Why Milk and Calcium Go Together

Getting your kids to drink milk: it is an age-old battle between kids and parents! You remember it from your own childhood, but now that you are older and wiser you know Ammi and Abu were right. There is a good reason why milk is given importance in children's diets. It is a rich source of many nutrients, notably Calcium, the need for which is the highest in the developing years. At this stage kids are growing taller, so they need Calcium to make their bones and teeth stronger. Children must drink milk every day to meet their nutritional requirements, especially that of Calcium.

Some people are lactose-intolerant, which means they can not digest milk. In this case, they can get Calcium through sources like yogurt, broccoli and other calcium-enriched foods.

How Much Milk?

Children have different calcium requirements according to their age. Milk is one of the best sources of Calcium, as it has other important nutrients as well.

One 250ml glass of milk has approximately 300mg of Calcium.

If you are worried about your child’s weight, consider switching over to a low fat milk brand which is also fortified with Calcium. However, children under 2 years should not be given low fat milk as they need fat for early growth.

Loading Calcium in the Diet

Take a look at our meal and snack suggestions below, and you can see how easy it is to get more Calcium into your diet.

Breakfast

• Pour milk over breakfast cereal
• Cook porridge in milk
• Have some plain or fruit yogurt

Lunch

• Add cheese to a sandwich or serve slices of paneer as a side dish
• Give your kids a glass of milk or lassi instead of sweetened beverages
• Perk up the meal with raita
• Make a salad with fresh spinach leaves and top with shredded cheese

Dinner

• Try some spinach (palak)
• Steam some broccoli as a side dish
• Make kheer for dessert

Snacks

• Whip up a glass of ice-cold lassi
• Offer your kids a cup of fruit yogurt
• Make an easy yogurt dip with fresh vegetables
• Make a fresh fruity drink with milk