Table of contents:
- Recognize the benefits of lactose for the child's body
- How much lactose should a child consume in a day?
- Lactose maldigestion
- Lactose intolerance
- Overcoming the condition of children who are difficult or cannot digest lactose
Lactose is a type of sugar that can be found in milk or products with milk content. Basically, most of the milk that you consume to children's formula also contains lactose. But are there any benefits from this type of sugar, especially for children? Check out the following explanation.
Recognize the benefits of lactose for the child's body
According to the World Gastroenterology Organization (WGO), lactose consists of glucose and galactose, which are two types of simpler sugars that the body uses directly as a source of energy. Lactose is broken down by an enzyme called lactase in the body into glucose and galactose.
Furthermore, glucose can indeed be found in other types of food, but galactose is only found in lactose. Galactose is beneficial for various biological functions of children.
Regarding the benefits of lactose itself, apart from being a source of energy for the child's body, this type of sugar also helps in the absorption of calcium and several other types of minerals such as zinc, especially in infants.
What's more, lactose can also be a "good bacteria" or as a prebiotic in the gut, which is useful for the body to maintain the performance of the immune system or the body's resistance to fight various diseases.
Then, lactose has a low glycemic index. Based on research in 2019 on the role of lactose in the human body, low glycemic levels are good for children's metabolism.
For information, based on the NHS.uk, the glycemic index is a calculation system for foods containing carbohydrates. The glycemic index shows how quickly each food affects blood sugar levels when consuming certain foods.
On the other hand, lactose is different from sucrose. Sucrose itself has a higher glycemic index than lactose and is extracted from sugar cane or beets. Unfortunately, according to WHO, sucrose is often used as an additional sweetener in large quantities in various types of food preparations, including growing milk for children. This can result in a buildup of unneeded energy in the body and lead to unhealthy weight gain to obesity.
How much lactose should a child consume in a day?
As previously mentioned, lactose can also be found in breast milk so that lactose is actually safe to give to children as needed. According to WHO, children under 6 months of age are recommended to be fully breastfed (exclusive breastfeeding). However, there are several conditions that cause children to have problems with lactose, namely:
Lactose maldigestion
This condition makes it difficult for children to digest lactose. This occurs due to decreased activity of lactase (lactose digesting enzymes).
Usually, lactose maldigestion appears after your little one goes through the weaning process, where the lactase activity naturally begins to decrease. Most of these conditions trigger little or no symptoms at all.
Lactose intolerance
This condition is also known as lactose intolerance. The difference with lactose maldigestion, lactose intolerance is a condition that causes children to completely unable to digest lactose.
Lactose intolerance is usually characterized or has symptoms such as bloating, diarrhea, and frequent gas. It is important to remember that lactose intolerance is not a disease but a condition that is not detrimental to health.
If the child does not experience problems when consuming milk and its processed products that contain lactose, the daily recommendations for giving milk that contain lactose can follow the following guidelines from the US Department of Agriculture:
- Children aged 2-3 years: 2 cups (480 milliliters) per day
- Children 4-8 years: 2 ½ cups (600 milliliters) per day
- Children ages 9-18 years: 3 cups (720 milliliters) per day
On the other hand, you need to pay attention to the sucrose content in children's growing milk as well. It is good to have growth milk that is low in sucrose. Too much added sugar intake (such as sucrose) can be bad for health, for example increasing the risk of being overweight and obesity in children.
Overcoming the condition of children who are difficult or cannot digest lactose
Given that lactose has beneficial benefits for child development, steps need to be taken so that your little one can still consume milk. WGO even said that avoiding children from milk could have health consequences.
According to the Mayo Clinic, you can try to reduce the lactose content in the food you eat, for example:
- Limit consumption of milk and processed products
- Mixing a little milk or processed products into the main menu
- Provide milk and its processed products that have decreased the amount of lactose
- Utilizing a liquid or powder containing the enzyme lactase into milk to help your little one digest lactose
In conclusion, lactose is an ingredient in milk that acts as an important nutrient to support children's growth and development. Therefore, if you do not have certain conditions, do not hesitate to give formula milk with lactose content to children according to the recommended usage rules.
If your little one has certain conditions and you are hesitant to give milk, consult your doctor first to find the best solution.
x
