My son just finished his last bottle ever. No more bottles to clean…no more stinky soy formula…needless to say, it’s a big day!! But now I am torn…
Dr. Denmark STRONGLY urges NOT giving your children cow’s milk after they are weaned from breast milk/formula. However, my pediatrician and the rest of the world STRONGLY urges drinking lots of milk.
Denmark has been right about everything else so far…so I am leaning towards her advice but want to make sure my son is getting all the good fat and calcium he needs (the reasons kids are told to drink milk).
What did the rest of you Denmark moms choose to do when you came to this milk dilemma? Do you give your kids cow milk or not? Help, I need advice! 
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Hi Ladies,
I just had Catherine 4.5 weeks ago and I will NOT be giving her dairy as a supplement for calcium, etc. when she is older. (Her dad may spoil her from time to time with ice cream, etc, but it will not be used as a source of calcium or vitamin D).
Needless to say, Dr. Denmark was and still is ahead of her time when it comes to dairy and why you should abstain from it. My sister, Ashley, has done TONS of research into dairy and its effects on adults–dairy is NOT GOOD for humans–hopefully she will chime in and help us all out with the “whys” and “wherefores”.
Ash–help us out, here!
oh my goodness, i could comment on this topic for days! i have been a vegan for almost ten years now…i did not make the switch for animal rights reasons; those of you who know me know that i am not an animal lover in the least!! regardless, i felt in college that i wasn’t totally honoring the Lord with my body when i was consuming TONS of sugar and other things that did not help to build it up…anyways, i did a lot of research into what exactly the best diet and approach to food would look like…i ended up going back to the research that convicted my family to make a diet overhaul while we were younger…a christian minister name george malkmus was diagnosed with cancer and decided after chemotherapy did nothing but weaken his bones to go a different route…he eliminated all meat, dairy, sugar, salt and processed grains from his diet and the cancer was gone within weeks…he began a ministry called hallelujah acres shortly thereafter, raising awareness among christians in particular about health. i felt that after searching and looking into a lot of different approaches, that what he suggested made so much sense and i felt confident that i would be making a god-honoring decision when i became a vegan. needless to say, i do not agree with all of his philosophies on why christians get sick and so on…but i feel that he is really on to something about meat and dairy for sure. reece will not be consuming either while on my clock, but i also am aware that at some point she will need to make her own decision about whether she wants to remain a vegan etc…i read so much about how dairy and meat clog our colon and digestive tract because human bodies were meant to consume human milk only and that our stomach and digestive organs are smaller than meat-eating animals because they were intended to process easily digesting foods, like greens and fruits…so milk and meat products that require tons of energy and time to break down in our bodies stay in the digestive organs way too long and the build up is a breeding ground for cancerous cells to develop. i read about how our children are maturing earlier and earlier due to the hormones in the animals that gives us the meat we consume. i read about how osteoporosis is at an all time high among women, at the same time that dairy consumption among women is at its highest! i read that people give cow’s milk and meat so much credit for being a calcium and protein source, when cows don’t eat meat themselves–they eat greens! anyways, i feel that the best sources of calcium are kale, spinach, dried fruits…and the best sources of protein are beans, whole grains, and nuts. our bodies break these down easily and can use the nutrients faster and more efficiently. i know this is a highly controversial subject, so i don’t want to ruffle any feathers, but i believe that dr. denmark is so right when she says dairy is not necessary. i will continue to nurse reece for a year and then will hopefully continue to offer her breastmilk in a cup for a while thereafter. those are goals of course, but i do believe that God gave mothers what we would need to nourish our children best…and that he surely designed our bodies to equip our babies with the proper nutrition better than a cow ever could!
you can find out more about the diet that i mentioned here:
http://hacres.com/home/home.asp
i’d love to hear other thoughts on this, too!
one more thing…i have definitely had to explain myself and my convictions regarding this topic continually since i made the switch…i believe it is worth it, but i will say that if/when you decide to go with dr. d on this one, you will have to stick up for your decision and go to bat for your child when family members, friends and nursery workers definitely look at you like you are nuts!
great info, thanks AshelyC!
thanks Ashley, this is so interesting to me. I have read a lot of the same things… I have a few questions.
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1. Is organic meat bad? What do you eat for protein?
2. I originally switched to soy milk only, but now I realized that soy milk can be really bad for you as well… so is almond milk the only way to go, or is it okay to occasionally have some oraganic cows milk in your cereal (by occasionally, I mean every day.
I have never given Madeline cow’s milk. She was water only at around 8 months. She LOVES water, and drinks it all the time. Last time I went to the doctor, I told him that she didn’t drink milk and he said that it was totally fine as long as she is getting calcium and iron in other foods. He said that the FDA just came out with a study that children should not drink whole milk (what they previously recommended)– that is is way too much fat. He drew blood and looked at her hemoglobin and said hers was great, that we should keep feeding her whatever we are feeding her.
Jamie – almond milk is good if you can find “raw almond milk” somewhere. It just got regulated that it has to be pasturizd (therefore killing all of the best nutrients). Another great source is goat’s milk….again…raw is best…but you would have to get it from a private seller. Most grocery stores sell goat’s milk alongside regular milk – but this is all pasturized.
phew–i am glad i didn’t make any enemies with that post! at least not yet!
jamie…
1-i think any little change that you can make to keep your diet as full of fresh fruits and vegetables and things that are as unadulterated as possible is a step in the right direction! i think that organic meat is likely a whole lot better for you than non…but i still think that meat takes a long time for our bodies to digest and that there are plenty of other protein sources out there that our bodies can utilize right away! i eat lots of nuts, whole grains, and beans. it is actually interesting to know that our bodies need only a small amount of protein every day–basically the size of the inside of your palm.
2-i make my own almond milk–it is very easy! soak raw almonds over night…put them in a blender with one to two cups of filtered water and blend…i add some dates to sweeten it up, but it is very tasty!!
I know it’s been mentioned before, but I would love to see some posts on weaning. We’ll be approaching that in a few months, so it would be nice to get some tips and know what I’m in for.
Weaning: My goal was to nurse my daughter for the first year. She got her first teeth around 3 months and had 15 teeth by age one! When some of these teeth were coming in, her mouth would hurt her and she wouldn’t nurse well. From 10 months to 12 months, nursing was a bit of a battle and usually would only happen late at night or early in the morning. By 12 months, my daughter had completely weaned herself. We were blessed that it was a slow transition in which my daughter wasn’t forced to give up nursing and emotionally I was able to slowly relinquish this special time with her!
Ashley,
Thanks for your posts. Can you give me more details on how to make the almond milk…how many almonds and how much does it make? And, can I refrigerate it or do I need to make a fresh batch everyday?
Thank you!
McKenzie
oh goodness, mcKenzie, i am so sorry that i never checked this posting again! here is a slightly complicated method for making almond milk…http://www.living-foods.com/recipes/almondmilk.html
and here is a helpful video! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5_MHWmXo9g
No worries! Thank you Ashley!
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