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Children who drink soy, rice or almond milk may end up shorter than children given cow’s milk, a new study suggests.

Toronto researchers are reporting that the more non-cow’s milk children drink, the lower their height.

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For each daily cup of non-cow’s milk consumed, children were 0.4 cm shorter than dairy milk drinkers. At age three, the height difference between children who drank cow’s milk versus non-cow’s milk was 1.5 cm.

The researchers say it’s not clear what might be happening at a biological level to produce the effects, but others have hypothesized that milk proteins and insulin-like growth factors that occur naturally in cow’s milk give children an edge in their “linear growth.”

While the findings don’t prove cause and effect, only an association, they are raising questions about the perceived health benefits of — and surging demand for — mock milks.

“Cow’s milk is a staple for most North American children and is an important source of dietary protein and fat, two essential nutrients for optimal growth,” the researchers write in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.