lactose intolerance and soy products

[shiv]

both my boys 18 months ans three are lactose intolerant. I am currently giving them goats milk with no real improvement. i am considering giving them soy milk, however when I discussed this with my acupuncture practitioner he felt it may be a problem for boys because of it's high oestrogen content(female sex hormone). Now I don't know what to do as I live in a small country town and my options seem to be cow, goat or soy milk. any thoughts?

Ask your GO about Nutramigen - its' a totally non lactose formula - only problem is it tastes foul and is pricey but should be available on prescription and cat this age you can always mix it with something else.

On the other hand my daughter is lactose intolerant and never took formula of any kind. By 18 months I'd stopped worrying except for giving her sandoz syrup (calcium) - so maybe you should forget 'milk' and just replace the calcium with something else? Ask to be referred to an NHS nutritionist too, it was great when we saw one after ages of noone taking us serioulsy.

My SIL gives her child sweet almond milk. I have no idea if we can find this in the UK because of all the nut allergies... but it is recommended in several European countries as an excellent alternative to cow's milk. It does contain calcium as well. Maybe worth checking health food shops or website if this is something you'd consider.

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Just a thought .. you can get calcuim enriched rice milk which is tasty and makes great custard etc .. all my sons have lots of allergies and once they were past the age for formula adn eating OK we have found this great... you can get it in lots of supermarkets now, which is v helpful! YOu can also get oat milk and even oat ice cream which is lovely for kids who can't have dairy or soya! its called first glace and your health foods shop should be able to order it for you. good luck

I'd second Cl's message - my daughter is allergic to cow's milk - and in a skin test also reacted to goats milk - tho I've never tried to feed her any- but she's on nutramigen prescription - and loves it ( yes it does smell very dodgy!)I just ring for a repest prescription of 8 cans every couple of months and pick it up from the pharmacy - for free!!! Can't be bad!

My almost 1 year old boy is allergic to all dairy, soya and wheat. He has been on nutramigen since this was dicovered at a very early age when my breastfeeding was not enough for him. He loves it to the extent that he prefers to drink it to the exclusion of everything else, although I think it tastes revolting. You need to see a dietician or gp to get it on prescription, but once you have got the ok then it can just be picked up on repeat whenever you need it. I use it in his food as a substitute for cows milk. He has it on his cereal, in mashed potatoes etc. Nutramigen also do recipe cards with suggestions of things to make with the milk. Hope this is helpful to you.

My son is 18mos and he is very allergic to milk. I do give him a milk called Lactaid. Its where you find the regular milk. This milk is 100% lactose free. My two other kids drink it all the time. Theyve told me it takes just like milk. This might be a good choice because of the flavor other milks have. The only complaint I have is that it comes in the 1/2 gallon size and is about the same price as a gallon of milk.

Just come across this old thread whilst doing a search. Almond milk and Hazelnut milks have just been launched by Ecomil and come in 1L liquid packs or in tubs of powdered milk drink. Ask your local health food shop if they can get it for you.

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I only mentioned the nut milks because almond milk had been mentioned earlier. I also think that this could run the risk of nut allergies and I think that rice milk is probably the safest option being free from dairy, soya, gluten and nuts.

Although we hear a lot about nut allergy, it is almost always peanut allergy, and peanuts aren't nuts (in the strict sense of the word).. It is actually pretty rare to be allergic to tree nuts, although not unknown.

My DH has a sensitivity to almonds. I've also heard that brazil nuts are liable to cause reactions too.

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My neice is allergic to almonds. My sister let her taste one when baking a cake and it nearly killed her!
The hospital said that she has a true nut allergy and therefore is probably not allergic to peanuts as they are not from the nut family. They said it was not worth doing a tast test with her because it is too risky.

a little anoraky nut-related info:
I was sure I'd remembered hearing that peanuts aren't actually 'nuts'..and I just found this:

Peanuts are actually a member of the pea family and are not true 'nuts'. Peanuts are also known as Groundnuts as the pods develop after the pollinated flower stalk has grown down into the soil, where the nuts develop, so the peanuts have to be dug out of the soil to be harvested. Peanuts are extremely nutritious due to their high protein and oil content, they are also rich in vitamins B and E.

Bundle, I'm glad that you wrote all that, DS1 is currently growing 2 peanut plants and I wouldn't have had a clue what to do with them. I didn't realise that the flower stalks go down into the ground to produce peanuts. You learn something new every day!

glad to be of help!