I think we have all had milk in our diets at some point in our lives. One of the first things mothers usually do before they go back to work or get actively involved outside the home, is to check out which formula is best for their child. This has its pros and cons. I will attempt to address views on giving milk to an infant. As we get older, we either decide to continue drinking milk, or we choose to never consume it ever. Sometimes we are forced to make the decisions based on health reasons. Sometimes it is purely on personal preference.

Nature dictates that the infant of each mammal should consume their mother's milk. This explains why the female mammals have breasts that allow the infants to retrieve the milk easily by their sucking motion. This sucking also controls the flow of the milk, so that only the amount that is required is consumed to meet the infant's individual needs. The quality and quantity of the mother's milk is the perfect food for the infant's first few days, weeks or even months of development.

God in His wisdom created infants with no visible teeth. This makes it easier for the infants to suck the mother's breast without causing undue harm to the mother. Teeth begin to emerge when the infants are at least three months of age. Prior to this period, it is very important that the infants continue to suck the milk from it's mother, in order to receive the required nutrients to aid maturity. At three months, children may begin to test fruit juices and soft foods. They should be given only small portions to ensure their bodies can actually tolerate the new liquid or food. In addition, their taste buds need to acquire the taste for the foreign items. Young animals wean themselves instinctively.

Essentially, the mother can begin weaning the infant from the breast milk beginning at three months. Between six to twelve months, an infant's demand for breast milk is reduced. It's the body's way of dictating that it is maturing sufficiently to discontinue the mother's milk. Infants sometimes wean themselves, but sometimes it's the mother's responsibility to do so before the child has the first birthday.

Even the Holy Bible makes it very clear that milk is designed to be for babies, and it is to assist with early development only:

Hebrews 5:13
For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe.

1 Peter 2:2
As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:

excerpts from the Holy Bible

What does the infant need once it is weaned from it's mother milk?

A common practice is to replace (or complement) the mother's milk with cow's milk, otherwise known as formula. However, some experts believe that this practice does the infant more harm than good. You see nature allows mammals to suck, not drink, it's mothers' milk. When the need for this milk subsides, the mother's milk will also decrease. Eventually it ceases to flow. This happens, because it is the sucking motion of the infant's mouth combined with the mother's consumption of liquids, that actually produces the milk. The infant's body, at this point will need other beverages and solid food to replace the mother's milk.

Calcium rich food should have been introduced to the infant's diet. Dark green vegetables, soy milk and other calcium rich products help to provide the calcium and other nutrients that the growing infant needs.

Nature dictates that human milk was designed for human infants. The milk from cows are really for young cows only, and only for the early stages of their development. Therefore, we will never see a fully grown cow drinking cow's milk. Cats are the only creatures that drink milk as adults. No creature will drink the milk from another species, well except for human beings. Does anyone expect cows to drink human milk? I do not think so. Perhaps cow's can help us choose which milk is best for us.

Nutritionists and doctors tend to advise their patients to drink cow's milk in order to receive the calcium, and other vital nutrients our bodies need. However, it should be noted that the mother's milk, has only the amount of nutrients that the infant's body requires, no more and no less. Therefore, infants absorb sufficient calcium from their mother's milk for their development.There is no need to supplement this milk with cow's milk.  Do our bodies really absorb calcium from cow's milk?

Regardless of how much calcium you take in, the amount your body can actually absorb and retain matters more.

The high animal protein intake typical of North American diets can make it difficult to retain calcium. Digesting animal protein creates an acidic environment in the body. To neutralize the acid, the body may rob calcium from the bones. Years of this pattern can contribute in osteoporosis later in life.

excerpt from veg.ca/content/view/139/110/

In addition, it has been stated that the acidic environment created in the body by the consumption of animal products and bi-products facilitate the formation of cancer cells in the body. As we know, these cells contribute to full grown cancer in individuals. Is it any wonder that even infants and young children are now being diagnosed with cancer?

Milk consumption can also be linked to a host of other diseases which may appear later in life, such as high blood pressure, heart disease, arthritis and diabetes.

Whole cow's milk is a high-fat fluid, designed by nature to turn a 60–70 lb (27–30 kg) calf into a 300–600 lb (135–275 kg) cow in one year.

excerpt from http://veg.ca/content/view/139/110/

Again this is nature's way of providing all that's needed for the young of each species. How many mother's anticipate their infants gaining 300 to 600 lbs within their first year of life?  Is it any wonder that so many infants, children and youth are obese?  How many adults are struggling to lose weight?  They become members of a gym, try relentlessly to stick to a stressful diet even starving themselves, when perhaps eliminating dairy products may be the answer. 

From my experience, as soon as I discovered the dangers of dairy consumption, I eliminated all dairy products from my diet.  As soon as I did this, my body began to shed weight so rapidly that I could not understand what was happening.  Everyone kept asking me what was the secret.  They wanted to know what I had done to successfully lose weight.  The truth is, that I had no intention of losing weight, it was merely a result of eliminating dairy and animal products from my diet.

Basically, the consumption of cow's milk and other dairy products increase blood cholesterol levels. It is no wonder, that in addition to gaining unnecessary weight, the tendency to develop serious diseases also result.  It is also interesting to note that a record number of people are lactose intolerant (including myself).  I discovered that I did not digest dairy well. Some people have even developed allergies as a result of milk consumption.

I actually witnessed what I believed to be a perfect example of someone developing allergies from dairy products.  One day, many years ago, I was breastfeeding my daughter while I was eating a yogurt (dairy-based). I did not know I was intolerant to dairy products at the time. Anyway, I gave her one teaspoon of the yogurt I was eating.   Instantaneously, her face started swelling so much, that her eyes appeared to be decreasing in size. Simultaneously, excess mucous was being discharged from her eyes. I began to panic. I thought I would lose my baby if I did not get medical help immediately.

I rushed her to the emergency room, but then the strangest thing happened. Almost as suddenly as the strange symptoms appeared, they disappeared. By the time the doctor saw her, she was back to normal. I could not understand what happened at that time. The doctor took it lightly, perhaps because he did not see what I saw. It could be too, that he was so accustomed to seeing similar cases that it became the norm for him. Regardless, I did not see the link with the yogurt, until she eventually developed eczema and asthma.

How many of us really know what our bodies absorb when we consume milk. You may stop reading here if you are not prepared to deal with reality.  Cows may be subjected to intense processing procedures which causes stress.  They then become more susceptible to disease, so  they may be fed hormones, penicillin and other unnatural products to facilitate mass production. Think what effects these unnatural substances have on our bodies.  In addition, cow's milk contains high levels of pus and some of the cow's feces.  Each time you pour milk in a glass, or consume a dairy product, be cognizant of what you are consuming.  Got milk?

Prior to writing this hub, my family and I bought and consumed only Soy Milk products. We were attracted to these products because they were labeled organic. However, my husband and daughter began complaining months ago of stomach pains and sore throats after drinking the products. Honestly, I thought they were being picky since they enjoyed it previously and they never complained.

However, I discovered that since January 2009, Silk has changed the content of their products without informing the public at large. I used to be an advocate of the Silk line of products, but I just discovered that their soy milk is no longer certified organic. It is now labeled Silk Soymilk Natural. The color of the packaging remains the same, but the word organic has been removed.

Incidentally, I discovered this on the same day I purchased the newly packaged Silk Soymlk product.  A news feed confirmed that the beans being used by the manufacturers of Silk are no longer organic.I am not telling anyone to stop purchasing their products.  In fact I encourage consumers to continue to purchase them if they have no reaction to products that are not organic.  My intention here is to merely inform readers of the change.

This confirms the necessity to read those labels, especially for the products we regularly purchase. I am not sure if it was a deceptive attempt of the manufacturers, but most consumers are not aware of the change. I would not have known if I did not read the link below.

Based on the comments posted by readers, I decided to add my recommendations to this hub. I have discovered an ideal supplement for dairy milk which might be helpful for those of us who are lactose intolerant. In addition, I might have been able to persuade some readers to try to conform to a healthier lifestyle.

The Edensoy products are organic and only the whole soy beans with all 18 amino acids are contained in the product. Each product has so much to offer. It is dairy and lactose free. It contains no cholesterol, no trans fat, no refined sugar and no genetically altered or tested organisms.

I used to be an advocate of the Silk line of products, but I just discovered that their soy milk is no longer certified organic.  It is now labeled Silk Soymilk Natural.  The color of the packaging remains the same, but the word organic has been removed.  A news feed confirmed that the beans being used by the manufacturers of Silk are no longer organic.  The link to this information can be viewed below.

What does it contain? The ingredients it contains are purified water, organic soybeans, naturally malted organic wheat and barley extract, calcium carbonate, kombu seaweed and sea salt.

According to the nutrition facts posted on the product it has 'naturally occurring isoflavones'. In other words, it is not fortified with or contain vitamins or minerals added by man. It contains11 grams of protein or 22% of the daily requirement per serving. In addition to all of the above it contains 330 miligrams of Omega 3, 2320 miligrams of Omega 6 and 1020 mligrams of Omega 9 per serving. It is chock full of minerals such as Potassium (440 mg); Calcium (10%); Vitamin B1 (10%); Vitamin B2 (6%); Vitamin B3 (6%); Vitamin B6 (8%); Vitamin B9 (10%); Vitamin H (2%); Vitamin B5 (4%); Phosphorus (15%); Iodine (15%); Magnesium (15%); Zinc (6%) and Copper (15%).

I drink it regularly and I love the refreshing creamy taste. I offer it to children that I care for and they keep asking me for more. Why not try it, if you have not done so as yet? You can also purchase it in bulk. I have even made it easy for you to purchase it now. It can be delivered to your home or wherever you choose. You really have no excuse.