Soy

lvfunandfit

Not wanting to start a debate.... but I've been doing research. My daughter has been on Soy milk since she was 14 months old (she is 3). I am worried about leaving her on it due to all of the info I've found from research. She has colon issues and every time we gave her milk she would have blood in her stool. I'm going to try again to make the switch to milk since it's been a while. She becomes severely constipated and has had numerous tests to figure out what her problem is. Her constipation is made worse with milk, or at least it was. We haven't tried in about 8 months. The soy thing worries me, but if it's our only high calorie option (she is under weight as well) then that's what I have to stick with unless you all know of something better.

In my research on soy,I have found that there are tons of sites going back and forth about the horrible things and the healthy things about soy. I hear some of you say your doctors tell you to stay off of Soy. Can you tell me why?

cymills

Research and comments aside - i trust you are doing this under the supervison of a physician - correct?

Jb27

My son had the same problem when he was younger and i started him on soy, but after finding out all of the bad things about soy( if you drink it every day) i took him off and switched to Goat Milk, you can get it at most supermarkets or healthfood stores and it seemed to really work for him, when my other son turned 1 i tried cow milk with lots of probelms and after switching to goat milk for him as well he does just fine. It doesnt have all of the added hormones that cow milk has and that is usually what causes the problems. They have all kinds of things you can get that are made from goats milk and they are really good. Hope you find something that works for her!
~Jessica

erikazj

I don't really know much about soy milk other than that it is a completely processed product. I know several people who can't tolerate cow milk, but who can tolerate goat or sheep milk. Apparently the protein chains and sugars are different in cow's milk to goat milk, which is why it may be easier on the digestion.Goat milk is easier to find in the UK as it is available in a lot of supermarkets. Sheep milk you can find in health food stores.

Erika

SayRah

Honestly, it depends on the person...I love soy, I can drink soy milk and eat soy products without any problem. I can also have dairy and meat without any problem, either. One of my friends can't tolerate ANY type of soy or dairy...meat, she's okay with. And then my sister can't eat any kind of dairy.

pawprint061

I was like this as a child. I could only drink goats milk until my body was ready for milk. That didn't happen for several years. I'm not sure if it has anything to with the way my body is now or not but when I was able to take milk I was on 2% now, 20 years later I can only drink skim or 1% because anything else hurts and causes problems. Growing up with the pains that your child most likely feels when you give milk, I would say wait as long as you can. Trust me it hurts. I know people who have lived on Soy for years. One is in her 40s and she's actually doing really great.

leavinglasvegas

There is research that suggests that soy can lead to early menses in young girls, just like the hormone filled milk and meat. My daughter and I have a milk allergy and I use soy milk for smooties for the protien content and sometimes for her cereal. We also use hemp, rice and coconut milk. She has always loved the chocolate Silk.

My endocrinologist has told me to limit my soy because it tends to slow thyroid function and I also have a hisory of breast cancer in my family. Soy is estrogenic and can increase the chances of breast cancer.

Now, my endocrinolgist spent many years teaching and researching at U of M medical school. He says the science is true, but it tends to be over hyped. As with all things, you have to use moderation. But when it comes to kids and those with a history of breast cancer and thyroid issues, you should be safe and moderate a little more. He said its not neccessary for everyone to completely avoid it. But some people should more than others.

If shes had issues with milk, I would just leave it alone. I have digestive issuses and so does my daughter. We have loved being off milk and there are so many other alternatives. I know alot of people will push for it because its got calcium and all that jazz, but really, its not the only source of all nutrients. My daughter and I have made up for the nutrients in eating whole foods and we feel so much better. There is coconut milk Kefir that is really good and comes in a few flavors. Your daughter would probably love it and its really good for the digestive system.

Hope that helps!
Holly

lvfunandfit

I looked up the nutrition info on goats milk and it seems to be higher in calories and fat than soy. My daughter has a redundant colon (too large for her abdomen and has an extra loop) and she is tested for celiac every 6 months (still comes up negative). She rarely eats anything nutritious (by that I mean fruits or veggies). I feed her all natural organic chicken (the only meat she'll eat) and she'll eat avocado and bananas (doesn't help with constipation). She loves yogurt and pudding (but pudding is more of her treat). She'll drink meal replacement shakes as her main source of food. She never feels well and her tummy always hurts. I will try the goats milk and see how she does with the taste. I imagine it should have a smoother texture than soy??? She can eat dairy products now... we started introducing those back into her diet. It's mainly the milk that is a problem.

Anyone have any recipes for green smoothies that are chocolate flavored! LOL If it's not chocolate she won't drink it. But I need to get some veggies in her.

My 2nd daughter does great with milk and dairy. So strange how two kids from the same parents can be so completely different. My 15 month old is 25 lbs and my 3 yr old is 23 lbs. Eating is a pleasure for my 15 m old and it's miserable for my 3 yr old. She hates eating. Part of me just wants to leave things alone since she is feeling better than she has ever felt but the info I find on soy can be scary.

When I make her meal replacement shakes I do use soy, but I do half water and half soy milk. She hasn't caught on. So, she only gets about 12-16 oz of soy at the most per day.

lvfunandfit

There is research that suggests that soy can lead to early menses in young girls, just like the hormone filled milk and meat. My daughter and I have a milk allergy and I use soy milk for smooties for the protien content and sometimes for her cereal. We also use hemp, rice and coconut milk. She has always loved the chocolate Silk.

My endocrinologist has told me to limit my soy because it tends to slow thyroid function and I also have a hisory of breast cancer in my family. Soy is estrogenic and can increase the chances of breast cancer.

Now, my endocrinolgist spent many years teaching and researching at U of M medical school. He says the science is true, but it tends to be over hyped. As with all things, you have to use moderation. But when it comes to kids and those with a history of breast cancer and thyroid issues, you should be safe and moderate a little more. He said its not neccessary for everyone to completely avoid it. But some people should more than others.

If shes had issues with milk, I would just leave it alone. I have digestive issuses and so does my daughter. We have loved being off milk and there are so many other alternatives. I know alot of people will push for it because its got calcium and all that jazz, but really, its not the only source of all nutrients. My daughter and I have made up for the nutrients in eating whole foods and we feel so much better. There is coconut milk Kefir that is really good and comes in a few flavors. Your daughter would probably love it and its really good for the digestive system.

Hope that helps!
Holly

Thanks! I should talk to her endo and see what he says. It's been about 8 months since we've been to him. We've been to the GI doc every 6 weeks for a year.

hiddensecant

I'd be more concerned about blood in the stool especially if she's tolerating the soy and not drinking more than 1-2 cups a day. Why don't you try almond milk? That's definitely safer than gambling with regular milk again, considering how harmful it was in the past.

leavinglasvegas

I also have a redundant colon, that is not fun! I can totally sympathize with her. Eating can make her feel really yucky. Have you had her tested for food allergies? My daughter and I were tested and since removing certain foods we feel great. We were both having so many digestive issues. We also did test negative for celiac, but positive for the intollerance to gluten. Gluten seems to have been the main source of our tummy troubles, that and wheat!

I would reccomend a book called Healing with Whole Foods by Paul Pitchford. It was recommended by our GI and allergist. It is a fabulous reference and offers tons of info on issues like this. If she finds foods that make her feel good, she will become more comfortable eating and trying new things. Once she learns that not all food will hurt, it will get easier for her. Especially when she discovers the foods that make her feel good noticably fast. By then, she will learn what makes her feel bad and when she says no, you can rest assured that she knows her body and will still get proper nutrition from other foods. When they are young, they will associate most foods as bad because they feel so terrible. Its a hard thing to deal with, believe me I know. From personal experience and being a mom of a "picky" eater. She can now tell immediately if a food will make her feel bad, and she is more apt now to head to the veggies and hummus or stirfrys than to wnat the stuff everyone else has.

lilay

My children won’t drink cow’s milk. I had my daughter drinking soy milk and she had growth issues. The endocrinologist told me to stop it because of the estrogenic properties and that he had seen babies with breast buds because of it. Since stopping it her growth issues seemed to have resolved. Now both of my children drink hemp milk (per their nutritionist) because it has a higher fat content than most rice milks and it helps with brain development. We haven’t had any issues and they do make chocolate flavored hemp milk.

When my daughter had growth issues we were told to added purees to her foods. As far as smoothies we were told to add white bean puree to smoothies. If the smoothie is chocolate you can also add broccoli and/or spinach puree. The way I cooked for my daughter was anything she would eat I pureed a vegetable and added it. If she’ll eat a grilled cheese you can make it with shredded cheese and carrot puree. In my freezer I have tons of pureed vegetables. I puree them and then freeze then in ice cube trays, put them in Ziploc baggies and pull out whatever I need when I need it.

Here is a link to a gluten, dairy, nut free granola bar that my kids love. You can use chocolate but we use dried fruits. http://www.wholeliving.com/recipe/nonuttin-chocolate-chip-granola-bar

Good Luck! I hope things turn around for your little one soon, not knowing what to do is the hardest part.

leavinglasvegas

I also wanted to say that if she eats chocolate, that might irritate her tummy if it contains milk.

We have dicovered the world of Vegan chocolate and OMG! Thank GOD! It actually tastes the same. Its still creamy and sweet, but not too sweet. I had a hershey kiss the other day and almost puked. I like the candy bar by Dream. They make one with bits of rasberry in it. Yumm! but I'm going off topic.....

Also check out the Enjoy Life brand. They are free of 8 most common allergens and make some pretty yummy snacks that are totally safe. (Chocolate included!)

LittleSpy

I've loved soy and continued to eat it since I was vegetarian for 5 years in my late teens/early 20s. But lately I've been shying away from it as well (though I'm still eating edamame; and tofu very occasionally).

I don't know the health issues involved that make her intolerant to (at least cows') milk, but I have read that yogurt is often a lot gentler on digestive tracts than milk thanks to the live cultures. Have you tried some good plain organic yogurt? If she does well, you can even make it yourself out of organic milk -- it's actually really easy & I do it all the time. Sorry if this is an ignorant suggestion, I just don't know anything about what you're dealing with.

gurgi22

I think her doctor would be the best place to start with questions about her health; but if you are worried about soy milk perhaps you can try almond milk.

lilmissy2

Perhaps you could request a referral from your GI doc to see a dietitian, I imagine the GI docs (or the endo) would be affilliated with some good paediatric dietitians that could really help you out with the weight loss and the food intolerances that she may have. These kind of things are so particular to each individual child that it's really difficult to just take it on yourself and try to research it.

Good luck!

rmccully

There is research that suggests that soy can lead to early menses in young girls, just like the hormone filled milk and meat. My daughter and I have a milk allergy and I use soy milk for smooties for the protien content and sometimes for her cereal. We also use hemp, rice and coconut milk. She has always loved the chocolate Silk.

My endocrinologist has told me to limit my soy because it tends to slow thyroid function and I also have a hisory of breast cancer in my family. Soy is estrogenic and can increase the chances of breast cancer.

Now, my endocrinolgist spent many years teaching and researching at U of M medical school. He says the science is true, but it tends to be over hyped. As with all things, you have to use moderation. But when it comes to kids and those with a history of breast cancer and thyroid issues, you should be safe and moderate a little more. He said its not neccessary for everyone to completely avoid it. But some people should more than others.

If shes had issues with milk, I would just leave it alone. I have digestive issuses and so does my daughter. We have loved being off milk and there are so many other alternatives. I know alot of people will push for it because its got calcium and all that jazz, but really, its not the only source of all nutrients. My daughter and I have made up for the nutrients in eating whole foods and we feel so much better. There is coconut milk Kefir that is really good and comes in a few flavors. Your daughter would probably love it and its really good for the digestive system.

Hope that helps!
Holly

ALMOND MILK IS GOOD TRY THAT

leavinglasvegas

ALMOND MILK IS GOOD TRY THAT

We do LOVE almond milk, but its not much for protien, unfortunately.

July24Lioness

I looked up the nutrition info on goats milk and it seems to be higher in calories and fat than soy. My daughter has a redundant colon (too large for her abdomen and has an extra loop) and she is tested for celiac every 6 months (still comes up negative). She rarely eats anything nutritious (by that I mean fruits or veggies). I feed her all natural organic chicken (the only meat she'll eat) and she'll eat avocado and bananas (doesn't help with constipation). She loves yogurt and pudding (but pudding is more of her treat). She'll drink meal replacement shakes as her main source of food. She never feels well and her tummy always hurts. I will try the goats milk and see how she does with the taste. I imagine it should have a smoother texture than soy??? She can eat dairy products now... we started introducing those back into her diet. It's mainly the milk that is a problem.

Anyone have any recipes for green smoothies that are chocolate flavored! LOL If it's not chocolate she won't drink it. But I need to get some veggies in her.

My 2nd daughter does great with milk and dairy. So strange how two kids from the same parents can be so completely different. My 15 month old is 25 lbs and my 3 yr old is 23 lbs. Eating is a pleasure for my 15 m old and it's miserable for my 3 yr old. She hates eating. Part of me just wants to leave things alone since she is feeling better than she has ever felt but the info I find on soy can be scary.

When I make her meal replacement shakes I do use soy, but I do half water and half soy milk. She hasn't caught on. So, she only gets about 12-16 oz of soy at the most per day.

I have recipes for green smoothies, but don't have chocolate as one of the ingredients. You would have to add the chocolate flavoring. Last year I was having them everyday as my breakfast.

wantmycurvesback

My nephew was as a baby and is still highly allergic to many food catergories (cow's milk included), so he was given goat's milk as well.

http://askdrsears.com/html/3/t032400.asp

lvfunandfit

Thanks all for your input and suggestions. Almond milk doesn't have enough calories or protein. She won't drink coconut milk but I will try your other suggestions. I'm wondering if the Soy is causing problems with her weight gain. We see her ped ever 6 weeks and her GI doc. I will ask to speak to a nutritionist as well. We were set up with one once but she was no help... she was baffled and couldn't give us suggestions.

I'd love the recipes for the smoothies!