My Daughter's Milk

Thanks for asking such a great question-- even questioning it at all! See link below for great info:

http://www.realmilk.com/

Keep on shining!

Hi J.,

There's no such thing as hypoallergenic milk -- even "raw" milk. Allergy to milk (or anything else, for that matter) is an over-exuberant immune (hyperimmune) response to a protein or sugar-protein (glycoprotein). If your child's immune system recognizes a protein as a danger (that is, it looks like something that was produced by an invading organism), rather than something that shouldn't be recognized at all, then your child is allergic to that protein. The only way to eliminate the effect of the allergen -- short of immunotherapy or medication -- is to break down the protein into its amino acid building blocks. Milk proteins cannot be effectively disrupted by heating or boiling -- they have to be chemically hydrolyzed, which is the process used to create hypoallergenic baby formulae.

If your daughter has a cow's milk allergy, you need to practice 100% avoidance of all products containing cow's milk. This includes obvious things such as butter and sour cream, and also less obvious sources such as most commercial breads, cookies, etc. Many people who are allergic to cow's milk are also allergic to goat's and sheep's milk, so you need to be careful substituting these products. Vegetable-derived milks (soy, hemp, almond, etc.) should be OK, unless your daughter is allergic to these as well.

Now, if your daughter is lactose-intollerant, that's a different story. That means that she lacks the enzyme to digest milk sugar (lactose). If this is the case, she may be able to tolerate Lactaid (TM) milk or other milks that are lactose-reduced. You can also have her chew Lactaid tablets before eating other foods that contain dairy product.

You can't differentiate between lactose intollerance and dairy allergy in many cases, as the symptoms are usually pretty similar (gassiness, bloating, diarrhea, nausea). If your child develops hives or anaphylaxis to milk products, that's a pretty clear indicator of allergy, though. Allergy testing (by skin prick, blood test, or oral challenge) is the only way to really determine the difference. (Forget NAET -- it's a bunch of BS).

A number of people have recommended raw or organic milk. Don't be fooled by the rather specious argument that it is better for you because it is natural. Natural can be just as dangerous, or even more so, than something that's been altered. Rattle snakes are natural, as are hemlock, castor bean, and 80% of the plants in the world, but I wouldn't give these to my child (or any one else, for that matter)!Keep in mind that raw milk is not pasteurized. Drinking it can put your child at risk of food poisoning from bacteria such as Salmonella, E. coli, and Listeria, and from a variety of fungi. Food poisoning can be quite serious in a young child, causing dehydration and, in rare cases, kidney failure, or even death. Pasteurization kills the harmful bacteria in milk but does not alter the nutritional value. Not all types of bacteria in milk will be killed, though, which is why milk can still spoil (these bacteria are not usually harmful to humans in the low numbers that are left in pasteurized milk, but can make you sick when they've multiplied enough to make milk "go bad"). Some milk has had beneficial bacterial cultures added in, such as Lactobacillus biffidofilus, L. acidophilus, L. thermophilus, etc. These bacteria naturally live in the human intestinal tract and are essential for healthy digestive processes.

Organic milk, unless otherwise noted, has also been pasteurized. The difference between organic and nonorganic milk, from the layman's perspective, is that the cows have not been injected with or fed steroids or antibiotics (a good thing, all-in-all).

In the future, I highly recommend asking your doctor medical questions, or going to a reputable medical website such as emedicine.com or webmd.com. I've found that most of the moms who respond on this site, while very well-meaning, are not equipped to give sound medical or scientific advice.

Dear J.,

Unfortunately allergies can develop to almost anything...so there is not one answer that may fit everyone. Some posters have mentioned soymilk. There is some controversy over it...some say it can affect/imitate female hormones. I am not going to say if it can for sure or not..but research that before you buy it. Most soybeans in the USA are genetically modified (GMO)...so you may want to look for organic if you still choose to try soy. Silk brand used to be..but now they quietly took the "organic" wording off. Kinda sneaky.
I am not one for making kids drink milk anyhow. There are plenty of scientists who have posed of questions as to how good it really is for us...even organic. (Cows in USA are pregnant most of the time they are milked...hormone levels get very high during pregnancy...just naturally...and transfer to the milk.)

Ask your daughters pediatritions mother of 4 and grandmother of 8 A. no hills

people that have what is referred to as "lactose intolerance" are often not allergic to real milk unpasteurized whole straight from the cow milk. but it can be a danger to drink if you do not know from where it came. when they pasteurize it takes out the good bacterias that help to digest and that is often why so many people have difficulty. quite often the alternative is soy or lactose free milk. My husband had lactose intolerance from 8-18 soy and lactaid milk bothered him to so he didnt get much milk, cheese,or ice cream. you may just have to try by elimination. if she is diagnosed has having a milk allergy then no cows milk

YEP raw milk is the key. Look up Weston A Price Foundation to find out more

Well obviously if she has a cows milk allergy stay away from cows milk! There are many alternatives available, from most to least common: soy goat almond rice hemp and oatmilk. My girls have milk allergies/intolerance and I use a combo of goat milk, soy milk, and almond milk.

piggy backing off of the other mother... Raw Milk sounds like what is describing. Whole Foods and local health food stores carry it. I drink raw milk (or organic milk in a pinch ONLY) and consume raw milk cheese. Never had any problems with it and I find it lasts longer than conventional milk.

My kids have no allergies, so my answer may not help. However, I think that since milk is pasteurized (bacteria are killed) and homogenized (fat evenly distributed so there is no fat layer on top) it would have to be the actual milk solids that they are allergic to (I am no doctor however). If they are allergic to milk solids or whey then you will have to go to soy milk. If your child already has allergies and is on a hypoallergenic baby formula then ask you doctor if you cans simply water it down more at age 1 instead of switching to whole milk. Also, the digestive system may have matured where baby no longer needs the hypoallergenic stuff. I would talk to my doctor about this. Good luck.