Got a question about going dairy-free? Dietitian Kate Arthur answers your questions - £200 voucher to be won

[LucyBMumsnet]

Created for Alpro

Ever thought about going dairy-free but wondered how it might affect your health? Post your questions to registered dietitian Kate Arthur, and you could win a £200 shopping voucher.

• Everyone who shares a question on the thread below will be entered into a prize draw
• One lucky Mumsnet user will win a £200 voucher for a store of their choice (from a list)
• Kate will be back at the start of November to answer a selection of your questions

About Kate:
“Kate Arthur is a Registered Dietitian with 25 years experience. She is passionate about promoting easy to understand nutrition and dietary advice for adults and children. Having worked for a number of years as a Dietitian for Alpro she has helped to promote the importance of plant based eating for both health and the planet.”

Here’s what Alpro have to say:
“With an increasing number of people wanting to lead a more plant based lifestyle, Alpro is on hand to ensure that parents are equipped with the tools and information to be able to follow a nutritionally balanced, healthy diet. Alpro Soya Growing Up drink and the new Alpro Oat Growing Up drink are tasty alternatives to cows’ milk and are formulated to provide nutrients tailored to the needs of children aged 1 to 3 years.”

So whether you have a question about the health or eco benefits of adopting a dairy free diet, or the ways you can introduce dairy free alternatives into your family’s diet, post your question on this thread for Kate to answer.

Thanks and good luck,
MNHQ

Ignore above.

Apart from calcium, how does Alpro ensure that plant based milks are nutritious for growing children?

Will cooking with plant based milks compromise the quality or taste of my cooking?

How do you decide which dairy free milk to buy, if you go dairy free? There are so many choices now - soy/oat/almond - how to you choose?

What's the best way to protect my bones if I go dairy free?

My young child drank a glass of soya milk, and came out in a rash all over. They were blood tested for soya allergy but that was negative so what could have been going on, do you think? And where do we go from here (currently consuming cows milk, with no problems).

My daughter is 7 and has CMPA. She's been on the alpro soya growing up milk since she was just over a year old. What's the best milk for her now or should we keep her on the growing up one?

We're no longer under a dietician or consultant so I can't ask them.

If you go dairy-free will you then develop an intolerance to dairy making it difficult to go back?

A child I care for is dairy free for health reasons. What are the best ways to ensure they get plenty of dietary calcium?

When will the price come down to make these alternatives more viable for families?

Which plant based milk is best for heating? Or is there a knack to heating soya milk that doesn't change its texture/taste?

I get soya milk for help with menopause symptoms but it’s no good for hot cocoa/chocolate or anything needing the milk hot (ime anyway the texture alters/it tastes weird) so I still buy dairy too.

What data have you used to support the claim that dairy has a huge carbon footprint? Can you enlighten us on the (lesser?) carbon footprint and water usage of soya, coconuts, almonds etc please?

Like many others, I am extremely interested in the plant-based diet debate. Please can you tell me how environmentally sustainable plant-based milk is? As I understand it, very little farmland in the UK is suitable for growing oats (and will be even less in the future if the rewilding movement continues apace), and other sources of plant-based milk, such as almonds or soya, require huge quantities of land and water in their production, and are largely grown in developing countries with environmental issues of their own, such as deforestation and loss of indigenous species. Then of course there is the carbon footprint aspect arising from transporting either the raw or pre-processed product to the UK. My other question is regarding the vitamin content of plant-based milk versus cows' milk - please can you provide some more information on what research has been carried out into the potential long-term health impact on our children and grandchildren, especially with regard to calcium, and how best to inform parents of the need to supplement this vital constituent in their family's diet?

Would you say going dairy free helps with anxiety and depression?

I can see the company is changing the picture from a giraffe to a monkey. Are you changing the ingredients as well?

If making a recipe that asks for milk, cream, Greek yoghurt etc., can you just substitute in soya milk, soya cream, soya yoghurt?

I'm thinking of cake recipes mainly.

If I go dairy free, will this have an affect on my baby who is breastfeeding- and if so, what? They are under one year old. Thank you.

If you go dairy-free, are you likely to be missing out on some key vitamins & minerals? Calcium comes to mind in particular...
Thanks.

My son and daughter cough a lot after having milky products. It doesn’t last long but do you think I should get this checked out? It’s been on my mind fir a while but it might be hard to see a doctor.

I'd like a bit of guidance on which plant based milks to choose for which purposes, as I assume they all have different flavours and properties. For instance, which is best in tea and coffee - oat, soy, nut or coconut? Which is better as a cream or yoghurt substitute in cooking, and which for baking etc?

I use dairy free at home whenever I can but I feel it is pointless as they both go to school where that is not an option. When will this be rolled out into schools as the normal?

What percentage lower is the carbon footprint of going dairy free - as opposed to consuming an 'average' weekly amount.

I have a family history of osteoporosis, what would be the most calcium rich plant-based milk alternative. And would it be as good as dairy to slow down the effects of osteoporosis?

Why is it that plant-based milks are sold in litres and the baby cow growth formula is sold in pints?

How does the Oat growing up milk compare to regular oat milk? Does it have added sugar?