Why is a tetra pack milk best for breastfeeding mothers?

There are plenty of reasons why milk is considered a wholesome food for not only children, but also adults and especially breastfeeding mothers. Enriched with calcium, potassium and protein, this beverage is essential for strong bone and teeth health, formation and repair of muscle tissues, energy, as well as controlled blood pressure. And since your baby will depend on your breast milk for the first 6 months of his or her life, what you drink or eat will have a significant impact on your little one’s health. In other words, if you drink adequate milk, the benefits will pass on to your child too, through breast milk. However, drinking safe and pasteurized milk is always recommended during pregnancy, as otherwise, you and your baby might be at a risk of infections. Read on to know all about it.

Importance of milk

Milk is one of the essential food items you will need for adequate breast milk production. This is because drinking milk will hydrate your body. Also, milk is a healthier option than fruit juices, which contain a lot of natural sugars. It is also better than just plain water, as it has more nutrients.
However, the cow’s milk that you usually get from your milkman might not always be the best option. Unpasteurized milk can be quite harmful to the mother and child, as it might contain bacteria like listeria, salmonella and E. coli. And the best way to pasteurize milk is by boiling it. However, boiling and re-boiling milk can lead to a loss of nutrients.

Why choose tetra pack milk?

Tetra pack milk is a much better alternative to cow’s milk for breastfeeding mothers. In this case, the milk is packed using HTST (high temperature short time) or UHT (ultra-high temperatures). The process of packaging milk involves heating the milk to 100 degrees Celsius for just a few seconds, before cooling it down and packing it immediately into tetra packs.

Food safety: Regular vs. tetra pack

The tetra pack technique of processing and packing milk keeps microbes at bay and reduces the risk of microbial contamination. It also ensures that the milk you drink is free from adulteration. On the other hand, when it comes to regular milk, guaranteeing the quality of milk is quite difficult. When you buy packet milk, there’s a high chance that the milk might be adulterated. Even if you head straight to the source and watch the cow being milked in front of you, there’s no guaranteeing that the milkman isn’t milking the cow into a pail that doesn’t already have water or other adulterants in it.

Nutrition: Regular vs. tetra pack

One of the top tetra pack milk benefits is that this technique of processing and packaging milk helps to retain its nutritional value. The milk is pasteurized to keep microbes and bacteria at bay, and yet not heated to a temperature that is high enough for the nutrients to be harmed. However, as mentioned above, boiling the milk reduces some of its nutritional value. This affects the levels of vitamins B1, B2 and B12, along with proteins. This happens because these vitamins evaporate when milk reaches a high temperature. A recent survey revealed that up to 60% of mothers are unaware of this fact. Thus, they often don’t just boil milk, but also boil and then simmer it.

Shelf life: Regular vs. tetra pack

Milk from your milkman and milk from a tetra pack can be used in the same way. What differs is their shelf life. Regular pasteurized milk has a shelf life of only 1-2 days. Even during this time, it needs to be refrigerated to keep it from spoiling. On the other hand, as long as the pack is sealed, tetra pack milk has a shelf life of up to 6 months. Once opened, the milk should be refrigerated and consumed within 2 to 5 days.

Takeaway

All in all, when you’re breastfeeding, you must pay extra attention to your diet. So, when it comes to milk, it isn’t just quantity that matters, but the quality too. Given its higher nutritive value and longer shelf life, tetra pack milk is always a better choice than regular packet milk.