There is no doubt, there are a myriad of benefits of soy milk that you may hear frequently. On this basis, not a few parents are starting to consider intersecting or even substituting cow's milk with soy milk for their children. Wait a minute, actually you can or not, yes, give soy milk to children?
Difference in nutritional content of cow's milk and soy milk
Before starting to provide soy milk for children, you should first look at what are the differences in nutrients that cow's milk and soy milk have. If cow's milk is milked directly from the mother cow, then soy milk, as you might already know, is processed from pure soybeans taken from the juice.
A quite striking difference from the two types of milk lies in some of its nutritional content. A cup of unsweetened soy milk generally contains approximately 80-100 calories, while cow's milk can reach 150 calories.
Similarly, the amount of other nutrients in soy milk is lower, which is as much as 4 grams (gr) of carbohydrates and 4 grams of fat. While a cup of cow's milk can offer 12 grams of carbohydrates and 8 grams of fat. Even so, the amount of protein in both milk is almost equivalent, which is as much as 8 grams in cow's milk and 7 grams in soy milk.
Because soy milk is sourced from plants (plants), then this type of milk certainly has low saturated fat, higher fiber, and is free of cholesterol. Unfortunately, the content of calcium and vitamin D in soy milk is not as much as cow's milk, which is already famously known for its rich bone-strengthening nutrients.
Can you replace cow's milk with soy milk for children?
The FDA in the United States, an agency equivalent to BPOM in Indonesia, said that it does not matter if you want to provide soy milk for children. Because, soy milk can be an alternative for children who are allergic to the content of lactose which is usually found in cow's milk products.
No need to worry about side effects if you don't give cow's milk to the baby, because so far there have been no findings that report the adverse effects of giving soy milk to children. In fact, it can be said that there are no special differences that show growth and development in children given cow's milk with soy milk, reported on the Very Well Health page.
So the point is, it really doesn't matter if you want to intersect the provision of cow's milk with soy milk. With a note, you should consult further with your pediatrician to get the best solution if you really plan to replace your child's daily consumption of cow's milk into whole soy milk.
Not without reason, because Dr. William Sears, the author of The Baby Book, does not really recommend soy milk as the main milk intake for children. According to him, around 30-50 percent of children who have allergies to cow's milk usually also have allergies to soy milk, although not always.
It is important to remember that there is still a possibility that the child who is allergic to cow's milk can be much safer when given soy milk. Back again, this depends on the condition of each child's body.
Be careful, soy milk can also cause allergies
Just like cow's milk, soy milk can also carry a variety of health risks for your little one. The protein in soy milk is believed to be the cause of allergic symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, skin rashes, diarrhea, stomach ache, and so on.
So, make sure that your baby does not have allergies to all soy-based food and beverage products before serving soy milk for children.