Organic milk may cost more, but it may also pay off in the end. A recent Dutch study suggests that children are one third less likely to suffer from allergies before age two if they’re raised on organic dairy products.

In the study, children and breastfeeding moms ate organic milk, cheese and yogurt. The study author said the connection between choosing organic dairy and less incidence of eczema was clear. The risk for other allergies and asthma also decreased.

So why is organic better? It’s hard to say for sure at this point, but researchers believe it may, in part, be due to the higher concentrations of conjugated linoleic acids that are found in organic milk. Studies have shown that organic milk has 71 percent more omega-3 fatty acids, too, another important nutrient for growth and development.

So, you may want to switch to organic dairy for good. One caveat: You have to go all in. Benefits were only seen when children exclusively ate organic dairy, not when they had a mix of some organic and some conventional.

Source: GO Media - Written by Julie Knapp - Image credit: beta karel at Flickr under a Creative Commons license.

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written by Filo , September 22, 2009

It doesn't say whether this particular organic milk is pasteurised, could that have an effect? I have friends who were raised on non pasteurised milk and never had the problems currently experienced by many children and adults.

Filo

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