✓ Goat milk and donkey milk for children: yes or no?

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Can goat's milk and donkey's milk replace cow's milk in the case of allergies on the part of children? Here's what the experts think.

Goat and baby milk

"Goat's milk has protein characteristics very similar to cow's milk - they are homologous - therefore it is not a valid candidate for the diet of children allergic to milk, since the allergy is triggered precisely by proteins" explains Novembre.

And as indicated by the World Allergy Organization, "similarly to cow's milk, goat's milk is not suitable for feeding children unless modified and enriched to meet infant formula regulations". As regards the nutritional characteristics, in fact, it is highlighted that it has a high protein content ("it is higher in goat's and sheep's milk than in human milk"). In addition, goat milk lacks vitamins B12 and B9 and must therefore be enriched with them.

In short, goat milk is not suitable for people allergic to cow's milk, it is not recommended for adults. In fact, November underlines that, apart from allergies, particular attention is paid to the composition of the milk that is recommended for very young children (if not breastfed), because being the main food of their diet it must satisfy their nutritional needs.

Instead, as they grow up (and later as adults), milk is only one of the foods eaten during the day, so as part of a healthy and balanced diet you can also drink a particularly protein milk.

Read also: Prolonged breastfeeding: breastfeeding after the year of the baby

Donkey and baby milk

For children allergic to cow's milk proteins,Meyer Children's Hospital of the city have evaluated the possibility of administering donkey milk.

"We have studied the tolerability, palatability and nutritional adequacy of donkey milk and we have found that it can be considered a valid substitute for cow's milk" explains Elio Novembre, director of Allergology at Meyer. Because it is well tolerated, as illustrated in the journal Pediatric Allergy Immunology. This result also emerged from other studies, such as one published in the Journal of biological regulators and homeostatic agents: out of 92 children involved, 83 (90,2%) liked and tolerated donkey milk, with positive results in terms of growth and nutritional parameters.

As stated in the Drachma Guidelines of the World Allergy Organization, donkey milk has a composition closer to human milk than cow's milk (for example for the protein content) and the low protein content does not involve the risk. of an excessive renal load.

In any case, the choice of milk of other species and not of a formula must be evaluated in relation to allergy, clinical and nutritional considerations and individual characteristics.

Read also: The intolerances and alternatives to milk in infants and children In case of allergy to cow's milk, the therapy consists in the elimination of milk proteins from the diet of boys and girls. Consequently - if they are not breastfed - they need a milk replacer which should be hypoallergenic, palatable and nutritionally adequate. The type of milk in formula depends on the clinical manifestations of the allergy. Read also: Milk for babies after 12 months

Questions and answers

If babies have cow's milk allergies, can donkey milk be a good substitute?

Donkey milk has a composition closer to human milk than cow's milk (for example for the protein content) and the low protein content does not involve the risk of excessive kidney load. In any case, the choice of milk of other species and not of a formula must be evaluated in relation to allergy, clinical and nutritional considerations and individual characteristics.

If babies are allergic to cow's milk, can they drink goat's milk?

No. Goat milk has protein characteristics very similar to cow's milk - they are homologous - therefore it is not a valid candidate for the diet of children allergic to milk, since the allergy is triggered precisely by proteins.

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