Soy Milk - Clinton Township,MI

I'm a grandmother and had all three of my daughters on soy milk because of milk allergies. They were on soy milk, ProSoBee for at least 18 months and then were able to go to cow's milk. As they are all adults now, no harm done.

My Son is now 15 years old and had been on Soy Milk from 7 months on and we had no problem.
He drank EdenSoy (Vanilla) milk until age 10.
He now is a big milk drinker.
He is 6'1" and happy and healthy!!!

My 3 year old son was on nothing but soy from 7 months until he was about 2 1/2 years old. (First soy formula, then soy milk.)We started him back on regular milk (a little at a time to see how well he tolerated it) because of the price of soy.

He is VERY active, very talkative, and according to his daycare, is developmentally ahead of most fo his peers.

ALSO, my doctor, who is also my friend, raised his 2 daughters, who are now in college, on soy milk products. He never once switched them to cows milk and they are very bright, beautiful girls. I believe that they are straight A students (or very near).

I'm not sure what the recent controversy is concerning soy but I imagine there are places in the world where it is quite common to be on it for a long period of time. That being said, my oldest son was allergic to dairy (so sensitive, in fact, that I had to eliminate all dairy from my diet while I nursed him). When I weaned him at 14 months I put gave him soy milk and rice milk but soon switched to rice milk exclusively because he was getting soy yogurt daily. I read that there MAY be some concern about a link between soy and peanut allegies so I just decided to limit his soy to one serving a day. My son is now 4 and is still on rice milk even though he tolerates dairy in his diet. He tried cow's milk at a friend's house recently and didn't like the taste - to him, rice milk IS milk. Anway, if you are concerned about soy, rice milk is an option. They also make almond milk but as a mother of a child with food allergies I would not even consider giving my son something made of nuts or with nuts at this age.

My daughter is 16 months old now and we had her on the Soy Formula and now Soy Milk with DHA. Her pediatrician never voiced any concerns about her being on it for long periods of time. If she has cow's milk she breaks out in hives and bad itching. However she can eat cheese and yogurt; so hopefully she grows out of it and we can switch her to cow's milk.
I would think that if there was a danger with prolonged soy milk intake your pediatrician would've warned you.

Both of my children drank soy formula and my oldest drinks soy milk now. I breast fed at first, but with them both I stopped producing enough milk when they were about 3 1/2 months old. By the time each was 4 months old, they were on strictly soy formula. The only issue my doc brought up or that I encountered was that it can be a little constipating. With my son, that wasn't a problem! with my daughter (who is currently drinking it) it has been more of an issue. The doc suggested I not start her on rice cereal because it also has the same effect. I just feed her prunes everyday and so far that is working fine. She is now 11 months old.
I have been drinking soy milk for about 10 years now and have never had any problems. I can't stand cow's milk and I am in no way convinced that humans should be drinking it at all. If you do any small amount of research on cow's milk, you can find plenty of terrible facts.
I have never heard anyone say anything was better than breast milk. I also have never heard of anything I just read in the article you posted before. I can tell you that my son is now nearly 27 months old and after he stopped drinking the soy formula he started on vanilla soy milk and he is no dummy! I wouldn't worry about it affecting brain function.
One thing I would like to find out is whose pocket is this Weston A. Price Foundation in. I see they are non-profit and Price is a Dentist and "Nutritional Thinker", but I just wonder what hidden interests this org. might have. I think all of us mothers should have the title "Nutritional Thinker"! I mean....what? :o)
I applaud you for looking into this! I believe we should investigate everything rather than thinking that any company, organization or whatever is really looking out for our best interests.
One last thing that the article didn't mention is whether they tested powdered formula or liquid. I have read that the lining in the cans of liquid formula contain BPA which is a hormone that mimics estrogen. It is recommended that you only use the powdered formula for that reason.
I hope this helps! Let us know what you doc says; I'm interested to hear her/his response.

My son is also allergic to cows milk. There are so many alternatives to soy, what I do is rotate his intake. Here is an example:

week 1= almond milk
week 2= soy milk
week 3= rice milk

The good news is he is young enough that you can get him used to anything out there, where as when your kids get older, they are not as open to new things.

Good luck, I hope this helps.

I've never had to use soy, but I did look at that website and while some of it may be true (i really don't know) it is cleary a one-sided biased view. If your son can't have milk---you need to feed him. There have been studies that same basically the same thing about hormones in milk too. My guess is (obviously talk to your pediatrian) that if this was really a definate problem we would have heard more about it.

I have heard nothing about it. Our family has been on soy milk for years (over ten years). My husband is severely lactose intollerant and I am slightly lactose intollerant. We do soy milk all the time. It is a healthy thing for you - it is only milk from a bean. Now doesn't that sound more healthy than drinking milk from a cow? I wouldn't worry about it at all. You will also see that more and more peole are becoming lactose intollerant or have an allergy to milk (there is a difference between the two).
I personally think that milk is over rated in our culture. There are many other ways to get vitamin D, calcium, and the appropriate amount of fat. You may want to check out this awesome info packed book called, "Super Baby Foods." I learned so much - not just how to make baby food but about what each food give you nutritionally and how to cook it to get the most out if it. I think there is also a web site for it. I think it is an great resource for anyone who eats food!
You are doing fine.

N.W.-

My son was born 6 weeks premature and we discovered shortly after we brought him home from the hospital that he was lactose intolerant. At the request of his pediatrician we placed him on Soy formula and then on Soy milk for six months after he turned one. He thrived on it. He is a happy, healthy, average weight 3 year old now. I never noticed a problem with the formula, other than the fact that it can cause constipation if you aren't careful. We now have a 3 month old little girl, and she showed the same signs of intolerance. We recently moved her to soy formula, and I'm just as confident in my doctor's knowledge now, as I was 3 years ago!

K.K.

If you are in the Detroit area, there is a group of chiropractors in Grosse Pointe who address all kinds of allergies. Actually, they can "clear" most allergies through whole food supplements and diet supervision, even in small children. It is called Alternative Health Care Center. They do have a website ahccenter.com
They are an amazing group!

My daughter has been on soy milk for over three years. She has had no problem what so ever. When we found out that she was allergic to dairy we took her to a nutritionist. She is the one who told us to substitute soy for dairy. I also have had my two boys on soy formula and one has moved to soy milk now. My daughters allergy is so serious she was getting hives just from touching her brothers toys. The pediatrition has never said anything negative about any of the kids being on soy. All three of my children have been very healthy.

I hope this helps!

Both my kids were allergic from an early age. My son had a terrible allergy with hives, blood in his stool, diarrhea, etc. He was on soy for over 3 years. He is healthy and vigorous with no health issues now at 4-1/2. If soy is all he will tolerate- you really don't have a choice, so I wouldn't worry about the mixed bag of data. I would just keep trying milk every 4-6 months to see if your son grows out of this. We were losing faith, until one time we tried it and no more hives! Good luck.

Hi there. I have not had any personal experience with soy infant formula but I have been a member of The Weston A Price Foundation for over 4 years. Through my association with them, I have met a lot of "former" soy advocates who have all had a multitude of health issues. Once they quit soy, their health returns. The WAPF does not have to answer to politicians, special interest groups, major conglomerates or write edited versions of studies. Their advocacy efforts on behalf of organic and biodynamic farming has saved so many small farmers from throwing in the towel. My point being, you can trust the source when you read their articles. Mothering magazine had an article about the dangers of soy. If you do a query on the whole soy story, the article should be one of your choices. If you find it, click on the comments at the bottom and you'll get an idea of what some parents have experienced using soy. The article is actually an excerpt from a book written by Kayla T. Daniel titled "The Whole Soy Story". I have met countless families who were so called "allergic" to milk and after trying raw milk, they can drink it just fine. WAPF has gone so far as to testify before congress about the dangers of rearing children on soy formula and asked not for a complete ban, but that it be available by prescription only so that parents understand the risks and the health of their child can be monitored more closely. My best to you and your quest to discover how to give your son the best food to support a healthy developing child. Check the WAPF website and see if their is a chapter near you. You would meet so many mothers who are where you are, or have been there. They have a lot of experience to share and big down to earth hearts. Take care.

My daughter was also allergic to cows milk until she was 3. Although I primarily breastfed, there were occasions when I needed to supplement with formula. I used soy formula and later soy milk, which my kids both drink to this day (shes 5 now). I have never seen any adverse affects from the soy. In fact both my kids are very healthy and my prdiatrician has never warned me against the use of soy.
I thik you need to talk to your doctor and look to other sources for comparative information about soy.
If I had to guess--the dairy industry conducted this study...just a guess.
Good luck!