Dr. McDougall's Online Discussion Board

Hello All!

My son Maximus is 11 months old. I'm still breastfeeding and plan to continue until he weans himself. However, there's been a lot of discussion within my group of friends about soy milk and the estrogen content. A friend of mine is a Pediatric CNP and shared some of the latest research regarding giving your toddler soy milk. There is new evidence that shows a relationship between soy milk and infertility when given to toddlers and young children. My thought is, he could have soy milk in moderation. However, she warns against going with soy because of the estrogen.

I am vegan and don't plan on ever giving my son cow's milk. Currently I alternate between drinking soy and almond milk. Max's father and I are separated and unfortunately, he is an avid milk-drinker (drinks approx 2 gallons per week). He also consumes sickening amounts of meat and cheese. I'm sure Max will have cow's milk during visitations with his father as well as meat and cheese, but I'd like to find a good alternative to milk when he's at home with me once he weans himself off of breast milk. Should I go with soy? Almond? Rice?

Thanks!
Anya

I give my 20 month old soy, almond, and coconut milk. I don't worry much about that whole soy estrogen thing. I don't believe it. Plus, doctors have no idea about nutrition. I give him mostly almond milk since he devours tofu and I want to vary his diet. I think soy milk is okay when he is not eating so much tofu.

I think Dr. McD addresses the soy concerns many, many times. Do a search on this website and you will find a lot.

If you can get your hands on a copy of John Robbin's book "No Happy Cows", I thought he gave a very good explanation regarding the issue of soy.
http://www.amazon.com/Happy-Cows-Dispat ... hn+robbins

Soy formula given to infants has been linked to problems later on. Could that be what she was talking about?

I don't think any milks should be a significant part of my children's calories. At the most at toddler age it would be half a cup a few days of the week, and some of the time it would be almond or oat milk and not soy. That's hardly the same as an infant getting 100% of their calories from soy-based formula.

Is she aware of the research linking milk with an increased risk of type 1 diabetes? Iron deficiency anemia?

I don't use rice milk at all. First, it's full of sugar and doesn't have much nutrition. Second, there's the arsenic trouble, and I'm avoiding giving much rice or rice products to my younger ones because of it. I like coconut milk but it is higher in fat than would be recommended here. I cook with it very occasionally.

blueberries wrote:Soy formula given to infants has been linked to problems later on. Could that be what she was talking about?

I don't think any milks should be a significant part of my children's calories. At the most at toddler age it would be half a cup a few days of the week, and some of the time it would be almond or oat milk and not soy. That's hardly the same as an infant getting 100% of their calories from soy-based formula.

Is she aware of the research linking milk with an increased risk of type 1 diabetes? Iron deficiency anemia?

I don't use rice milk at all. First, it's full of sugar and doesn't have much nutrition. Second, there's the arsenic trouble, and I'm avoiding giving much rice or rice products to my younger ones because of it. I like coconut milk but it is higher in fat than would be recommended here. I cook with it very occasionally.

Blueberries, you said it better then I did. I agree with you.

Lasko77 wrote:

blueberries wrote:Soy formula given to infants has been linked to problems later on. Could that be what she was talking about?

I don't think any milks should be a significant part of my children's calories. At the most at toddler age it would be half a cup a few days of the week, and some of the time it would be almond or oat milk and not soy. That's hardly the same as an infant getting 100% of their calories from soy-based formula.

Is she aware of the research linking milk with an increased risk of type 1 diabetes? Iron deficiency anemia?

I don't use rice milk at all. First, it's full of sugar and doesn't have much nutrition. Second, there's the arsenic trouble, and I'm avoiding giving much rice or rice products to my younger ones because of it. I like coconut milk but it is higher in fat than would be recommended here. I cook with it very occasionally.

Blueberries, you said it better then I did. I agree with you.

Children need more calorie dense foods than adults, though. I wouldn't worry about the fat in coconut milk for a toddler!

There is a lobby group in Washington DC called the Weston Price Foundation and they put out tons of misinformation to scare people into eating more meat and dairy products. They started as a group of cattle ranchers and self published a book called 'Nourishing Traditions' which basically trashes any alternative to eating more meat and dairy. Now they present themselves as nutrition experts but they are still just lobbyists, albeit very active and powerful. They have absolutely changed how people think about saturated fat and cholesterol. There is only one problem which is that almost nothing they say is true. If people understand that it's the industry that puts out junk science and propaganda, it would be easier to sort through all the nonsense.

And soy causing infertility is just more nonsense.