Replacing cow's milk with plant-based drinks: consequences for nutrient intake of young children on a balanced diet in Germany

Abstract

Purpose: The transition to a planetary health diet goes along with the increase of plant-based alternatives to milk available on the market. Therefore, it is necessary to assess the consequences of replacing milk with plant-based drinks on the nutrient intake of young children on a balanced diet.

Methods: An internet search was conducted on plant-based drinks available on the German market. Scenarios of nutrient intake were calculated in which fluid cow's milk was replaced by plant-based drinks in the menus of the Optimized Mixed Diet (OMD), the guideline balanced diet for children in Germany.

Results: Six different drinks made from legumes (soy), cereals (oats) and nuts (almonds) in three characteristic product types (basic, no fortification / basic + fortification / special products for children) were analyzed. The replacement had hardly any effect on the intake of energy and protein. However, the consequences for micronutrients were remarkable. By replacing milk with non-fortified plant-based drinks (around 80% of products on the market) the daily intake of calcium, vitamin B2, B12, and iodine was reduced to around 50%; with the fortified products, only the intake of iodine was reduced. With the children's products, the supply of the micronutrients examined was maintained within the OMD.

Conclusions: The lack in important nutritional components (calcium, B12, B2, and iodine) as a consequence of replacement of cow's milk with most of the plant-based drinks on the current market on nutrient intake of young children can hardly be foreseen by parents. Even minor-looking changes to a balanced diet require an expert opinion of advisors.

Trial registration: Number and date of registration for prospectively registered trials.

Keywords: Micronutrient supply; Nutrition; Plant-based drinks; Sustainability; Young children.

Fig. 1

Percentage of plant drinks in a market survey fortified with calcium, Vitamin B12, Vitamine B2, and Iodine (according to data given in [10]). The uniform concentration of nutrients in supplemented drinks, identical with cow’s milk is indicated in the columns (except 2/6/0/5 products for Ca/Vitamine B12, Vitamine B2/ Iodine)

Fig. 2

Content of energy and nutrients in selected plant-based drinks compared to milk

Fig. 3

Scenarios of energy and nutrient intake when replacing fluid milk by different plant-based drinks (% of the original OMD) (Columns always from 1 on the left to 6 on the right)