Is your child better of with a naturally cold drink or should you heat his/her drink? What's the science behind it, and how does heating affect the milk?
How does warm milk affect your body?
Some people believe that warm milk is better than cold. Warm milk is harder to digest, which means it takes longer for your body to absorb all the nutrients in milk, according to The Dairy Council. Milk also contains casein and whey proteins, which are less likely to be broken down by heat because they become more difficult to digest when heated. Thus warm milk does not suit some people's needs as well as other forms of milk.
Hot milk is believed to cause stomach upset in young children, who are unable to digest milk properly. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, "Infants and young toddlers should not be fed whole cow's milk. It doesn't provide the right nutrition and poses a risk for the child."
This is because some individuals may have difficulty digesting lactose or milk sugars. These sugars can cause bloating, flatulence, diarrhea, gas pains, or abdominal discomfort. The only way to know if your child is allergic to dairy products is through an elimination diet where you introduce one food item at a time into their diets. This way you'll find out if they have any allergies that affect their systems after the introduction of new foods into their bodies.
For adult people, hot milk is more suitable than cold milk. This is because hot milk allows all essential nutrients to remain in it and provide nutritional value, and this makes it very good for health. It helps in increasing the metabolic rate of your body and thus you will be able to digest all-important nutrients easily.
What happens when you heat milk in a microwave?
When you heat milk in a microwave, what actually happens is that water molecules are excited via the processes of rotational, translational, and vibrational modes into higher kinetic energy states. However, this is not to say that all water molecules within the milk will have undergone these motions to an equal extent; only those which are exposed directly to electromagnetic radiation.
These exciting water molecules bump into other water molecules causing collisions, this collision transfer heat energy during the process known as heat conduction. Such collisions may also result in chemical reactions between some of the substances dissolved in the milk such as proteins resulting in changes to physical properties of interest to the consumer such as the taste and smell.
In a nutshell, milk may be kept cold or heated in a microwave oven, but it is not recommended to heat milk for extended periods of time because this can cause a deterioration in its internal chemical properties which affects flavor. The best way to warm milk without compromising its internal chemical properties is by using a bain-marie method where you place hot water inside a container with your cold milk until sufficiently warmed.
You could also use any other warm liquid for example tea as long as it isn't too hot as to scald the mouth of an infant or toddler. In case you're wondering microwaves penetrate food from all angles so technically you don't have to have direct contact between the microwaves and the food being heated as long as there is at least some degree of penetration to cause the internal energy levels within the food to change.
What happens to breast milk when you warm it in a microwave?
Is it bad for your baby?
Warming breast milk in a microwave oven is not recommended. If you must, use low power and keep an eye on the liquid to prevent overheating which can denature proteins and affect chemical properties of interest such as immunological factors that protect against diseases.
Why should microwaves be avoided when warming breast milk?
Generally speaking, microwaves should be avoided because their energy levels are high enough to cause water molecules within milk to vibrate violently and at very high speeds which breaks down its internal chemical structure resulting in denatured protein via thermal effects.
Breast milk contains immunologically beneficial antibodies (proteins) such as lysozyme (lysostaphin) within its colostrum which protect against diseases such as diarrhea. Thermal effects from microwaves can cause these antibodies to denature leading to loss of immunological properties which may negatively affect health in the long run.
Are there differences between warming breast milk using a microwave oven and using another cooking appliance?
There are differences when it comes to heating breast milk using different appliances because they operate at different energy levels. For example, electric kettles operate at around 1000 watts whereas microwaves operate at around 500 watts. The higher the wattage, the faster water molecules within milk will be excited resulting in more collisions causing greater or lesser extent of damage according to conditions or variables such as whether you want your baby's food warm or hot (how long you keep it inside the oven before serving).
The best way to heat breast milk is using a bain-marie method where you place the cold milk inside a container with hot water. You can also use other food sources that are warm, but make sure it isn't too hot as to scald the mouth of an infant or toddler. Microwaves can penetrate food from all angles so technically there does not have to be direct contact between the microwaves and the food being heated as long as there is at least some degree of penetration resulting insufficient internal energy levels within the food to cause changes.
What bottle materials can you use for heating in a microwave?
If you have a baby who is breastfed, you will definitely ask yourself, "Can I put this in the microwave?" The simple answer is that there is no easy yes or no answer to this question. If you're bottle-feeding, you don't need to know the healing properties of every bottle material because most bottles can and should be microwaved (for your convenience).
If you do ask yourself whether it's safe to heat a particular material in a microwave, here are some general rules:
Do not use glass, stainless steel, aluminum, Tritan plastic materials ever when heating for an infant due to the risk of thermal effects from microwaves as previously mentioned above as well as choking hazards if contents leak through minute cracks within those materials. In the case of Tritan plastic bottles made by Tommee Tippee, these bottles can be heated in microwaves as long as they are empty (not containing any liquid).
Do not use pure silicone because it doesn't conduct microwaves very well. You may choose to check whether the bottle you want to microwave has a label that says it's microwave-safe. If you're breastfeeding, keep in mind that your breast milk is safe from denaturing by microwaves.
If you just heat milk for your grown-up child to make a cocktail or coffee, what kind of container is recommended? Use glass containers so that microwaves can be used without any worry of harmful effects. This is generally true for all food types and liquids as long as they cannot leak through minute cracks within the material due to pressure effects during heating because this increases the risk of harm and hazardous accidents (for example scalding).
There should be cautious when it comes to plastics and other materials such as Tritan plastic bottles made by Tommee Tippee which may say "microwave safe" on the label but those pieces may not have been thoroughly tested yet. In case you err on the side of caution (especially if you're breastfeeding), use glass containers always when heating milk for your baby to drink.
How long to warm milk in a microwave?
The kind of bottle you use to feed your baby will affect how long it takes to heat up the formula. A microwave-safe plastic bottle may take less time than a glass one, since microwaves work on metal. You can also tell from looking at the packaging. There are brands that specifically state themselves as taking "less time," which is usually six minutes or less. In any event, here are approximate warming times for each type of bottle:
- microwave-safe glass bottle- five minutes
- most plastic bottles- six to seven minutes
- specifically marketed for fast warming- two to three minutes.
In addition, there are a number of ways you can speed up the process:
There are scoops that measure out an exact amount of formula in each scoop when they hit the water in the bottom of a microwavable bottle. Theoretically, this should make it even faster and easier to warm a bottle in a microwave without having lumps or clumps.
But there is no way to test these claims yourself, so choosing one is going to be a matter of your own personal preference, convenience, and your child's needs. You should also take precautions to prevent overheating by measuring the temperature of bottle contents before serving.
How can you warm milk for your baby without a microwave?
It's recommended that using a glass bottle can be warmed by running water from a faucet over the bottom of the bottle, but avoid warm tap water for safety's sake. Use cold water first and then let it run warm to avoid scalding. You should use this method only as a last resort because there are health risks posed by softened or corroded metal bottles as previously discussed above as well as choking hazards from bits of eroded metal from those materials getting into baby's milk.
In addition, always check with your pediatrician before heating milk if you have questions about safe temperature and time for warming milk for your child to drink since each baby has different needs and reactions.
You can use a bowl with hot water if you don't have a microwave oven. Fill a bowl with hot tap water and place the bottle filled with milk in it for about five minutes or longer, depending on how cold the milk was to begin with. Make sure there is some room at the top of the bottle so that if it melts down slightly due to steam pressure from heating up, you won't burn your baby's lips during feeding time.
You can also use a warm wet washcloth wrapped around the container before giving it directly to your child. This will heat up the milk within 10-20 minutes since this is based on room temperature as well as personal preference and convenience for parents or caregivers taking care of infants and young children who want faster results using microwaves alone which take about two to six minutes or longer, depending on a number of variables mentioned above.
Warming milk in the oven is not recommended due to the potential risk of fire especially if you accidentally leave the bottle inside until it actually begins to boil.
These are just some basic guidelines you should consider when warming formula for your baby using microwaves alone. Using these options is better than no heating at all since this will prevent any chances of bacteria growth inside containers left at room temperature too long which can result in infant botulism food poisoning.
Just remember that premature baby may need more care and caution with microwaving so speak with your pediatrician first before trying new things like this with infants who have special needs medically speaking.
Bottom line
Warming up baby bottles and containers is a must in most cases, but the safest way to do this is by using something like bottle warmers which can be attached directly to most microwaves for convenience's sake. However, you choose to feed your young children whether infants or toddlers, always use care and common sense when handling such tasks both safely and efficiently.