If you thought shopping for a kid and with a kid was supposed to be easy, forget it. The era of Natraj pencils, Parle G biscuits and one product dominated market is long gone; there are multitudes of choices, competitive advertising strategies and pricey products in the kids market. Add that to the computer savvy, mobile tapping new generation of kids and you will have harried parents with lighter pockets to complete the picture.

Take the health drinks market for kids, there are so many options like Bournvita, Horlicks, Boost, Maltova and Complan, all of them tell you the same thing, that it will enhance growth in your kids and make them ‘taller, smarter and stronger’. We asked various nutritionists about the need for these drinks and if there is a real difference between the different products.

Why are Health Drinks needed?                                                                         

Fussy Kids

Kids require balanced diet which boosts their growth and development. Thus kids are recommended to eat more of foods that contain protein like milk, pulses, dairy products, more of vegetables and fruits for its vitamins and less of junk food that gives empty calories. But try explaining this to a kid.

There are a range of unhealthy food items that are available to children from chips to cream biscuits to 2 minute noodles. Children are lured with their favorite stars and cartoon characters as well as the amazing taste of these products. Children insist on eating only these products compared to homemade delicacies like upma or poha. Thus you have fussy kids and stressed out parents who worry if their kid gets adequate nutrition.

So how do you ensure your kid gets adequate nutrition?

Milk Helps…

Milk is always the primary source of nutrition for kids and is the richest source of protein. Because Protein is essential for growth and development of the body, it is stressed upon in diet for children.

Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDA) Protein for kids -

A glass of whole and skimmed milk gives about 8 grams of protein; so if your child drinks about 2 glasses of milk, he or she gets about 16 grams of protein. This fulfills about 60% of protein requirement for a 10 year old. So only by drinking milk, your child can get half of his or her daily requirement; the other half can be provided by a healthy diet.

Health drinks come to rescue!

If your child is too fussy about drinking milk by itself then you need to look out for an additive which adds nutrition and taste to milk. Dr. Rachna Sethi, a well known nutritionist says, “These health drinks like Horlicks, Complan, more than anything else have malt in it which gives taste and flavor to milk.” Other than that, these drinks are fortified with minerals like iron and vitamin C which milk lacks hence these drinks add to the nutrition.

Dr. Shweta Iyengar, Nutritionists says, “Nutritional drinks are not indispensible, these are required today because kids have become fussy about what they eat and drink. If you think your child is not getting the required nutrition for his age, these options are necessary.”

How do you choose the best health drink, in this confusion?

But if you decide that your kid requires the extra nutrition that health drinks provide, you will have a difficult time deciding which is the best one.

There is Complan that promises to give 100% milk protein with 23 vital nutrients, followed by Bournvita boasting that it is the drink of the real achievers and finally Horlicks which promises to make your kid, ‘Taller, Stronger and Sharper’.

The real challenge then become choosing the best among these brands. Of all the claims that the companies manufacturing these drinks make, it is difficult to narrow it down to one as all of them which boasts of more nutritional value. Dr. Rachna Sethi opines that “In India it is difficult to authenticate the claims made by these companies.”

The basic difference among these products is that some of them namely Boost and Bournvita are brown drinks made of cocoa and the white drinks like Complan and Horlicks are made of malt or milk. In addition Dr. Shweta says ‘there are some minute differences in the nutritional values and nutrients’.

Don’t get Lured by the Ads

Horlicks makes children ‘Taller, stronger and sharper’ – Claim unsubstantiated says ASA (UK)

In 2005, GlaxoSmithKline’s Horlicks came up with a campaign saying that drinking Horlicks made the kids- ‘taller, stronger and sharper’. The company supported the claim by citing the study where 879 students from a boarding school were divided into two groups, both the groups being given the same food, same education and same activities, the only difference was that one group was given Horlicks and other was given another health drink.’

The company further states that after 14 months, results showed that the group which drank Horlicks had indeed become taller, stronger and sharper. This study was conducted by Indian institute of Nutrition, Hyderabad says the company.