I found this piece of research very interesting when it pinged into my inbox, firstly because I admit that I didn't know some of the things they reveal parents are confused about and secondly, because I've been reviewing some of the Alpro Soya products they mention and have been impressed at how tasty and versatile they are, even without needing a dairy-free diet. Read on for more information.
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Brits Confused about Toddler Health: Survey Reveals Misconceptions Among Parents
A new survey shows that parents are more confused than ever about toddler health, and that a significant amount of education among parents is still needed to combat confusion surrounding dairy allergies and intolerances.
Around 70 per cent of the world’s population do not produce enough lactase, and therefore has some degree of lactose intolerance. Furthermore, it is estimated that around 5% of the UK population, which equates to around 10 million people, cannot digest lactose properly.
Most worryingly, over half of parents surveyed were confused about the differences between a dairy allergy and a dairy intolerance.
It is crucial to understand the difference: Dietician, Kate Arthur from Alpro soya, explains, “A dairy intolerance is far more common than a food allergy, it does not involve the immune system and is generally not life threatening. Lactose intolerance for example may occur temporarily after a stomach infection, particularly in young children. Dairy allergies can be longer term and require complete exclusion of dairy products; furthermore, the consequences with an allergy can often be severe and even result in fatalities”.
In both cases, Alpro Junior 1+ is a milk alternative parents can consider feeding their toddler daily. It contains high quality plant protein and the essential nutrients calcium, iron and vitamin D.
However, almost half of mothers surveyed (46%) did not know how often they could feed soya milk to their toddler and over a fifth of parents did not know what the alternative to dairy milk is for toddlers.
The survey also revealed that almost half of mums (46% ) don’t know what their toddler’s recommended daily allowance of calcium should be. And almost a third of mums don’t know what foods contain good sources of vitamin D for their child.
Other Survey Findings:
Around half of mums (45%) are not sure whether a toddler can ever outgrow a cows’ milk allergy or intolerance; when in fact many children can out-grow their allergy or intolerance by the age of 3 years.
Furthermore, 75% of mums felt that there isn’t enough information about how to live a dairy-free lifestyle.
44% of parents believe that you can feed your toddler rice milk and 26% oat milk. However, Oat, rice, almond milks have an inadequate amount of protein, fat and calories for young children and are therefore generally not recommended.
7 out of 10 mums would choose Alpro soya for their family, compared to other leading soya brands.
Lastly, one in seven mums said that their child has a dairy-free diet either as a result of an allergy or simply because they prefer to limit their dairy intake for other reasons.
Arthur concludes, “This last finding is perhaps an indication that parents are not just feeding their children soya milk alternatives due to allergy concerns but that soya milk is developing a much broader appeal in daily diets among families.”
for more information : http://www.alprosoya.co.uk/
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Interesting to know the difference between a dairy intolerance (doesn't affect the immune system) and allergy. I occasionally give Alpro Soya products to my daughters.
ReplyDelete@maisietoo