rice_milk
Rice drinks should not be given to children under 5. Rice takes up more inorganic arsenic from the soil than other crops, and a child drinking rice milk in place of cow's milk or formula would take in far too much of it. Rice milk is also very low in protein and fat compared with cow's milk.
How to serve
Not recommended as a drink.
If you need a non-dairy milk, fortified unsweetened soy milk is the only plant milk considered nutritionally comparable to cow's milk. Talk to your health visitor or paediatrician before replacing a milk feed with any plant drink.
Nutrition
Mostly carbohydrate. Even when fortified with calcium and vitamin D it lacks the protein and fat a growing child needs from a milk drink.
Good to know
Do not give rice drinks to children under 5 because of arsenic. No plant milk should replace breast milk or formula in the first year. After 12 months, whole cow's milk or fortified unsweetened soy milk are the recommended options.
Tip
Rice milk is not the same as rice cereal. Iron-fortified rice cereal is fine in moderation - just vary it with oat, barley and multigrain.
