Milk & GERD

[MaxCapacity]

Hi, I'd love some help from y'all. I've seen a lot of posts regarding eating habits & milk alternatives, but IDK what to do. My ds2 is 4 & has been diagnosed with GERD. He has had it since infancy, but it was called reflux back then. At 3, he had an esophageal & stomach biopsy to see if it was anything else (like allergies or other stuff) and it was determined he has GERD. It's bad...he will verp up food & then when I see him "chewing his cud" (as gross as that is) I ask him what he has in his mouth & he says, "gum". He's not actually allowed to have gum until age 5, per a rule of mine, so I know that's not actually what it is. I've even taken it from his mouth & identified it as lunch, dinner, etc. ANYWAY, When dd turned 1 (back in November) & we put her on whole milk, my boys also started drinking it. DS1 is slender, so it doesn't hurt him any. But DS2's GERD started really acting up! He had been drinking 2%. When we saw that, we immediately switched him to 1%. It has helped a lot, but I just wonder if we took out milk (cheese doesn't seem to bother him, but yogurt does a little...less with the lowfat milk in it. he LOVES yogurt though) in a glass & replaced it with something else, maybe his GERD would bother him even less?
So, with all that LONG back story, does anyone have suggestions of what I could give him? We've tried soy & rice & he HATES them...I really think he may do better with something "sweet" in the milk area if that makes sense. Thanks in advance for any help y'all have!

[Shaunam]

Almond milk is my favorite. You can get it unsweetened, sweetened, or vanilla or chocolate flavored.

[MaxCapacity]

Originally Posted by Shaunam Almond milk is my favorite. You can get it unsweetened, sweetened, or vanilla or chocolate flavored.

Ooooo, sounds awesome! I love almond flavor too! Where can you get it? Is it at most stores? Is it refrigerated? Does it come in a carton or a box? I'd love more info please! This sounds like a good alternative for me (who HATES milk) too! Do you know the benefits to the body vs. cow's milk?

[Shaunam]

Originally Posted by MaxCapacity Ooooo, sounds awesome! I love almond flavor too! Where can you get it? Is it at most stores? Is it refrigerated? Does it come in a carton or a box? I'd love more info please! This sounds like a good alternative for me (who HATES milk) too! Do you know the benefits to the body vs. cow's milk?

I found it at kroger, but I know it's not easy to find in some places. My sister lives in a big city and couldn't find it in several stores she went to. At my kroger, it's in the "organic/natural foods" section, in that refrigerated section. They have half gallons there. The also have shelf stable quarts (?) on the shelf in that section. I'm sure places like whole foods and trader joes have it. I didn't find it at meijers or walmart. I prefer refrigerated, but I keep shelf stable ones for if I run out (I use it mostly for cooking though). I like to buy the regular kind and add a little homemade chocolate syrup to it. The chocolate flavored reminds me of yoohoo.

The benefits of different milk is controversial. On one hand you have people who swear all animal milks are not meant for human consumption, and on the other hand you have people who believe animal milk is not only healthy, but necessary. And there's in-between people. So you kind of just have to read up on it and form your own opinion. Personally I believe animal milk is not meant for human consumption. As far as nutrition goes...well almond milk doesn't have the vit D, calcium, and protein that cow's milk has, but it's still yummy. We don't drink milk for nutrition though. It's for a treat (with chocolate!), cooking, and maybe cereal. We get our protein, calcium, and vit D elsewhere.

[Xeniphia]

I know a lady on another forum who has a really odd milk fat intolerance. She and some of her girls can tolerate nonfat (skim) milk and not milk with any fat. It sounds like this may be his issue? If lower fat content helps more it could be. If you'd like I can try to see if she'll pop over here to discuss things with you, or maybe get her email address for you. Let me know and I'll see what I can do.

[MaxCapacity]

Originally Posted by Shaunam I found it at kroger, but I know it's not easy to find in some places. My sister lives in a big city and couldn't find it in several stores she went to. At my kroger, it's in the "organic/natural foods" section, in that refrigerated section. They have half gallons there. The also have shelf stable quarts (?) on the shelf in that section. I'm sure places like whole foods and trader joes have it. I didn't find it at meijers or walmart. I prefer refrigerated, but I keep shelf stable ones for if I run out (I use it mostly for cooking though). I like to buy the regular kind and add a little homemade chocolate syrup to it. The chocolate flavored reminds me of yoohoo. The benefits of different milk is controversial. On one hand you have people who swear all animal milks are not meant for human consumption, and on the other hand you have people who believe animal milk is not only healthy, but necessary. And there's in-between people. So you kind of just have to read up on it and form your own opinion. Personally I believe animal milk is not meant for human consumption. As far as nutrition goes...well almond milk doesn't have the vit D, calcium, and protein that cow's milk has, but it's still yummy. We don't drink milk for nutrition though. It's for a treat (with chocolate!), cooking, and maybe cereal. We get our protein, calcium, and vit D elsewhere.

Thanks so much for all the info! I'll check into it. Where do you get your vit. D from? Protein & calcium we've got covered w/ cheese, yogurt, meats & other stuff.

Originally Posted by Xeniphia I know a lady on another forum who has a really odd milk fat intolerance. She and some of her girls can tolerate nonfat (skim) milk and not milk with any fat. It sounds like this may be his issue? If lower fat content helps more it could be. If you'd like I can try to see if she'll pop over here to discuss things with you, or maybe get her email address for you. Let me know and I'll see what I can do.

Awww, that would be so awesome! Thank you so much!

[Shaunam]

Originally Posted by MaxCapacity Thanks so much for all the info! I'll check into it. Where do you get your vit. D from? Protein & calcium we've got covered w/ cheese, yogurt, meats & other stuff.

Just the sun. I don't worry about it much because I'm fair-skinned and spend a decent amount of time outside. I know some people just take a supplement though.

[jenilouise061279]

Hi there I am Xeniphia's friend Jen. It does sound very similar to our experience. With milkfat we also get some red splotches on our ears and faces. I tend to get hives. Every dairy product in our house is made with nonfat milk even cheese and yogurt which my daughters also just love. My two year old has at least one yogurt a day. Since he seemed to have less of a problem with the lower fat content I would try nonfat with him. I know it's also something they can eventually grow out of (one of my brothers did.) And if you are worried about replacing the good fats Dr. Sears has a wonderful list but I need more posts to be able to post links. If you go to his website and search "brain foods" about halfway down is a list. HTH!

[MaxCapacity]

Originally Posted by jenilouise061279 Hi there I am Xeniphia's friend Jen. It does sound very similar to our experience. With milkfat we also get some red splotches on our ears and faces. I tend to get hives. Every dairy product in our house is made with nonfat milk even cheese and yogurt which my daughters also just love. My two year old has at least one yogurt a day. Since he seemed to have less of a problem with the lower fat content I would try nonfat with him. I know it's also something they can eventually grow out of (one of my brothers did.) And if you are worried about replacing the good fats Dr. Sears has a wonderful list but I need more posts to be able to post links. If you go to his website and search "brain foods" about halfway down is a list. HTH!

Thank you very much! I appreciate you taking the time to help me out. He has no problem with splotches or hives...it's all just connected to his Gastro-esophageal Reflux Disease. It's all about him urping up yucky stuff. I've moved to the low/no-fat yogurt & limit him to one/day because he would eat it all day long if I let him. We go with regular cheese & it doesn't seem to bother him at all. There is one other food that he LOVES that bothers him & that's hotdogs. I know, I know...don't hate me because I let him eat them, he LOVES them!!! We did recently switch to turkeydogs & he seems to be doing better with those. I'll go check out the "brain foods". Thanks again!

[jenilouise061279]

Originally Posted by MaxCapacity Thank you very much! I appreciate you taking the time to help me out. He has no problem with splotches or hives...it's all just connected to his Gastro-esophageal Reflux Disease. It's all about him urping up yucky stuff. I've moved to the low/no-fat yogurt & limit him to one/day because he would eat it all day long if I let him. We go with regular cheese & it doesn't seem to bother him at all. There is one other food that he LOVES that bothers him & that's hotdogs. I know, I know...don't hate me because I let him eat them, he LOVES them!!! We did recently switch to turkeydogs & he seems to be doing better with those. I'll go check out the "brain foods". Thanks again!

Hey my kids eat hot dogs too. So do I. I try to buy the nitrate free ones but I love a hot dog- especially in the summer. My oldest had a gastro-esophageal ulcer when she was about 8 years old. Not fun at all! Every time she went to bed dinner came back. I wouldn't switch anything that isn't bothering him either. I hope that the nonfat milk and yogurt works for him. Poor little guy!