These problems relate to the proteins, sugar, fat, and contaminants in dairy products, and the inadequacy of whole cow's milk for infant nutrition. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that infants less than one year old not receive whole cow's milk. To get the U.S. Recommended Daily Allowance of 15 milligrams of iron, an infant would have to drink more than 31 quarts of milk daily. Milk can also cause blood loss from the intestinal tract, which, over time, reduces the body's iron stores. Researchers believe that the blood loss may be a reaction to proteins present in milk.
Some infants are exquisitely sensitive to cow milk and can lose large quantities of blood.
Several reports link insulin-dependent diabetes to a specific protein in dairy products. This form of diabetes usually begins in childhood. It is a leading cause of blindness and contributes to heart disease, kidney damage, and amputations caused by poor circulation. In a 1992 report in the New England Journal of Medicine , researchers from Canada and Finland found high levels of antibodies to a specific portion of a cow's milk protein, called bovine serum albumin, in 100 percent of the 142 diabetic children they studied at the time the disease was diagnosed. Evidence suggests that the combination of a genetic predisposition and cow's milk exposure is the major cause of the childhood form of diabetes, though there is no way of determining which children are genetically predisposed.