Teenagers urged not to swap cow’s milk for most plant-based drinks

New Food Safety Authority of Ireland guidance says fortified alternatives may be suitable in some cases, but most teenagers should avoid treating plant-based drinks as a nutritional equivalent to cow’s milk.

Ireland’s food safety watchdog has advised that teenagers should generally avoid using plant-based drinks as stand-ins for cow’s milk, saying they do not match dairy’s nutritional profile when it comes to key nutrients such as calcium. The Food Safety Authority of Ireland set out the advice in new scientific guidance for adolescents aged nine to 18, published against a backdrop of growing interest in meat-free and dairy-free eating among families.

According to the authority, fortified plant-based drinks may be suitable in some cases, but the best option depends on the young person’s sex and nutritional needs. For boys, a calcium-fortified beverage is the preferred alternative, while girls and young women are advised to look for products fortified with both calcium and iodine. The guidance is particularly clear that protein supplements are unnecessary for most teenagers, because ordinary meals should provide enough protein for healthy growth.

The report also raises the target for meat-free days from one a week to two, although it says those meals should still include dairy products or eggs where possible. It recommends oily fish once a week to help adolescents get enough omega-3 fatty acids, including DHA and EPA, which can be difficult to obtain elsewhere in the diet. Carbohydrate-rich foods such as bread, cereals, potatoes, pasta and rice remain the main fuel source for physical activity, with recommended amounts varying widely depending on energy needs.

The Food Safety Authority said the new guidance is built around the fact that adolescence is a period of rapid physical change, with nutritional requirements shifting according to age, sex, body size, exercise levels and the stage of puberty. Prof Kevin Cashman, who chairs the authority’s Public Health Nutrition Subcommittee, said adolescence is a key period for nutrition because young people lay down about 40% of their bone mass, gain roughly half of their adult weight and about a fifth of their adult height during these years. He added that even teenagers of the same age can have very different dietary needs.

The authority also recommends four to five daily servings from the milk, yoghurt and cheese group to meet calcium needs, with the higher end of that range aimed at more active teenagers. It says many adolescents should continue taking a vitamin D supplement, a long-standing recommendation in Ireland because dietary sources are limited and sunlight is unreliable for much of the year, particularly in winter. Girls and women of childbearing age, including teenagers who could become pregnant, are also advised to take 400 micrograms of folic acid every day. The report notes that some adolescents may need more than 3,000 kilocalories a day, while still warning families to keep foods high in sugar, saturated fat and salt to a minimum and to use nutrition labels when choosing products such as breakfast cereals and yoghurts.