Question:
We have a five year old son with life-threatening milk allergy. Any
suggestions on alternative products?
Answer:
Our son (now 3 1/2 years old) is severely allergic to milk and milk
products as well. I've been able to find great soy-based products at the
local health food stores. Since he was diagnosed at about two months of
age, he still drinks Prosobee (soy baby formula), but it is not terribly
appetizing. We've found original and vanilla flavoured Vitasoy to be a
great alternative for pouring on cereals and even using it in baking. I
have only been able to find one non-dairy "cheese" called Vegenrella which
is actually made from brazil nuts. The soy cheeses I've found still
contain casein. The only margarine that I have found on the market that
doesn't contain whey powder is Fleishman's unsalted (in the blue tub). Check labels on everything - I trust you know that milk can also be listed
as caseinate or casein on ingredient labels, so beware. I'm sure a
nutritionist or dietician can help you with this.
Eating out is just about impossible because there is no way of knowing
what breads etc. contain milk. Even hot dogs and hamburgers may have
modified milk ingredients as fillers.
I have a VERY MILD intolerance of casein, the protein in cow's milk. I
use goat's milk, with which I have no problems, and which is MUCH more
palatable than soya milk. I guess you've determined whether it's the protein or the sugar or
both or something else in milk that causes the reaction.
Check the FOOD ALLERGY NETWORK on the web. They have some great resources.
You can also order a cookbook bull of allergy-free recipies. I have one
and it is great---nearly all the recipies are milk-free. BIG TIP---Check the front of a box of Kelloggs Frosted Flakes. Just to
the left and bottom of the 1st "f" is a small k & d . The k is the
"kosher" symbol for the Jewish. That means that the heads of the Jewish
society have checked the processing and ingredients of that product. See
the d. That means that in their search, they determined that at some
point, the product was contaminated with milk or milk products.(maybe as
preservatives). Note--there are none listed in the ingredients.
When I discovered this, it elliminated a lot of items from my 5 year old's
diet, but she's doing lots better. No wonder her excema wouldn't go away.
Also, a sure fire way to tell if a product is dairy free is to look for the
word 'pareve'.
This is also to be contributed to the Jewish. Several "corn oil"
margarines meet this standard including Mazola Diet Margarine, and for
those who shop at Winn Dixie, Superbrand (store brand) is marked pareve.
