I have MS and need an alternative to cow's milk for my toddler!

[Cornberry]

I have just discovered that I have MS and this increases my daughter's chances of having it. Apparently cow's milk is possibly one of the culprits for developing MS and I really want to giver her something else but what?? Soy is really bad for you, what else is there? She's 19 months and has about 300mls of cow and gate a day, and now I'm terrified it's doing her harm :( Any ideas welcome. Thanks.

[Whatthefreakinwhatnow]

Alpro do a junior milk but at her age, providing she has a calcium rich diet, she doesn't need to drink milk. You could supplement her with non-cows milk yoghurt's, cheese etc and make rice puddings, custards etc to get extra in, along with calcium and iron rich food's like dark leafy veg etc.

I have a DD of the same age who doesn't like to drink milk but gets the equivalent of 27-20 Oz a day in yoghurt, cheese, cheese sauces etc.

[Whatthefreakinwhatnow]

Oh I meant to say providing she gets enough iron and calcium from other sources, she could drink oat milk if she still likes to drink milk and would miss it. I wouldn't recommend it if not though, as it is lacking in nutrients but fine for a nice drink.

[Whatthefreakinwhatnow]

Almond and hazelnut milks are also nice, and I believe fortified with calcium do better than oat milk in that regard.

[whoknewitwastrue]

There's lots of alternative mills, oat, almond, coconut etc. The issue with these as a replacement is they are the equivalent of a semi-skimmed & full fat is recommended until two for optimum brain development, calories and fat soluble vitamins.

DS is allergic to dairy so I continued breastfeeding & switched at 2 years. Might be an option?

Otherwise if you are going to continue other dairy products, yogurts etc then it would be fine to switch now as it all counts towards the recommend 300mls.

Sorry about your diagnosis, must be very stressful

[whoknewitwastrue]

I meant switch her a 2 to other milks rather than restart breastfeeding!

[CaseyAtTheBat]

Apparently cow's milk is possibly one of the culprits for developing MS

There isn't any research showing this at all, apart from a couple of correlational studies that don't show any causation. It seems an overeaction to cut it all out (you'd have to drop butter, yoghurt, soft cheeses, cream, ice cream, custard etc).

Why not speak to your dr about it?

[ItchyFoot]

The odds of your daughter getting it are still very low aren't they? My mum has ms and she was told her kids only have an extra 1% chance then other people.

[LaContessaDiPlump]

Soy is not really bad for you - if you're worried on that point, ask a doctor for advice.

We like oat milk, hazelnut milk, coconut milk.... there are many options! Don't worry.

[comeagainforbigfudge]

Where did you read that?

I have MS. Everything I've read suggest that a low fat, no/low dairy diet can reduce risk of relapses but can not prevent it.

They still don't fully understand the how and why's of MS.

Do you have a nurse specialist? Perhaps contact them to discuss concerns further.

[ohlittlepea]

Our dietician recommended oat milk for this age is fortified with calcium xxx sorry to hear of your diagnosis xxx

[DevelopingDetritus]

Oatly oat milk is nice.

[AnotherTimeMaybe]

We do our own from grated coconut - it's really easy you put boiling water to desicated coconut let it sit for few minutes and then blend. Very healthy and yummy!

[Hulder]

Where have you heard that cows milk is a cause?

Most discussion about causes of MS goes along the lines of 1) We don't really know and 2) Make sure you have enough Vitamin D, it might have something to do with it.

[DevelopingDetritus]

AnotherTimeMaybe That does sound tasty. Could I ask what amounts you use? And how long will it stay fresh for.

[DevelopingDetritus]

*I suppose you could use the same idea but with oats.

[EpoxyResin]

Ds (21 months) is allergic to milk AND almost anything you can make a milk substitute out of... except hemp! It's little used but very, very good. Of all the milk substitutes hemp milk is by far the most pleasing in terms of colour (very white) and "texture". Nice taste too. And it's fortified. We use Good Hemp.

[Shockers]

My children drank goat's milk from 11 months. DS had a lot of tummy trouble, was wheezy and had cracked, red skin on his cheeks, so we tried it to see whether it would make a difference. It did.

[Shockers]

Sorry, DS was 11 months, the other two were older but we all tried it and it stuck.

[Starman16]

Cutting cows milk out of a toddlers diet for this reason seems very extreme tbh. Have you discussed it with a doctor at all?

Are you under a hospital that has specialist MS nurses? Please seek some advice and help in navigating the minefield that is research on the Internet. The MS Trust website is a great resource for explaining current research and it's implications.

(I have MS btw, and a young family)

[Lindy2]

I understand that you have had a very frightening diagnosis and you are scared for your daughter and yourself. It is quite a drastic course of action though to cut out an entire food group for a child based upon an unfounded theory. Are you thinking of just cutting out milk or all food that contains milk or butter, yoghurt, cheese etc?
My father had MS. He was diagnosed at 40 and died at 76. I have always understood that my risk, as a child of a MS suffer, is a fraction higher than those without relatives with MS.
My father had no family with MS and my brother and I have both passed the age of 40 and remain in good health.
I have never heard of any dairy link and throughout my lifetime have heard so many different theories and also different potential cures, that I find it hard to believe any now without rock solid medical proof. Hardly any get any proof.
I think a healthy, balanced diet and life style is worth a lot. MS is a very unpredictable illness with no two people having the same progression or symptoms. There are lots of support groups out there and you might find it useful to speak to a local group. I wish you and your daughter well.

[AnotherTimeMaybe]

@DevelopingDetritus I put 5 teaspoons of jack's organic desicated coconnut with about 200ml boiling water to my breville small blender and blending it for about a minute (but you have to let it sit for 20 minutes beforehand). You then strain it with a sieve I add some honey too and I use it to make porridge or to give to kids as a drink - I usually keep it up to 3-4 days at the fridge

[DevelopingDetritus]

Thank you, I've written that down. I use the Crazy Jack's coconut on my cereal it's nice.

[nocoolnamesleft]

There's more evidence of a link with low vitamin D. Have you started your dd on a children's multivit which includes vitamin D?

(Incidentally, the national advice is all UK children under the age of 5 should be on one of these anyway)

[Cornberry]

Thanks so much for all your responses - helpful and reassuring. I agree it does seem extreme and I think it would be a disaster as her favourite foods are cheese and yoghurt, but I have read in a lot of different places that it is suspected that dairy consumption coupled with low vitamin D - as people have said - is thought to be a setting for higher risk of MS. And as for how high her risk is I haven't seen many matching figures, but I gather it is considerably higher than for the normal population. I just want to do whatever is right and as MS is such an unknown quantity I was hoping to get some ideas from people with experience. I have not yet seen the specialist. I may switch to Jersey milk or goat's milk which contain different proteins. I'm loath to quite the follow on milk because it is fortified. I have the vitamin D drops for her but havn't used them because she doesn't need them while she's on the formula.

I wish I knew when to stop the milk altogether - can't get a straight answer from anyone! The nursery seems to think she needs to have some.

The people who have MS - curious to know if you have cut out dairy for yourself or your kids?

I'm afraid that there is a lot of evidence that soy (unfermented soy) is very bad for you :( Just look it up.

[Whatthefreakinwhatnow]

WRT stopping milk, she needs calcium and vitamin D which is derived from the milk, not the milk itself. So if she's getting plenty of this from other sources ie-cheese, yoghurt, dark leafy veg etc she doesn't need to drink milk on top, but obviously it's fine if she does.