There is apparently a big debate on Soy Milk vs Cows Milk. You see when it came time for me to start weaning Maddox to whole milk around a year old, he had a TERRIBLE reaction. He broke out in hives the day after his first birthday party, and it looked like he had been caught on fire! No joke! Well his pediatrician told us to take him off of cows milk that he was allergic to a protein that is in cows milk. So he wasn't
lactose intolerant like most would think, he was allergic to a protein in the cows milk. S/S* rash, swelling, fever, and possible swelling of the throat. No vomitting like you would think because again he wasn't lactose intolerant because you see if that was the case, we could have just put him on Lactose Free
Cow's Milk. Anyway Maddox outgrew this allergie as so many children usually do, but now as I was trying to wean** Jakkson onto whole milk, he had the same reaction! Yep we now have him on soy milk. You see his reaction was almost immediate, his whole face broke out after day to of weaning (it took maddo almost a week to start getting s/s) I think the quick reaction had to do with the fact that Jakk was breastfed much longer and only took formula for about 2mths; therefore, he wasn't really used to a cow's milk base formula like Maddox had been. (if that makes since) Since starting J on soy milk, I have gotten comments similar to the ones I got with M. It kills me! It really isn't that big of a deal that my boys have to drink soy for a little while until they build up some antibodies to cows milk! Get Over It! So I have come up with some research to prove that I am not harming my munchins by giving them soy milk.
*S/S = signs and symptoms
** when you switch your child to whole milk at a year, it is recommended that you take away an ounce of formula/breat milk and add an ounce of cow's milk. You then just keep doing that untill you have all cows milk and no formula/breastmilk
Phosphorus - needed for bones, but also in the body if Phos. goes up Calcium goes down...
One serving of soy milk contains about half the phosphorus as a serving of cow milk. The dairy industry totes this as a benefit of drinking cow’s milk, but it really isn’t. In fact, most Americans get too much phosphorus in their diets as it is. Therefore, the reduced phosphorus of soy milk is actually beneficial for many people.
Riboflavin
Soy milk contains about 60% less riboflavin than cow’s milk. Riboflavin is an important vitamin, but it is also found in great abundance in seeds, nutritional yeast, green leafy vegetables, nuts, legumes, and whole grains. Therefore, cow’s milk is not a necessary source for riboflavin for a person who eats a well-balanced diet.
Vitamin A
The dairy industry claims cow’s milk is better than soy milk because it contains vitamin A. This vitamin A, however, is not found naturally in the cow’s milk. It is added, and there is no reason it can’t be added to soy milk, as well. The fact is, most Americans get plenty of vitamin A in their diets.
Satuarted Fats and Fatty Acids
Because soy milk is made from beans, it contains about 9 times less saturated fat than cow’s milk. Of course, saturated fat is known to be one of the leading contributors to heart disease. Furthermore, soy milk has 10 times as many fatty acids, which is a healthier type of fat, as cow’s milk.
Cholesterol
Soy milk is cholesterol free. On the other hand, each cup of cow’s milk has 34 mg of cholesterol. Cholesterol is known to clog arteries and is another of the leading causes of heart disease. In addition, soy milk lowers LDL, or “bad,” cholesterol while cow’s milk raises LDL cholesterol. Soy milk provides additional heart protection with phytochemicals, which are found in abundance in soy milk. Cow’s milk does not contain these helpful chemicals.
Cancer
Research has demonstrated that men who drink two servings of soy milk every day are 70% less likely to develop prostate cancer. There are no similar findings regarding men who drink cow’s milk.
Protein
Soy milk provides high quality “complete” protein, as does cow’s milk.
Calcium
Natural soy milk does not contain much calcium. In general, 100 grams of soy milk contains 4 mg of calcium. More and more soy milk products, however, are being fortified with calcium.
The debate of soy milk vs cow milk will likely continue for years. The bottom line is, both milks provide vitamins, minerals, and nutrients, but only soy milk has been found to actually improve the health of its drinkers.
Sooo...I don't understand how people think I am depriving my kids of their cow's milk! They have to have milk in some form, but people (my inlaws) can't except the fact that my munchkins were allergic. Haha they keep trying to find other reasons for the allergies; like, laundry detergent, chemicals??, and so on. Also, if you can recall, M has some really serious allergies and goes to a specialist for them. That specialist said that the early signs that someone will have bad allergies include:
Eczema
ear infections (M had tubes put in at 7mths)
Constant runny noses
Previous Milk Allergies!
There were a few others that of course Maddox all had, but htose are some I could remember. So there ya have it in case you were wondering why the heck I have J on soy milk! Oh and btw now that J is on Soy Milk, he has weaned for the bottle!!! No more bottles or binkies in my house!!!!
