Baby milk is based on animal milk. Goat's milk has advantages ...

So that baby's tummy doesn't play up: goat milk for your baby

Goat milk for your baby as a milk substitute: Why use goat milk at all, and what about cow milk as a base for baby milk? Our Löwenzahn Organics family has grown to meet the needs of babies and parents even better. After all, every baby is unique. During development, we followed current nutritional science, as always. Sustainability is also, of course, very important to us. That is why we have developed an organic baby milk based on whole goat milk powder without palm oil.

How it all began

It all started in 2019. Based on feedback from our customers, we had the idea of developing a new baby milk made from whole goat milk powder, in addition to our popular baby milk made from skimmed cow milk powder.

When it comes to your baby, you are the expert! And yet, it is not uncommon for even pediatricians to dismiss parents' concerns about tummy aches and so on. Remember: if you are unsure or feel that you are not being taken seriously, it is absolutely okay to get a second opinion. Your midwife can also help you with this. Of course, tummy aches can occur, but they certainly should not be the norm. Sometimes, changing your baby's food can also be a solution.

From our own experience, we can also confirm: every baby has their own unique digestion.

Without compromising on the trusted quality of Löwenzahn Organics products, we spent over a year fine-tuning the final recipe until we were satisfied.

Our goal: to bring a new goat milk-based baby milk recipe to market that is palm oil-free. As well as to develop a follow-on baby milk that is suitable for sensitive tummies. So that babies' tummies don't act up anymore.

What distinguishes goat milk from cow milk?

Goat milk for babies is actually not new at all. Goat milk has been used in Europe as a food alongside cow milk for thousands of years. It was only in the 1960s that the consumption of goat milk generally declined sharply in Germany. Most recently, in 2014, goat milk was classified by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) as safe and suitable as a basis for infant formula.

Did you know that pure goat milk is much more similar to human breast milk than pure cow milk? [1, 2, 3]

Let's take a closer look at this and other advantages of pure goat milk compared to pure cow milk.

1. Fats for sensitive tummies

Goat milk has a higher proportion of short- and medium-chain fatty acids and smaller “fat globules” than cow milk. [4]

Fats are composed of fatty acids, which in turn consist of chains of varying lengths. Short- and medium-chain fatty acids can be easily processed by the human body. And this is exactly where cow milk and goat milk differ. Goat milk consists largely of short- and medium-chain fatty acids.

But the fat particles, so-called “fat globules” in goat milk, are also smaller than those in cow milk and can be more easily broken down by human digestive enzymes.

2. Proteins are well tolerated

Goat milk contains lower levels of αS1-casein and β-lactoglobulin, which can trigger allergies. [4, 5, 6]

Proteins consist of casein and whey protein. Both of these can be further broken down into subunits.

Casein is divided into αS1-, αS2-, β-, and κ-casein. Two of these subunits are particularly important for the digestibility of goat milk:

αS1-casein is a highly allergenic protein. Compared to cow's milk, goat milk contains significantly less αS1-casein and is therefore better tolerated.

In addition, goat milk is naturally A2 milk because it contains a high proportion of A2-β-casein (A2 protein). The β-casein in breast milk also exists exclusively in the A2 form. Regular cow's milk, on the other hand, nowadays contains a mixture of A1 and A2 β-casein (A1 and A2 protein). Although research is still in its early stages, A2 milk is associated with good digestibility—especially for sensitive stomachs.

Goat milk and cow's milk contain approximately the same amount of whey proteins, but their composition differs. Why does this matter? There is a whey protein called β-lactoglobulin, which is also known to trigger allergies. Goat milk contains less β-lactoglobulin, and the lactoglobulin it does contain is also easier to digest.

3. Higher amino acid content

Six of the ten essential amino acids are found in goat milk in higher concentrations than in cow milk. [8]

As the building blocks of proteins, amino acids are important for bones, cells, and tissues, and they regulate the formation of hormones and enzymes. Not all amino acids can be produced by the body, which is why amino acids that must be obtained through food are called essential.

Goat milk contains higher levels of essential amino acids. Six of the ten essential amino acids are found in higher concentrations than in cow milk: threonine, isoleucine, lysine, cystine, tyrosine, and valine.

4. More prebiotic oligosaccharides

The amount of oligosaccharides in goat milk is four to five times higher than in cow milk. [5]

Oligosaccharides are basically nothing more than indigestible food components. This is important because they can reach the large intestine undigested, where they serve as food, i.e., as an energy source, for important gut bacteria. By the way, the highly important GOS (galactooligosaccharides) belong to the group of oligosaccharides.

5. Rich in palmitic acid

Palmitic acid is found not only in abundance in palm oil but also in goat milk. [3]

The palmitic acid content is important for achieving an optimal fatty acid composition in milk formula. This content is higher in goat milk, which is why no palm oil needs to be added to milk formula made from whole goat milk powder.

However, RSPO- and organic-certified palm oil makes sense in baby formula based on cow's skimmed milk powder. In this case, the use of tropical oils is even essential.

Short and sweet:

From a nutritional science perspective, the components of whole goat milk powder offer several advantages over cow skim milk powder. For example, goat milk-based baby formula does not contain palm oil.

In addition, organic follow-on baby milk based on goat milk is suitable for sensitive baby tummies.

“Goat milk is a great raw material and offers many benefits for infants. I am very pleased that, after an exciting and intensive development phase, we can now offer our Löwenzahn Organics baby milk based on goat milk.”

Antonia, Product Developer

So, do we still have your attention?

Wonderful! By the way, in 2023 we launched another baby milk made from whole cow's milk powder (also without palm oil).

Here you can learn more about our baby milk comparison.

Goat milk as a base

It is part of our philosophy to develop our organic baby food based on the latest science. In doing so, a nutrient-rich diet for infants is always our top priority.

No fish oil: DHA from algal oil

Did you know that many baby food manufacturers use fish oil as a source of DHA (an omega-3 fatty acid)?

We have instead decided to use algae oil as a direct source of DHA for our entire baby milk range. The algae used are generally grown under controlled organic conditions and harvested in a resource-efficient manner. DHA is legally required in infant formula and also in follow-on formula.

Palm oil free

Our goat milk-based baby formula (whole milk powder) allows us to completely avoid palm oil. This is because the palmitic acid found in palm oil is already present in sufficient quantities in goat milk (whole milk powder) .

From the idea to the finished goat milk-based milk formula

It all started with our co-founder Liz's passion for organic baby food and our customers' desire for an easy-to-digest organic follow-on milk formula. That's why we immediately set to work on recipe development and pored over the latest nutritional science studies on goat milk as a base for infant food. Most importantly: testing, testing, and testing. Because before we finally went into final production, we launched test productions and had them carefully analyzed. Developing a new organic product with premium quality and safety standards takes time.

For the production of our goat milk-based milk formula, we worked directly with leading experts in the baby food sector.

Would you like to know more?

Antonia Lück, product developer at Löwenzahn Organics and expert in the field of milk substitutes, answers frequently asked questions.

Why goat milk instead of cow milk as a base for milk nutrition?

Antonia: Follow-on baby milk based on goat milk (whole milk powder) is even easier to digest and contains no palm oil – because all our whole milk baby milks are free from tropical oils such as palm or coconut oil.