12 months old - calcium and milk options for the multiple food intolerant child

[EloysH]

Thought I'd better deviate off my main thread so that others can share info about this.

I have been planning to wean Ds2 at 12 months old (he is now 10 months) and he has multiple food intolerances and on the RPAH low moderate chemical diet and wheat/soy/dairy free.  He has never had a dairy or soy food challenge to date.

I was hoping to put him on some kind of real RAW milk as a first option, then have elemental formula as my last fall back option.  My main concern is calcium intake.

Anyway, just got back from my AMAZING naturopath who is also a qualified nutritionist and is currently writing a book on food medicene ( I value her oppinion so much!).   I am going to run all this past my dietician to se what she thinks too.

So, she has informed me of a hidden truth that I did already know. Dairy milks are a poor source of calcium because the calcium in the milk is not easily absorbed by the body. The reason for drinking milk once bubs is weaned is  more about getting beneficial fats into their diet, as breastmilk is very high in good fats. It is very easy to get the calcium a baby needs from his solids.  I have been worrying about having to force large quantities of milk onto bubs when in fact he will only drink 20 ml of water/milk from a sippy cup.  There is no need.  If he doesn't drink much milk/formula then the calcium can be obtained by diet and so can the fats. Indeed for my Ds1, I could only ever get him to drink 50ML of milk at anyone time, so I just made up the calcium through diet, but he was able to tolerate some dairy.

So, here is our plan:

RAW (not pasteurised) goat milk challenge
3 days 30 ml per day
5 days 100ml x twice daily  If not reactions after 5 days I can give 200mls 1-2 daily.

If no reactions then he is tolerating the milk and this will be a good source of fats.

Next challenge:
Buffalo Milk Yoghurt  (very high in protein/fat excellent source of calcium, better than dairy)
1-2 teaspoons per day for 10 days
if no reactions then 2-3 tablespoons per day

Eggs: 1-2 yolks per day mixed into his cooked food (this is to get the good fats)

Gee: - 1/4 teaspoon in cooked veges


Stay  away from pasteurised milks until 18-24 months.
If I really want to give cheese, give goat milk  or buffalo milk cheese.

  If he doesn't tolerate the milk or the yoghurt, there is no need to go to elemental formula. I can of course, but if he won't drink the formula in reliable quantities, then I still have diet as a fall back.... and also, formula can constipate.   I can also give the calcium to him through  boy choy, chick peas, sardines cooked with bones.    Other sources of calcium that I am hoping he will tolerate are buffalo yoghurt & cheese, RAW goat milk When he tolerates high salicylates I can also give spinach, broccoli, figs, sesame (tahini) and almond milk.


She also recommended a book from Amazon: "Nourishing traditions": - as a nutrional reference and a cook book and also a recipe that I would love for making our own yoghurt!

 I may not have all my facts straight.. any comments, or opposing info are welcome.  I can check it out with my dietician at the end of the week  

[*Liz*]

That is very interesting Eloise.

How similar are those milks to cows milk? I assume there is a significant risk of a cross reaction if he remains milk protein intolerant at 12 mths plus? Did she mention anything about using other fortified milks as a substitute? I remember Martina using a combo of almond/ coconut milk to make smoothies for her DS1 - he wasn't MSPI - but she had some nutritional info to support this. I will point tis out to her so she can comment (and correct me  ).

Also how readily available are those products? I think you live in a big city? I know I would really struggle to get hold of anything like that (I struggle even for pure sunflower margerine).

I am VERY interesting in all of this though as elemental formula is harder here in the UK as we only have neocate and I doubt Megan will accept that now (she hasn't so far). Realistically I also need to start finding a milk substitute for 12 mths plus as well.

[EloysH]

Liz, you have a penetrating mind I was wondering is someone was ging to query that... I walked away thinking I wasn't quite sure as to why goat milk is so much better than cows..., I think that the main issue is that the goat milk will be RAW milk as opposed to pasteurised.  Here is it only legal to sell goat milk unpasteurised.  Are you familiar with the reasons that pasteurisation is a problem?  The high temps completely denature the proteins  (and other goodness that I can't recall, enzymes?). This is one reason why so many bubs and adults can't tolerate cows milk, their body doesn't even recognise the proteins as food and has thus have an immune response....  The reasons for pasteurising are not necessary for the goat milk industry hence RAW goat milk is legal to sell. 

Here is a one sided article abot pasteurisation:
http://editor.nourishedmagazine.com.au/articles/raw-milk-vs-pasteurized-milk

 I think the second issue is that goat milk is higher in fat and calcium and the protein is easier to digest, gentler.

Here are some links I just quickly found:

http://www.crohns.net/Miva/education/aboutgoatsmilk.shtml

http://www.dynamicchiropractic.com/mpacms/dc/article.php?id=38646

Many of the products are NOT readily available, I do live in a large city I will need to visit large health food stores to get the raw goat milk and buffalo yoghurt and cheese.

She did say almond milk was an excellent source of calcium, is just the almonds are HIGH or VERY HIG salicylates, as is coconut, so Kai can't tolerate those yet and no plans for those till later.

She said rice milk is just a watery drink with nothing much good in it, and that as soon as Kai can tolerate an alternative I need to switch to the new milk for myself straight away.

[Jimbob]

I hope your plan works. I do kow that the protein in cows is very similar to that of goats milk, therefore may people who are allergic to cows milk are also allergic to goats milk. This is the case for my ds unfortunately but it does work for some.

I wish you luck and will follow your thread as I find it very interesting.

[~inbalance~]

This is all very interesting and I'm not sure I have anything to add really that you ladies do not already know.    I took a baby nutrition class when T was little and yes, she did say that almond milk mixed with coconut milk has a very similar nutritional profile to cow's milk.  But as you have pointed out is probably not appropriate for K (but may by an option for M, Liz).

I do know a mom here who is also a nutritionist that mentioned to me she started goat's milk with her LO from a young age because she did not want to do formula and it has gone great.  But I don't think her LO had any intolerances.

My understanding with the goat's milk is that the proteins are a different size so are more easily digestible, but that it should still be considered dairy and approached with caution.  I started eating goat cheese myself before introducing any other dairy and F never had a problem with it.  I'm thinking at a year I will start with goat's milk for him.

I picked up this book which has excellent nutrition information:  http://www.amazon.ca/Sprout-Right-Lianne-Phillipson-Webb/dp/0143173502 although Eloise you already have such good resources for info so I doubt anything I recommend will have anything new for you!  It was written by the woman I took my classes from.  I like it because it has all sorts of charts listing exactly how much of everything is needed for moms (pregnant and breastfeeding), and LO's up to 2yrs.  So she talks about how much calcium, iron, fats, etc., we all need, and what are good sources for them.  Plus lists the percentage of iron absorption from breast milk vs formula, cow's milk etc.  Let me know if you want me to pull that info, but she got it off Kellymom and I'm sure you have it already.

Anyways, F is already starting to tolerate some dairy so I'm hoping he can have at least a little cow's milk by a year, but I'm not worried given there are other options, and like you said everything a baby needs from cow's milk can be obtained in other ways through their diet.  Now, if only we can ensure our toddlers will want to eat all that healthy stuff.  (smoothies are great for that, I get almond milk, spinach, fruits, omegas, probiotics, and fibre into T every day that way, and have already started to give some to F!)  

[sherry lynn]

[deb]

Following along....

[~inbalance~]

Just had a peek at my book and this is what she says about goat's milk vs cow's milk:  (Sprout Right, page 228)

"Children intolerant to cow's milk are often able to consume goat's milk without any symptoms.  A goat is a smaller animal, so it's milk is easier for humans to digest than cow's milk.  It's naturally homogenized, which may make the fat easier to digest.  Also, goat's milk proteins have a slightly different amino acid structure, so an allergy is less likely.  Goat's milk is a very good source of calcium, protein, phosphorus, potassium, vitamin B2, and the amino acid tryptophan.  A common concern with drinking goat's milk is that it's low in folic acid.  Check the packaging to see if it's fortified with folic acid (most brands are)."

She also goes on to recommend sheep's milk as well, saying its' even more nutritious and better tolerated than either cow's or goat's milk.  She includes a table comparing the complete nutrient content of all three types of milk.

[Apsof2010]

Hi

Just a week ago I was worrying about my MPI LO's calcium intake and called our paed who said exactly the same thing, that calcium in cow's milk is not easily absorbed and we get our calcium mainly from veg anyway, especially broccoli. And he also advised to try goat's milk in cooking for our DD. So there seems to be some degree of consistency

[drsinpa]

Very interesting - thank you for posting all of this.  My E had a dairy issue as a baby, but her ped said she would outgrow it.  When I reintroduced it, her symptoms seemed to be gone, so we moved on.  Well, it turns out that her symptoms had simply changed.  We went to a specialist at 9-years-old with a whole slew of new symptoms and found that she had leaky gut from so many years of inflammation.  She was having an allergic response to about 15 -20 different foods.  We have just starting adding eggs back in and now we have her back down gluten- and dairy-free.  Now our new DS is showing a sensitivity when I have dairy.  Maybe I'll try the sheep's milk and see if he can tolerate that...

[EloysH]

Interesting.  Do you mind sharing what the symptoms were before and what they were afterwards when they changed?  My natruopath said that kids don't really outgrow it all of a sudden and that merely the symptoms change and a new normal is established.

[jesie]

Liz - DS is on nutramigen aa. It is imported over from America and the pharmacy are funny about me having it, but we get it on 'script. before this he had nutramigen 1 but DS couldn't tolerate that. From 1+ you can get nutramigen 2, or if need be, nutramigen aa. Just a thought incase you want to inquire. But I had a friend who tried to get it for baby, and her Dr said no due to cost. Silly post code lottery strikes again! 

[*Liz*]

I've already tried nutramigen 1 and nutramigen AA. That stuff tastes foul  . That is m concern really - finding something that Megan will find an acceptable alternative to BM and therefore actually drink. She is prescribed neocate and can have flavoured neocate at age 1. But may still not take it.

Is she doesn't it will be calcium fortified oat milk, I think, with added calcium and fats in her diet.

Where there is a will there is a way - that goes to fighting GPs for proper prescriptions as well  .

[deb]

I don't know how appropriate it would be diet-wise for little ones, but I make breakfast smoothies with some dolomite powder added for calcium.... My smoothies are coconut milk and yogurt with some rice milk added for consistency, but the original recipe had only coconut milk. I find that straight-up coconut milk makes me nauseous tho.

[EloysH]

thanks Deb    You mentioned once a while ago that you make your own yoghurt?  My naturopath was raving about how easy and cheap it is...   what are the benefits?

Liz:  Sounds like a good plan.  Oat milk is certainly yummy in my book.   Do you know how easily absorbed the calcium is from oat milk?  The naturopath was saying that the calcium/phosphorus ratios need to be right for absorption into the body.   Where there is a will there is a way ... for sure!

Well, I am planning on doing a raw goat milk challenge is a few weeks and not really expecting to pass, but I need to confirm.