Animal or Plant Milk?

Sara - posted on 07/31/2009

Thank you all for your opinions and advice! It was helpful and appreciated. :-)

Minnie - posted on 07/18/2009

We don't drink animal milk. It's not made for human consumption- the proteins aren't easily digested by humans, and the nutrients are low in bioavailability. Not to mention that milk is a substance designed for the young of a species. Hence the majority of the world's human population being lactose-intolerant.



We drink soy milk, but not very much of it- mostly a cup a day. We get our nutrients from other foods. If you're concerned about the phytoestrogens in it (which truly don't affect the hormones in our bodies aside from helping to regulate their levels) you can always do rice or almond milk.

Danielle - posted on 07/18/2009

i have looked into this abit but get very conflicting information....
I have heard that boys and girls should not consume large quantities of soy because of the estrogen levels in soy...it's bad for boys... obviously because they don't need more estrogen than their bodies produce...and for girls it's not good to pump more than what our bodies need as well because hormone levels can go all out of wack! I agree about the cow's milk as well....A good alternative to both is Rice milk or Goat's milk....Goat's milk does still have lactose but very small amounts of it....and is easier to digest...
This is all I know....mostly found info from accredited web sites and books...

Stina - posted on 07/18/2009

I was told to give my kids whole fat milk because they need it for proper development.



My hubby has always aten mean and never been keen on a vegetarian diet so my kids too have been fed meat and dairy- although they also love lots of mommy's vegetarian fare although at this moment I am not on a vegetarian diet.



As far as soy milk vs. cows milk, Cows milk is not an absolute necessary part of the diet. Think about who funds the research whenever you read anything about how much milk you need in the diet. There are many other sources of calcium out there- many are far better as far as absorption goes.

Stina - posted on 07/18/2009

Breastfeed for as long as she wants and be sure she's getting adequate fat in her diet if you are feeding her a plant based diet. Before age 2, I was told to give my kids whole fat milk because they need it for proper development.



Nuts, flaxseed, avocado, tofu...



Sources of calcium: Bok choy, Broccoli, Kale, Dried Figs, Calcium fortified OJ, Black beans, Chickpeas, Navy beans, Sesame seeds, Tahini, Soy nuts, soy milk... fortified has even more.... The list goes on.



It would be a good idea to find a nutritionist who knows about vegetarian and vegan diets. They can help you make sure you don't have anything missing in your daughters diet that she needs.



Check out "The Vegetarian Way Total Health for you and your family" by Virginia Messina and Mark Messina. It has excellent nutrition information for all stages of life- includeing portion sizes and quantities for infants and children.

Samantha - posted on 07/18/2009

i have no idea and am also looking into the exact same thing.. let me know if u have any luck tho!!!