Is there a point to alternative milk at a year old

[jhodge]

Hey ALL! So I have my little one who is turning a year in September. At her nine month old appointment I told the doctor flat out that I feel believe milk is bad for my child. She mentioned alternative milk products but still insisted that milk was best specifically because of needed calcium, fats, and protein. I don't agree with any of it and so no worries there but my question is, is ANY milk alternative necessary?

My daughter has been on hypoallergenic formula since she was 2 days old. My thinking is that if she is getting enough calories then she is getting enough nutrients. Is the milk alternative to assist her in getting enough calories? Is it just for "needed" calcium, fat, and protein? Is a year old capable of not having ANY milk alternative? Essentially, from what I understand, they want to put your kid on cows milk and keep them on it for life. I HARDLY drink any milk alternative and just use it for cooking.

I am confident my doctor would FLIP if she found out that I did not plan on using any milk alternatives. Granted, I have not made up my mind yet because I am still trying to find some input from other moms on the matter. Or doctors.

Thank you!

ps. If this subject matter specifically has been discussed feel free to point me in the right direction. I skimmed the first few pages of the forum to see if the matter had been discussed.


Best,

[ANGELOJ]

First of all, good for you. My wife and I will be taking the same approach with our daughter when she weans off breast milk.

I'm no expert and it may be worth asking Jeff about this one.

However, I think the key is in what your doctors says about why milk - calcium, fat and protien. It's that indoctrination that many have regarding where these things come from.
Where do they come from. Calcium - plants, Protien - plants, Fat - plants.
If your doctor is woried about lack of these things then you can reassure her that they are bountiful in plants and do not ccome with all the health hazzards associated with milk from another animal.

Many doctors are just ignorant about nutrition - they are only human and they can only know what they have been taught and indoctrinated in.

So, do you need a milk alternative? In my humble view, I do not think it is as critical as a good balance diet that provides all the building blocks of life.

And again - good for you for not caving in to doctor scare mongering

[grid]

I have no children and I'm not an health professional either, but you might be interested in the book of dr. Attwood. It's an old book, but dr. Esselstyn considers it a wonderfully comprehensive book about debunking common nutritional myths in pediatrics (including the necessity of milk and milk alternatives).

Hope it helps

[jamietwo]

Dr. McDougall wrote an article that might help (he recommends weaning at 2, although not every child is ready to wean that early).

https://www.drmcdougall.com/misc/2012nl ... ildren.htm

[jhodge]

Thank you all! I will look into the book by Dr. Attwood. I read that article by dr. mcdougall, thank you! Thank you @angeloj for the words of support! I am going to dig a little further and maybe Jeff has some input. If anyone else has any thoughts I would love to hear from you


Best

[mapat]

When my son was one year old, he threw his bottle out and never drank milk again. He grew to be 6'4"; He was the healthiest, almost NEVER got sick, and had the strongest bones and teeth, of all my four children.

[StarchHEFP]

When you have a chance, please watch this inspirational You Tube video - this child is a raw vegan from the start. Granted, she still had breast milk at this age which is absolutely wonderful for the probiotics, immune benefits, fat, etc. but seems that she gets most of her calcium from the green smoothies, and healthy fats from avocado, chia and coconut meat. I'm sure you could use some of these ideas:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RpRuuE6xo6I

As far as "milk" goes probably the doctor is using it as an insurance policy because most kids have 4 food groups: (1) chicken nuggets (2) spaghetti (3) mac & cheese and (4) meatballs - when most kids are so malnourished that they hardly get any vitamin A, folic acid or calcium, then probably milk is their most nutritious food! Soymilk is probably the closest to cow's milk in nutritional value, with a high amount of protein. If a baby can consume legumes, then probably no need for soymilk, but it's just an easy and quick way to get some extra calcium and protein. In India, many babies consume "Kichadi" which is a mix of rice and yellow lentils - complex carbs, protein, and calcium all in 1! My mother made in the pressure cooker, and added some onions, tomatoes, and green peas to the lentils and rice.

For green smoothies, my kids are a little older, but I use Kale, celery, carrot, bananna, blueberries, and just a little bit of soy milk.

As far as the McDougall diet, I believe it requires the modifications of increased fat for kids that age and also purees / smoothies can be an easy way for babies to take in the goodness of greens because of the lack of teeth! Or you could be like Alicia Silverstone and pre-chew the food for your baby (I personally would feel very uncomfortable about this!)

This is a general article on feeding vegan kids: http://www.vrg.org/nutshell/kids.php - basically the reason for (plant) milk is that it will squeeze in an extra 300 calories without filling the stomach, since this is a time of rapid growth and fibrous foods can lead to fullness quickly without consuming enough calories, that's why. In the above video, this toddler consumes green smoothies which are calorie dense, as well as coconut meat and avocado, and probably gets (judging from the chubby cheeks) enough calories to sustain a healthy/active lifestyle. White rice and lentils can be eaten to sustain also, however in India they usually add plenty of ghee to fatten a baby up. There are much healthier high calorie fatty foods than ghee!

[jhodge]

Thank you so much!

basically the reason for (plant) milk is that it will squeeze in an extra 300 calories without filling the stomach

This makes sense. I did actually calculate the calories she is currently getting from formula and it resonates that the "milk" is to help squeeze in some extra energy sources. She gets 440 calories from formula as it is now so last week I started adding some extra solid foods and then offering formula after or during instead of before to ensure that she is relying on foods. If she is getting enough calories then she will be healthy, I am confident in that.

Thanks again!

[StarchHEFP]

Thank you so much!

basically the reason for (plant) milk is that it will squeeze in an extra 300 calories without filling the stomach

This makes sense. I did actually calculate the calories she is currently getting from formula and it resonates that the "milk" is to help squeeze in some extra energy sources. She gets 440 calories from formula as it is now so last week I started adding some extra solid foods and then offering formula after or during instead of before to ensure that she is relying on foods. If she is getting enough calories then she will be healthy, I am confident in that.

Thanks again!

I recently came across a facebook group called "What Vegan children eat" and every day, there are a few pictures of wonderful, calorie dense, nutritious food that the kids are eating. A common theme is avocado which packs in the calories. Just very inspiring posts from the members, and whenever someone posts, there is always some practical advice, parent-to-parent. You might want to check it out.