Soy Milk

There are no adverse effects of rice milk long term. Try that. Or a rice/soy mix.

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There are a LOT of reasons to stay very far away from soy- especially for a young child. The more I look at it, the more I find about it. My husband is a chiropractor who studies a LOT about such things, as we have 3 under the age of 3..

You are also a lot more likely to have problems with allergies if you use soy..

Goats milk all the way- also fresh raw cows or goats milk would be best- even if you think he is allergic to cows milk, you will probably find that fresh raw cows milk doesnt bother him. (If you live near a farm where you can safely buy this- look into it, there is probably one ner you or a co-op you can go in on.)

Rice milk won't give enough nutrition if your baby is under 1.
If your child is OVER a year old, you do not have to give him milk of ANY kind. All the nutrients he gets from milk, he can get from healthy food- and get it better from the food than he would the milk. My 2 yr old twins do not get any milk other than what goes into mashed potatoes or cereal, etc. When they weaned from breast milk, they just started drinking plenty of water and eating whole foods- veggies, etc. The good fats can be gotten from avocados, fish, etc too. There is way more calcium in a small serving of broccoli than a cup of milk.

1 mom found this helpful

My son drinks goat milk and rice milk, or sometimes almond milk, almost exclusively. He's allergic to cow's milk, so there's no other alternative. He used to drink soy milk, but his naturopath said to avoid giving him ANY non-fermented soy since it messes with estrogen levels and can really mess up developing boys (they don't tell you THAT in all the commercials, do they?) So we get the various "other" milks at WholeFoods or Safeway and have taken out a second mortgage to afford it (no, just kidding). Right now, he's the only one who gets to drink these beverages, but truly, if I could afford it, I'd switch the whole family to goat's milk. I find it actually tastes better than cow's milk - and the goat milk yogurt is really good, too. I would introduce your son to goat's milk without telling him, it looks just like cow's milk, so unless you point it out, he probably won't even notice the difference. Ooh, and goat's milk ice-cream is really delicious, too - find it at WholeFoods with the other ice-creams. Enjoy!

1 mom found this helpful

I have heard nothing but bad things about soy in general, mainley that it should not be given to boys. Supposedly it increases the estrogen in them. My son broke out in terrible diaper rash when we gave him cows milk so I put him on Rice Dream. It is great. He loves it. We get the original enriched rice dream. You can order cases from vitamin cottage and get a little discount. Good luck!

There are many substitutions & they have been well covered here. Just make sure that whatever you use has enough fat (rice milk - among others - doesn't). Fat is essential for neurological development. Whatever you decide on, please run it past your pediatrician or a pediatric dietician to make sure your baby is getting all the nutrients he needs.

No idea, really. Some say soy milk prevents cancer, some say it causes (fill in some undesirable side effect here).

My friend adopted a baby who was kind of sick and fed it strictly on raw goat's milk mixed with fresh carrot and celery juice that she juiced herself. Her baby is very orange and very healthy. This was recommended to her by a physician who quit his practice to become (and now is) a nutritionist. If he's satisfied, I would think it is pretty safe.

Some kids just don't do well on milk. Soy isn't a good option because of the estrogen levels it creates...there are lots of alternatives ie orange juice fortified with calcium. Or calcium supplements.

Many times a dairy allergy will be outgrown by the time the child is 3 but they need to be off all dairy to clear their system. That can be tough. Products with whey, casein, milk, cream, etc all contain dairy products in them and could potentially continue to trigger the allergy/sensitivity.

I'd encourage you to explore more with calcium alternatives rather than milk milk and check out some books from the library on food sensitivities which are much different and not often understood by formal Drs.

B.,

My son is extremely allergic to dairy products. I learned that goat's milk and sheep's milk still have casein (the protein) and that's what our son's allergic to (just turned 2). I hope those may be an option for you, though. We've used soy and rice milk as well. Since neither has any fat, I've used coconut milk too. I just put a spoonful in with the other milk for cereal, smoothies, etc. At least he's getting a little more fat this way. We also do vitamins and a fish oil supplement. Hope that adds a little more information to your research process and good luck!

I never heard anything about the soy milk but my dd was allergic to milk and I did put her on soy milk for about 2 months until her blood work showed slight allergies to soy. Dietricians do not recommend rice milk as a primary milk supplement because you don't get the complete nutrients as regular milk. My dd is now drinking milk regularly now. I used to mix soy and rice milk together since the soy allergy was low and the allergist said it was fine. I tried goat milk and goat yogurt my dd would not touch it. The best milk they say is goat milk but it is a little expensive. I hope this helps and gl.

I've heard that soy may be linked to early puberty in infants who drink a lot of it because of the estrogens in it, and some believe that it could lead to peanut allergies. There are enough questions about it that I'd stay away from feeding large amounts of it. I agree that goat's milk is your best choice. I had a lot of 4-H kids in the livestock program because they bought goats due to their milk allergies. In addition to finding it at the health stores, you could contact your 4-H or agricultural Cooperative Extension Agent for your county (in the phone book - could be listed under state or county listings) to find individuals in the community who have goat milk available for sale. Not sure they can legally sell it without pasteurizing it, tho. However, commercial goat farms are becoming more and more popular, so there might be one in your area. I think I've even seen it at "regular" grocery stores.

i don't know about any research but i do know htat my son has done much better after we switched from soy to rice milk. his eczema has cleared and his tummy is much better. i think for some kids soy is just as hard on the tummy as cows milk
i have heard a lot of good things about almond milk as well

Hi B.!

I love almond milk- I use the Blue Diamond brand. You can also easily make your own cashew milk which is very easy. This site, www.elanaspantry.com has a great recipe for it.

Good luck!
H.

I have the same problem with my son. He is 17 months and also lactose intolerant. I had a conversation with my pediatrition and she suggested that I alterante him between soy and goats milk. Soy has health benifits as well as rice and goats milk.
She told me that as long as my son eats a balanced diet and drinks soy as an alternative to milk he would be fine. Now if your son only can drink milk I would suggest talking with your pediatriction.

I would stay away from Soy. Everyone else has had good info. My daughter has been drinking the Rice Dream Enriched for 3 years now and she is almost 4. So far so good.

I have a 26 month old who has allergies and eczema and we have had to find alternate milk for her. I have done quite a bit of research and come from a homeopathic and chiropractic background and have found that goat milk is the most allergen friendly milk as well as easily digestable and protein and fat rich for building big healthy babies! Both Soy and especially rice milk are not as nutrient dense. Homeopathically, soy milk is foreign to their little digestive systems and as you said, new research is leaning away from it. You can google info on goat milk and infants and look at natural websites for the best information on assimilation and allergy sensitivity. Good Luck!

My second son had the same thing. I wish I had known about goat's milk. It is the closest thing to mother's milk that we can find.

K. Loidolt
Author, Shopper's Guide to Healthy Living

My recommendation is to talk to your pediatrician. All these ladies have great suggestions, but you need to get him the most beneficial results from it. My son is 16 months old and we are going to the allergist next week to have him tested to see if he has a true allergy or just an intolerance. He is still on soy formula because the dr said no to soy milk yet because it has no fat and not enought nutrients needed for him. My nephew has been on rice milk since he was 1 and is now 6 and he has had no problems from it.

Hi B.-
Our one year doesn't tolerate milk or soy. So, we started with rice milk which was fine, but then switched to Oat Milk (not goat milk:). It has more protein than the rice milk and is a little thicker. Since she is not getting the fat from milk, we also do a DHA supplement to help with brain development, and a probiotic supplement that helps her with food digestion. You can find the Oat milk at Safeway, Vitamin Cottage and Whole Foods. I buy cases of it at Vitamin Cottage.

My daughter didn't like the after taste of goats milk at all!

I am the yopungest of eight kids. My parents bought a goat because it was cvhepaer than buying milk. It is lactose free and very healthy for you. Its kind of like skim milk. I thought it was wonderful and grew up just fine right up to 6' tall. You can buy it in a store but its a little spendy if you can get it fresh that's the best, depending on where you live. If you do get it fresh you have to strain through filter, more than one about three works good and strain over ice. That way it tastes the best. It gets that barn flavor out. Good luck with finding a good alterenative.

I haven't heard of that study. My two boys were on soy formula, then soy milk. We just transitioned them to cow's milk. They are 2 1/2 and almost 5. I was concerned, but the doctor kept assuring me that soy was the best alternative to cow's milk. He pointed out that people in Asia consume a lot of soy. if it were harmful, the effects would be obvious in them.

Love Love Love "Rice Dream" Rice "beverage". I just call it rice milk. My children all got tummy aches with too much cow's milk so we made the switch. My sensitive tummy stopped hurting too! ( I didn't know it all these years - I must've been sensitive too!). I like it much better than Soy. A little pricey - but Wal-Mart started carrying it at a little better deal than the health food stores. Get Vanilla for better taste. Make sure it's enriched for his vitamin D and Calcium. Good luck!

My son is almost 4 years old and when he first was born he wouldn't take to breast feeding. I went from one formula to another until I tried the soy. That is what he had until he was a year old. He has never had any problems. He know can drink regular milk even though it bothered him when he was a baby. I think you will be fine. Good luck!