How does human milk compare to cows milk in calcium content?
Human milk contains less calcium than cow’s milk, but the calcium in human milk has over twice the bioavailability of the calcium in cow’s milk. Increasing mom’s calcium intake does not increase the amount of calcium in her milk – mom’s milk has the right amount of calcium even if mom does not get enough in her diet. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics Policy Statement on Calcium Requirements of Infants, Children, and Adolescents: No available evidence shows that exceeding the amount of calcium retained by the exclusively breastfed term infant during the first 6 months of life or the amount retained by the human milk-fed infant supplemented with solid foods during the second 6 months of life is beneficial to achieving long-term increases in bone mineralization… Few data are available about the calcium requirements of children before puberty. Calcium retention is relatively low in toddlers and slowly increases as puberty approaches. Human milk averages 200-340 mg/liter [Ha
