Soy milk for a 1-year-old?
Michelle, our contest winner, asked about feeding her 1-year-old daughter soy milk instead of cow's milk as she makes the transition from drinking formula.
Julie Yeh, a pediatrician at Greater Baltimore Medical Center, says it's OK. Here's her answer:
"It is traditionally recommended that infants are breastfed as long as possible, ideally until 1 year of age. When the time comes for the baby to be weaned off the breast, an iron-fortified formula is recommended until age 1. In an otherwise healthy infant, there is no advantage in using a soy-based formula vs. a cow's milk based formula.
"After 1 year of age, the recommendation is to introduce whole cow's milk. If there is a large concern for obesity or cardiovascular disease in either the infant or the family, then a low-fat milk can be substituted under the instruction of your pediatrician. If preferred, soy milk is a healthy alternative to cow's milk after 1 year of age and provides nearly equal amounts of calcium and is more iron rich.
"Soy milk is lower in fat content, which may be beneficial in those at risk for obesity. However, in infants in whom poor weight gain or nutrition is a concern, the use of soy milk under age 2 should be discussed with your doctor.
"Children who continue to demonstrate a cow's milk protein allergy after one year of age often do well with soy milk. Both whole milk and soy milk are not recommended under a year of age. After age 2, children can continue on either low fat cow's milk or soy milk. So, in this case, it is perfectly fine to use soy milk as an alternative to cow's milk, especially if there is adequate dairy intake through cheese and yogurt."
Comments
Do to severe dairy and soy allergies, my daughter (1.5 yrs) was never able to have cow's milk or soy milk. I continue to breastfeed her (mostly just at night and in the morning) and she drinks calcium enriched Rice milk. We cleared this with her doc, of course, but she appears to be thriving and seems to like the taste well enough.
Posted by: S.LO | May 26, 2009 8:04 AM
My son never had cow milk due to allergies. He never had soy milk, either. I kept his soy intake to a bare minimum. We used enriched rice milk, which has the same amount of protien, calcium and Vit D as cow milk. However, looking back now I would have chosen fortified Hemp Milk, because it is incredibly high in Omega 3's, in addition to the calcium, protein and Vit. D.
Posted by: Annelies | May 26, 2009 10:34 AM
My oldest daughter had some allergies to cow's milk when she turned 1 so we used soy milk. When she was 2, we went back to cow's milk and the allergy was gone. Luckily, she was pretty flexible. I've heard soy milk is much sweater so some kids may not want cow's milk after developing a taste for soy. There's also the issue of price. Soy is more expensive than regular milk.
Posted by: Betsy | May 26, 2009 3:29 PM
I am going to have to do the cost break-down, as it does seems like soy/rice/ hemp is probably just as good for her as cow's milk. We've been experimenting with the organic whole milk which is not inexpensive, so I wonder how buying soy in larger containers is going to compare. Thanks for the answer!
Posted by: Michelle | May 26, 2009 6:04 PM
Annelies: thanks for the tip about Hemp Milk. I've seen it at the health food store, but haven't tried it out yet. I'm definitely picking up some now! We tried Almond milk but that produced a rash :-(
Posted by: S.LO | May 27, 2009 8:55 AM
Mom's, please look into the dangers of soy before you give it to your kids. Remember its a waste product of tofu production, it raises estrogen levels (hint hint) and throws off the thyroid, not to mention its full of phytic acid unless its fermented which blocks the absorption of vitamins and minerals. Also, unless you are dealing with Silk, its likely that the soybeans are GMO. IF you child is lactose, try raw milk from a local pastured cow farm...realize pastuerization creates lactose intolerance.
Posted by: boobie | June 5, 2009 3:21 PM
Hi...
Thank you so much for sharing this information. I was thinking whether it would be appropriate if I kept my 1-year old on Soy milk. Your information will be a lot useful.
Posted by: bipolar disorder | September 15, 2009 5:03 AM