Hi all,

A friend of mine went to a nutritionist not so long ago. She and her kids are allergic to dairy products and the nutritionist told her to use soy milk for her and her older kids and soy formula for her 8 month old baby, so now everyone is drinking a lot of soy milk. She doesn't like it, but feels she has no other choice. Does anyone know if there are any alternatives soy milk and formula?

Kat

Hi Kat,

Wow - I can't believe a nutritionist would advise somebody allergic to dairy, to use soy instead. It's a well known fact that soy causes an even greater antigen response in the gut than dairy or even shellfish! People that are allergic to dairy, are invariably allergic to soy as well. Nowadays, very few pediatricians would recommend soy formula for an infant or child. There's a movement in the medical community in the STates to have the soy formulas removed from the market. Especially since the amount of milk babies and young children drink is considerable with relation to their total weight and volume. It's just contrary to current medical practices. Soy has been shown to cause allergies later down the line as children age. There are many formulas made specifically for babies and toddlers that are allergic to dairy. Nutramigen is one I remember, but I know there are others. Enfamil, Similac and Nestle all make various formulas for children with allergies.

Milk substitutes for older children and adults that do not produce this antigen response in the gut are rice milk, potato, amaranth, and almond milk. THere is also something called Dari Free made by Vance's. This is bought as a powder and you mix it to the consistency you prefer. Many children enjoy this product, as it really does taste like regular milk.
BTW - most children outgrow their dairy allergies, by the age of 3 or 4. .

There are some recipes for some of the milks I mentioned. I know the almond and potato milk are easily made at home, however, for kids you'd need to add vitamins to it. These milks are not usually very nutritionally dense, and in order to make them palatable, a lot of sugar is usually added and is one of the key ingredients. So I'm not really sure how healthy these substitutes are, since all that sugar and the fact that they are very low in protein kind of makes you question drinking them in the first place. The almond milk is probably the healthiest (if you're not allergic to nuts, of course.

I'd say the rice milk and the almond milk taste OK - not great - just OK. That Dari Free product I mentioned, that tastes actually really nice - very creamy and sweet. Personally, I can't stand that chalky texture the soy milk has. I use rice or almond for making smoothies sometimes, or the Dari Free.

HTH,
SandyL

Thanks Sandy

DariFree looks very interesting. Too bad she will have to buy it over the internet. But if we wont find anything here in Iceland then it's defenately worth it to get her and her family off the soy. Thanks again

Kat

You're welcome Kat. Gosh, I really hope I didn't sound like I was trying to be a "know it all". But finding "dairy" substitutes has been a bit of a mission for me over the past 4 years. As I mentioned in other posts, my son is autistic, and one of the key issues surrounding autism is allergy to dairy and gluten. So finding a decent milk substitute (and gluten) has been something the vast majority of mom's in my situation spend a lot of time on. If your friend is interested - perhaps you could direct her to the gfcf.com website. This stands for "Gluten Free Casein Free" diet (the "gfcf" diet). It's a forum full of information for how to remove dairy and/or gluten, good substitutes, foods that you wouldn't think have dairy etc..... When people are allergic to "dairy" they are actually allergic to a protein called "casein" that is present in milk. Most people allergic to dairy are also allergic to gluten. Anyway, there are a lot of resources for following a "dairy free" diet, how to make some of the milks at home, etc...

Since you don't have a "Whole Foods" in Iceland, I think it will be hard to buy commercial products. The DariFree stuff we usually buy off the internet too. I think they sell them in 25 lb. cartons too since most people with kids wind up buying bulk sizes.

Good luck and sorry if I sounded too preachy.
SAndyL

Preachy?!?! I don't know what you are talking about. I'm very greatful for your reply, which was very helpful ...just what I was hoping for.

Thanks for the link, I will have her check it out.

Oh, we do have whole foods, just not as much variety as you do in America

Anyway, whenever I post a question please feel free to preach away

Kat