What;s worse cow's milk or soy milk??

[melvis]

Hi. I am new to this forum, so I am hoping I am posting in the right place.

I took my son to his well baby visit today- he is 15 months- and the dr. was trying to convince me not to give my son soy milk. I don't like cow's milk at all (for a multitude of reasons) and have never given it to either of my kids. I have read conflicting articles on soy milk. What are your thoughts on soy milk??? Thanks in advance!

[Ruthla]

Is your 15mo nursing? If yes, then there's no need for any additional milk in his diet.

If not, then I'd go with cow or goat milk over soy. Soy "milks" are highly processed and not really good for human consumption, at least not in huge quantities. The occasional tofutti ice cream is unlikely t ocause problems, but a steady diet of soymilk is high in phytoestrogens and difficult to digest.

[alegna]

Originally Posted by Ruthla

Is your 15mo nursing? If yes, then there's no need for any additional milk in his diet.

:

-Angela

[kriket]

I am lactose intolerant and just don't drink milk. Soy or otherwise. If I so desired milk I would go goat.

[tanyalynn]

We're doing fine without any day-to-day milk. Occasional rice milk for my muffin recipe, and coconut milk when I'm cooking something that I want rich and creamy, but other than that, we're fine without.

[melvis]

Sorry I posted twice- I edited and then I couldn't delete... still learning how to use this site...

As far as BF, believe me, I know the benefits of BF and all that...I wish I could have done it longer but it wasn't working out... period. I don't really wish to go there... it is a done deal and I can not go back in time, unfortunately.

That being said, I really want to know what other moms are giving their children and their thoughts on soy milk? I am just not a fan of animal milk, at all. But don't want to keep giving soy if it is bad.

[ZuZu's Mom]

My daughter was having chronic ear infections and colds around 9 months old. Took her to the chiro and she told us to cut out regular formula and give her soy formula instead (I was BFing, pumping, and supplementing with formula). The chiro actually performed a diagnostic test to determine whether she was allergic/intolerant of the regular formula. With the soy formula her chronic congestion improved within a couple of days. She had no problems with the soy formula as far as we could tell. Even now, at 2.5 years old, she drinks more soy milk then cow's milk. Haven't noticed a problem.

[Amila]

We do organic cows whole milk, mommas milk in a cup, and almond milk. I try to stay away from soy.

[joybird]

I would not give soy milk either (or rice milk), for the same reasons the others have said. It is not a whole food and is nowhere near as nutritionally complete as milk, human or cow or otherwise.

If the child tolerates goat milk I would give that, preferably raw. It is more easily digested than cow milk and the ratio of lactose/casein is much closer to that of breast milk.

If the child couldn't tolerate dairy I would focus on getting in nutrients and fat some other way, i.e. bone broth, coconut oil/milk, avocado, etc.

[mama_ani]

Originally Posted by melvis

That being said, I really want to know what other moms are giving their children and their thoughts on soy milk? I am just not a fan of animal milk, at all. But don't want to keep giving soy if it is bad.

My son drinks rice milk.
He can't have dairy at all and learning about the phytoestrogens in the soy beverage is what prompted me to switch him from soy to rice.

[cristeen]

I would definitely give animal milk over soy any day. Soymilk is incredibly controversial for a reason. Even if you discount the problems with hormone mimicry, it is GMO, highly processed, and tends to contain additional ingredients.

If animal milk is not well tolerated, I would go with a nut/seed milk next. Whether that's almond, coconut, hemp, etc. But I would much rather make them myself than buy them in a can or a package at the store.

Ultimately though, I would question why you think your DS needs milk? Do you think he needs the protein, the fat, the vitamins, etc.? Because there are all sorts of other things you could be giving him instead of either milk or soymilk, depending on why he's getting it.

[Ruthla]

If I had a non-nursing toddler, I would give him or her milk from another mammal (possibly in the form of formula rather than whole milk, depending on what the rest of the baby's diet looked like.) If no mammal milk was tolerated at all, then I'd go with a soy formula, not plain soy milk.

[alegna]

Personally, if I had a child under two, for whom human milk was not an option, I would use a formula of some sort. If a formula was not possible, I would use an animal milk. Probably goat's would be my first choice.

-Angela

[dogmom327]

I'd go with goat's milk if you're uncomfortable with cow's milk. Personally I would never give my son (or myself for that matter) any soy products except for very small amounts of organic fermented soy (such as a quality soy sauce). From the information I've found, humans have not traditionally consumed soy in large quantities and when it was consumed it was fermented. I don't think evolution has caught up with the amount of soy our society consumes and I have a hard time believing that doing so doesn't have negative consequences.

ETA: I do agree with PP that if your son is nursing then he doesn't actually need any "milk" products. Human milk is more than adequate.

[GreenSmoothie mama]

Clearly the opinions you get will be what is ingrained in each person's conditioning and belief.

There are many reasons cow's milk is bad for human consumption as there are for soy consumption by humans. Personally I don't use either and do not recommend either as our children are not bovine and soy is not a good food source for humans.

What's most important to answer is why you feel the need to give your young one cow milk or soy milk. Identify what you want your child to receive by consuming either one and find alternatives that fit your beliefs and comfort.

Fortunately there is a lot of wonderful natural whole foods available to give us and our children all the nourishment they need even in the absence of breastmilk. Once you identify what you want then find the foods that will provide that.

[PGTlatte]

I drink it, our kids drink it, and I have no fears about it. Both our kids are allergic to the casein in cow's milk. I tried consuming a tiny amount of goat yogurt while nursing the less allergic child and he had a quite a reaction to that so goat casein is off limits for us too. I ran through all the other alternative milks...rice milk has no fat or protein, oat and almond milks taste funny and they won't drink them, Dari free tastes like soap and has no fat or protein, and even the hemp milk I can get is not calcium enriched. They will not consume large amounts of broccoli or almonds. I need to get them calcium from somewhere. They like vanilla soymilk and drink it happily. I like the unsweetened soymilk and we can cook with it and make nice creamy sauces. If dairy was an option for us I would use it instead...in fact I would probably buy raw whole milk....but it's not, and soy is working out for us.

Originally Posted by melvis

What are your thoughts on soy milk??? Thanks in advance!

[Sailor]

I don't eat processed anything - so no processed soy, i.e. soy milk. Personally, I think if it's been processed, it's not as good for you as it could be.

I used to drink raw organic milk, but then I went vegan (for personal health reasons). Now, I don't really drink any dairy substitute beyond almond milk (which I make myself) and coconut milk.

Toddlers, though ... well, hopefully, I'd be breast feeding still. But, if circumstances prevented me, then I'd stick to organic goat's milk.

[kriket]

Originally Posted by Sailor

I don't eat processed anything - so no processed soy, i.e. soy milk. Personally, I think if it's been processed, it's not as good for you as it could be.

I've made soy milk before, the 'mush' that is left behind is excellent bread starter. I agree that too much soy is no good. Like, I have a hard time processing meat. So in response my mom bought "fake meat" and everything soy, soy cheese, milk, meat, everything. It screwed up my hormones, but an occasional tofu dish or glass of soy isn't going to end your life. If you are ve*an it's unhealthy to live your life off processed soy replacements.

If goat is out of the question for you I would research alternate "formulas" like something smoothie esk that you can whip up that is nutritionally complete and feed.

I've never been able to drink a glass of milk and aside from booba milk I wouldn't expect my kids too. I think the peds who go to cows milk are being outrageous. If you can't BF you use formula or another humans milk ( not is this society) not bovine milk. I've always thought that was silly. Plus, if you are trying to live sustainable, cows are hard work!

HTH keep us updated on what you choose and what your ped says!

[mamadelbosque]

I'd look into a source of local, organic, preferably grass/pasture-fed raw milk. Goat or cow, either one would be better by far than soy milk, IMO. If those are not an option, then I'd look into getting a soy-milk maker and buying your own organic soybeans and making your own soymilk. Its not hard. My dad has a soymilk maker thing, and you just soak soybeans for a day, then put'm in and little bit later you have your own, fresh, additive free, soy milk.

[Alyantavid]

My son is allergic to dairy and obviously doesn't drink milk. I don't think soy milk is remotely healthy at all so he mostly drinks water and has a little rice milk with meals.