What do you think of soy?

[Charlygirl]

Hey all just a quick question....my LO was soy and dairy intolerant, however I hv recently reintroduced soy back into my diet, DD is BF. Am wanting to try and give DD some more calcium products like yogurt, is soy yogurt and soy cream cheese alright to feed? I've heard bad things about feeding babies soy products from some of my friends? DD is 10months old and has dropped to 10th centile from 25th, so am concerned about her weight gain lately as well..
Thanks for any advice xx
Charly.   

[~ Vik ~]

You can try, but remember that although your lo is tolerating soy through BM she might not tolerate it directly. I would try a very small amount and gradually increase it. There are other alternatives too, like rice, hemp, coconut, almond, milk products.

We don't *need* dairy or soy for calcium, though. There are lots of alternatives (just google non-dairy calcium source and you'll get loads), broccoli jumps to my mind. Same for weight gain if you're concerned, there are alternatives like avocado, coconut oil/milk, fattier but good quality cuts of meat, etc. These are nutritionally sound but give more calorie/fat bang for their buck, kwim?

Hth

[Charlygirl]

Thanks for advice, yeah try and get lots of broccoli into her everyday, will look into other stuff on google too...do u know what the downside of giving soy to babies is?

[~ Vik ~]

Eek - that's a loaded question. There's a lot of propaganda on both sides, especially if you google it, and finding real information is hard.

I give Dylan soy milk (dairy allergy). I chose soy milk because he's allergic to nuts (no almond milk), coconut milk is too expensive for a daily drink (though I do use it for baking/cooking), and rice/hemp milks were tough to find. However, I have chosen to use an organic, non-gmo soy milk. I am not generally all about organic or anti-gmo, but given the volume of milk that Dylan drinks and the fact that soy is one of the most manipulated crops around i decided to go that way. Dylan's had no trouble with the soy.

Against soy, it's low fat (lo's need fat in their diets), but so are all the milk substitutes except coconut milk. Soy also has phyto-estrogens which *can* mimic estrogens in the body and alter development. (google that and you'll get loads of extreme opinions, but there is some scientific information if you can weed through the fear-mongering). Some doctors no longer recommend soy formulas for infants because of this. At your dd's young age, you want to make sure that any milk substitutes aren't replacing your bfs at this point, as they just don't have everything that your BM or formula does.

Don't know if that helps?

[Charlygirl]

Thanks that helps a lot, will try and suss out some more info re: soy....will continue breastfeeding until one year I think with me being dairy free, and will maybe try introducing yogurt into my diet or cheese when she is 11months....do u think that waiting one year until I give her dairy directly will be hindering her developmentally or nutritionally in any way? I take a calcium supplement to try and boost my levels cos I'm not eating/drinking dairy.

[MasynSpencerElliotte]

do u think that waiting one year until I give her dairy directly will be hindering her developmentally or nutritionally in any way?

My kids were both dairy free up to one year old (my youngest still is) and I can't think that it has hindered them in any way.  I did use soy based formula until 1 year with my oldest and then she was fine with cow's milk, my youngest is still getting formula in the morning, but her diet is quite limited (no gluten, eggs, or dairy) and she has had alot of sensory issues with food, which has led her to self limit.

[~ Vik ~]

Dylan is 3 and has never had dairy since his initial allergic reaction and is developing just fine, so I wouldn't worry good luck!!

[Charlygirl]

Thanks very much for advice xx

[EloysH]

....do u think that waiting one year until I give her dairy directly will be hindering her developmentally or nutritionally in any way

No way!  You are probably doing her gut a HUGE favour laying off dairy. If you can't tolerate the proteins dairy is literally doing damage to on'es gut. Dairy products are incredibly hard to digest for anybody, and especially cows milk.  The best way to eat dairy is naturally fermented - like yoghurts so there is a lovely load of helpful bacteria ot help digest those proteins.
 
Calcium can be obtained through other parts of the diet and so much more easily absorbed by the body- tahini, green veges, fish with bones, canned salmon.  You can also buy calcium fortifed rice milk and other things for more of a calcium hit.

[Charlygirl]

Thanks Eloise, yeah am looking into alternatives to feed her, My paed stays to trial her on dairy or me on dairy about 11months, she's just ten mo now, I'm thinking I may trial me eating yogurt first and see how that goes.  I feed her lots of broccoli and tahini....haven't tried any fish yet..
Was just a bit worried cos she has dropped on the weight curve, down to 10th centile, dr suggested it was because she was not eating enough calcium and protein maybe? I hv been exclusively breastfeeding 4times a day and she eats breakfast, lunch and dinner, but she's pretty fussy at moment and won't eat off the spoon, so we experimenting with finger foods..
Anyways thanks for the help xx
Charly.

[Shiv52]

Has she started crawling or being more active?  That can affect weight gain at this age.   

[Charlygirl]

She's very very active, crawls and is standing and climbing but not walking yet, I think it will be fairly soon though, so possibly could be that factor.

[katyusha]

My DS was only diagnosed with dairy problem after 1 y and he seems to be bad on soy as well. I take some in my diet (still BF) but i don't offer him any. I would not give soy as it is not that nutricious on its own. It has complete protein, but then so do meat, eggs, lentils and your milk. I am not aware of soy having natural calcium and I read that it actually inhibits cacium absorption so not ideal first milk. i maybe wrong though. Basically what I read said that soy is excellent for old and menopausal women but not for kids with developing bones as a main protein source. Maybe that's what your friend thought? But simce you BF, this does not apply as soy would not be a main source anyway. I found that my DS slipped a centile while I was messing with his porridge milk. I used oat that had calcium but not enough fat. But also we had other health issues. If your child is otherwise healthy i would not put his weight down to soy or dairy. I'd just increase meat and fatty avocados, lentils, etc. My Health Visitor told me to add olive oil to all meals if I wanted to help with weight. So now for porridge and day drink we use Nutramigen AA formula, occasionally I add more oil to other meals and I cook more meat and he is putting on weight again.

I did hear from NHS exzema nurse at a seminar that before and during excluding any foods a dietitian has to work with you alongside the allergy lab and that they should re-do the tests aevery 6 months to see if the allergy has ben outgrown.

[EloysH]

proteins and fats for both your diet and hers will help.  Egg yolk mixed into veges, omelete, chicken, meat broths and soups, meat.  Kai is dairy and soy free and he eats meat for lunch eevery day followed by lentiils and veges for dinner   - he needs the extra proteins as he is not getting is from dairy.

[EloysH]

Also 1/4 teaspoon gee added to all her meals will be incredibly nourishing as well as flaxseed oil.  My son has both daily for his good fats.