Study says kids must drink atleast 2 cups of milks per day

Study has stated that kids should drink atleast two cups of milk per day, the researchers at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto investigated.

The scientists also studied how that cow’s milk can impact the iron and vitamin D levels in the body for over 1,300 children between the ages of two and five. 

The study’s lead author Dr. Jonathon Maquire, said, “We started research the question because professional recommendations around milk intake were unclear and doctors and parents were seeking answers.

The study highlights how children who consume more cow’s milk had higher stores of Vitamin D but lower stores of iron. 

Dr. Maquire also noted, “We saw that two cups of cow’s milk per day was enough to maintain adequate vitamin D levels for most children while also maintaining iron stores. With additional cow’s milk there was a further reduction in the iron stores without greater benefit from the vitamin D. 

The results also showed that children who had darker skin pigmentation could not have the necessary vitamin D stores during the winter. Based on the findings, Maguire proposed that vitamin D stores could be increased with vitamin D supplements.

With this method, the children can preserve iron levels while upping their vitamin D stores. For the experiment, the scientists looked at the participants during the routine visits to the doctor’s office.

The parents of the children were asked to complete the questionnaire on the children’s milk drinking habits and other areas that could influence the change of iron and vitamin D stores. 

This study was part of the TARGet KIDS! program, a joint effort by St. Michael’s Hospital and  The Hospital for Sick Children that aims to track the health of children from birth in order to understand the nutritional problems and how to go about preventing these issues later on in life.

The study is important as vitamin D deficiency is an issue that can cause a variety of health problems during and after childhood.