be Boiled
Generally, the temperature required for milk pasteurization is not high; 3 minutes at 70°C or 6 minutes at 60°C is sufficient. If boiled, the temperature reaches 100°C, causing the lactose in the milk to caramelize, and caramel can induce cancer. Secondly, after boiling, the calcium in the milk will precipitate as calcium phosphate, reducing the nutritional value of the milk.
Ten: Using Condensed Milk Instead of Milk
Condensed milk is a dairy product made by evaporating fresh milk to 2/5 of its original volume and then adding 40% sucrose before canning. Some people, influenced by the idea that "concentration equals essence," use condensed milk as a substitute for their children. This is clearly wrong. Condensed milk is too sweet and must be diluted with 5 to 8 times its volume of water. However, when the sweetness reaches an acceptable level, the concentration of protein and fat is also half that of fresh milk, which is insufficient for the growth and development of infants and can lead to poor weight gain, a pale complexion, and a tendency to get sick. If water is added to the condensed milk to make the protein and fat concentration close to that of fresh milk, the sugar content becomes too high. Feeding a child such "milk" can easily cause diarrhea. Furthermore, if a child gets used to an overly sweet taste, it can make it difficult to introduce other complementary foods later on.