Please help, alpro soya yoghurts

[Southwestwhippet]

Hi, I asked about soya yoghurts and soya milk in weaning and got some mixed responses, i think I need to make my question more specific and in allergies.

I'm pretty sure my 8 month DD is mildly allergic to dairy produce - she can tollerate small amounts (ie butter on her sandwhich) but not cheese/yoghurt/milk as it gives her excema.

I have been giving her alpro-soya yoghurts as an alertnative but I am now concerned as I have heard from various sources that soya is toxic/very bad for babies. The internet seems to provide mixed opinion. In general, there is a concensus that soya milk is bad, but it is less clear on soya yoghurt.

Does anyone have a definitive answer or a source I can read up on? Is it ok to give my 8month DD an alpro-soya yoghurt a couple of times a week? Please help!!

As far as I can work out soya is not great for children due to the high levels of phytoeostrogens that occur in it naturally, but also because of the amount of sugar that is often added to soya products to make them taste nice.

That said small amounts should be fine, I look on it as being like any other food - fine in moderation. My ds2 is dairy intolerant and I was worried about giving him soya products, but I weighed that up against what might happen if he didn't have the soya alternatives and came to the conclusion that the soya allows me to give him a much more balanced diet than he would have without it.

My ds2 doesn't have huge amounts of soya - probably one soya yoghurt a day and maybe a small soya milkshake. I think the problems the reports on the internet highlight are for children who have much more soya than that e.g those fed soya formula.

I just make sure ds2's teeth are brushed very well.

The only other thing to say is that quite a few children who have a dairy intolerance have an intolerance to soya. My ds2 is fine with soya but very dairy intolerant. Just something to watch out for if yoiur DD's excema doesn't improve.

my ds and dd are both allergic to cmp they have alpro soya and the consultant and dietician said its fine when i went to them with the same concerns as you.

theres now a new alpro milk alpro 1+ that they recommended, they both also have neocate which i mix in porridge/put on cereal just so they dont have loads of soya.

I just read your other thread. So I'll try and answer some of your other questions.

When the dr's thought my ds2 had a dairy allergy he was 11 months old and had just stopped bf (his choice not mine). I tried giving him normal formula and he was really really sick. They prescribed us Wysoy formula, but he wouldn't ever drink it so at this point he was having no milk/soya drink/breastmilk at all. I panicked about his calcium intake and so started giving him soya milkshakes as although they are high in sugar they are calcium fortified and he only has one a day (200ml).

I went a saw my HV whilst waiting for an appointment with the consultant. She was lovely and said that soya alternatives for yoghurts and cheese would be fine for ds2. She also gave me a sheet explaining what other foods were calcium rich. However I haven't had much luck getting ds2 to eat pilchards or green leafy vegatables, but we'll keep trying .

When we finally saw the consultant ds2 was 19 months and he said we were fine to continue giving the soya shakes and the diet ds2 was on.

I was told by my own GP though that children with a dairy intolerance are advised to stay on Wysoy till they are 2 as soya formula doesn't contain enough nutrients/calories on it's own. However as I said my ds2 wasn't having anything so I figured the milkshakes were better than nothing. He is now 22 months and seems to be doing ok. I do worry about whether the soya is having a bad effect on him, but atm I do think I have an alternative. I do give him Oatly sometimes which is an oat milk, but he's not as keen on that. Children under 5 shouldn't have rice milk due to the levels of arsenic in it.

Can you ask your HV or GP for a referral to a dietician? They would be really helpful in putting your mind at rest.

thank you, this seems to support most of what I have read. ie Soya milk is not good but the Alpro Soya yoghurts are fine in moderation although high in sugar. I was/am worried about the toxicity reports though so I think what I will do is have a chat with my GP and see if they think a referral might be helpful.

thank you for taking the time to answer my concerns. Weaning is a real minefield, there just doesn't seem to be any definitive yes or nos on anything LOL

You can get plain alpro soya yoghurt, ie with no sugar, and add your own fruit to taste if you're worried about the sugar?

To be honest, if you're dealing with allergies, there's always going to be some part of their diet that isn't perfect, its just a matter finding the least worst option. For us, excluding dairy and egg would have been a nightmare (more of a nightmare) if we'd excluded soya as well. Calcium fortified soya milk and yoghurts/puddings feature three times a day on our menu, and the sugar doesn't seem to cause a real problem. (in fact the hospital nutritionist recommended the 3x per day rule to ensure that the kids get enough calcium).

AFAIK, soya formula/milk is not recommended when it is a babies main drink. Soya yoghurts as part of a balanced diet should be fine.

DD cannot have dairy produce due to her eczema. I have found goats yoghurt very useful - St Helens brand do a lovely strawberry one. I can sometimes find that in the supermarket. Alternatively I buy plain goats yoghurt and add mashed fruit (DD loves this).

If I'm cooking and need grated cheddar for the topping or sauces, goat's cheddar has been a godsend. Tesco do an own-brand, or the main brands you will find are St Helens and Delamere. I have found them a great substitute (and the milks don't have any sweeteners in - a concern for us due to enamel erosion caused by teeth grinding).

My DS as baby got so many coughs, colds, ear infections etc that we were always at docs. One doc said he might be dairy intolerant (as he used to have bad reflux too) at 7months docs suggested soya milk (he was on farleys soya milk until he was 18mths then went on to normal soya milk) he also had the aplro yoghurts most days.

He now has cows milk (in food) cheese and cows yoghurts, chocolate in moderation but if he ill (cough/cold etc) I cut right back and it helps him get better quicker.

At time doc said ok to give him soya, he is now 8, dont think it did him any long term harm!!

my ds and dd both have neocate and also soya milk/yogurt, i do worry sometimes esp with ds but if they didnt have it i dont know how else they would get all the calcium/protein/calories they need as their diets are so restricted.

they both like the alpro 1+ milk its meant to be better but does contain maltodextrin and fructose-glucose syrup so not sure if its the best thing ever??
i try if i can to use neocate wherever poss, on cereal ,in porridge etc if i can as dont want them having loads and loads of soya but without it they would prob not get everything they need .

I've had similar concerns with soya formula for my dairy allergic DD and been BFing until now (12 months), but need to start thinking of weaning now.

I've read (on a respected website - so much bad info out there!) that modern cows are so full of hormones that their milk is loaded in estrogens, and the amounts of phytoestrogens in soy milk are much, much less important.

In my case she's not taking Neocate, cannot take goat milk, so I'll be using Wysoy until she's 2 along with calcium rich foods.

Not sure if soy yoghurts are really rich in calcium though? In my view they were just a "fake" alternative to the dairy ones, just like vegetarian sausages are to meat ones, but I may be wrong!

Karen - for those that are allergic to cows milk, goats/sheeps milk isn't an option unfortunately as it is basically the same protein.

Eskimo - always buy the soya milk/yoghurts that are marked as 'with calcium', otherwise you're right, it isn't a great alternative.

My DD gets eczema if she eats too much dairy, so she has Alpro yoghurts.

But the fruit ones that come in packs of four make her very hyper and I think they must be full of sugar.

What we've found good is to buy a big pot of the natural Alpro yoghurt, then make it fruity by stirring in some Innocent fruit smoothie. I don't know how the sugar content compares but DD doesn't get hyper with the latter!

Ah, I see Lukewarm suggested that already!

Probably the food colourings not the sugar causing the hyperactivity.

checked the label-alpro soya smooth have no artificial colour of flavours in them so may be the sugar (2.1g per 100g in the soya natural yog-10.2g and 10.4g for the 2 diff flavours of smooth yog) bit of a diff!

i mix the natural one sometimes with little bit of hipp organic red fruit compote jar it makes a really lovely 'strawberry yogurt 'for dd.ds however loves the peach and pear smooth yog,maybe thats why he never sits still-had no idea it had THAT much sugar.

My DD had these same ecsema symptoms with dairy when she was a baby so I switched to soya formula which she drank in copious amounts (I also discovered I was lactose intolerant when I was 14, & had been drinking soya milk instead of milk) although my daughter is now a beautiful healthy 15 year old, I've recently been diagnosed with3 breast tumours - upon doing research I stumbled upon the fact that most soya products in uk supermarkets (apart from fermented soy ie: soy sauce etc..) is unsafe for human consumption as it has not been fermented. Soy is natural toxic to humans & was originally grown as a green manure for crop fields. I have now completely illiminated all soy products & gone on a very strict vegan diet, personally I would advise against 'soya products' from blogs that I've read. There are other alternatives such as coconut/almond/hazelnut/cashew/hemp/oat milks that are safe, if you refrigerate a can of coconut milk overnight, you can whip up the cream at the top of the can as a healthy alternative for yogurt/cream/ice cream. Most 'Quorn products' are made from mushroom protein - just avoid 'Tesco own brand as they all contain soya'. The reason there is a growing allergy to cow dairy is due to the pasteurising process (at super hot temperatures) that kill off the healthy 'lactase' enzyme that our bodies need to digest the 'lactose' in cows milk - it's illegal to sell 'unpasteurised milk products in the U.K.' Some European countries such as Germany/Poland allow unpasteurised dairy products! Wishing you all every success in wading through this dietary minefield! xox

Also in regards to 'Soya products (unfermented)' they mimic a type of plant like oestrogen producing hormone which I suspect has caused the 3 breast tumours I've recently been diagnosed with, hense I am personally going to avoid the stuff like the plague from now on! Shame on Alpro for labelling it as a 'health food/drink' - disgusted!!!