Dairy

[Supermom]

Ok, so this may be a silly question. IF I were to choose to cut out dairy products from my son's diet, what all should be cut? He mainly drinks 2% milk, maybe a couple cups a day, eats string cheese, drinks yogurt. But, when a box of something (maybe crackers or something) says contains milk, soy, etc. does he need to stay away from that as well? Should I replace the 2% milk with maybe Lactose free? I wanted your opinion before I call the dietician.

And also, does it help your child by cutting dairy products or maybe just limiting them? What would be good replacements and can he continue to have drinkable yogurt?

Thanks!

 

[Mattie]

If you're cutting out dairy you need to cut it out in its entirety. That means fresh milk, yogurt, cheese and any products that say ' contains milk'. You can't do it half heartedly, it has to be all or nothing.

He can substitute with soy milk, rice milk, almond milk, hazelnut milk, coconut milk, hemp milk, provided he's not n tolerant to any of these of course.

 

[Farmwife]

We're dairy free here. Both my kids and I have dairy protein allergies.

Some people can cook with dairy. Heating it to a certain point changes something in the dairy (sorry I didn't pay attention to what it was).

Lots of options for you. I'm a fan of coconut milk, rice and almond. Some of theses milks you can cook with and some you can't.
Kids with Food Allergies (KFA) have some wonderful advice, tips and recipes.

We LOVE coconut ice cream and yogurt. It's even better than the milk kind.

 

[Mehita]

Just curious why you're thinking of cutting dairy out? It's a rather big commitment for an "if"...?

 

[DustyKat]

My daughter, 21, went dairy free and eventually moved to a vegan/raw vegan diet. It is a diet that seems to suit and serve her well.

I think the milk alternatives in some ways come down to preference but soy is one that she avoids. After much trial the ones that she finds best for her are almond milk, she makes this herself, and oat milk.

Dusty. xxx

 

[my little penguin]

There is a big difference between lactose free and milk free
A lot of people with ibd have trouble digesting lactose - so they chose lactose free dairy(milk products) or low lactose products.

Others have a true milk allergy ( as in it can kill you)
Others have a protien intolerance which it can cause GI issues

If you are trying to determine protien intolerance then all milk containing products.
milk is a top eight allergen which means it is required by law in the US to appear somewhere on the label if it was intended to be in the product.

that does not mean it has to state contains "milk" in bold at the bottom
it can appear in the general ingredient label section OR the bold section.

The law also does not require things covered by the USDA to be labeled though so watch for hidden milk in meats if you get them behind the counter etc... ( ie hotdogs are a big milk one and lunch meats).


Avoiding cross contamination -food made on the same line as other milk products is up to you and your doc if you not dealing with true IgE ( kill you kind ) of allergies.


milk free buttery spread
earth balance or fleischmann's salt free ( i think ) its been a while

http://www.fleischmanns.com/index.jsp

Bread - you would need to watch
crackers
etc....

 

[CrohnsKidMom]

Hi Supermom, is your son having trouble with lactose? My son is intolerant, although it is not a true allergy. He drinks lactose-free milk and takes a couple "Lacteeze" chewable pills before eating any other dairy. Yogurt is usually low in lactose, so he's fine with it. I have seen actual lactose-free yogurt in stores though. I think lactose-free milk is pasturized at a higher temp, which kills the lactose and thus, makes it lactose-free. Almond milk is a good option, but I've been told that boys should not drink too much soy milk. Apparently it is high in plant estrogen, which can mimic the affects of human estrogen in the body. Or so I've been told...

 

[jmckinley]

It would definitely help to know why you want to cut milk out. Like the others said, there are different milk intolerances/allergies. I know my son is lactose intolerant and also has some milk protein intolerance, not allergy though. We limit dairy, milk is lactose free or almond milk, take lactaid pills if it's not lactose free and he just HAS to have it.

Like MLP said, it can be tricky...we had trouble with some hot chocolate a month ago. Restaurant said it was mixed with water, but then later I found out they made their own hot chocolate mix...looked at recipe, tons of dry milk, pudding mix. No wonder he got sick! For protein intolerance, you even have to be careful of use for thickening in things like prepared spaghetti sauce.

 

[DanceMom]

My youngest had a true dairy allergy as a toddler that she has since outgrown. Dairy can be tricky because it is hidden in things like processed meat, taco seasoning, and even McDonald's french fries. We tried other forms of milk like almond, rice, soy, and hemp but she didn't care for the taste. We made sure she ate/drank plenty of other things with calcium and we read labels very carefully.

 

[Twiggy930]

My son does a reduced lactose diet and it seems to help. He drinks lactose free milk, eats aged hard cheeses and eats lactose free yogurt (I've even made my own). If he eats any dairy that contains lactose he takes a lactaid pill and we try and limit how often he does this.