Question: What is more nutritious human breast milk or cow milk?

Keith Siew answered on 17 Jun 2013:

Hi Kelan,

Well all mammals lactate (produce milk) to provide vital nutrients to their newborn babies. Each species has slightly different requirements… but fundamentally our nutritional needs for growing aren’t that different from one another… we’re all just mammals at the end of the day.

BUT in saying that… each specie would have evolved to produce milk specific to the exact needs of its own offspring. Also milk is not just one things that stays the same for the entire duration of infancy, its composition changes! Directly after the baby is born the “first milk” or colostrum is what is produced (looks kinda yellowish in colour) and contains lots a protein, less fat and other things like antibodies and immune cells to protect the baby (who would have a weak immune system) from disease and sickness… so human breast milk would protect against diseases that affect humans while cows milk may not… Also breast feeding has other roles in mother-baby bonding causing the release of oxytocin which is sometimes called the “love hormone”. As the baby grows it needs more energy and milk would become more fatty (i.e. the cream) and enriched with calcium to help build bones… so the milk adapts to the growing needs of the baby.

So I would have to say that the best milk for a human baby is human breast milk and the best milk for a calf is the milk from its mother’s udder.