Allergic to Milk? Don't Use Soy

When my daughter turned 8, she started developing eczema, a scaly kind of skin irritation that typically looks unsightly and itches, caused by some kind of allergy. It would last a week or so, primarily right at the corners of her mouth, and then disappear, only to recur a couple months later. I was familiar enough with an allergy to know what it was and what it was most likely caused by, so I took her off wheat and milk at the beginning of the next outbreak.

It was difficult. Removing wheat and milk doesn't leave a lot of food choices that a typical 8-year-old enjoys. But she has always been a healthy food lover, and filling up on fruits and veggies got her by. The one thing she really missed was cereal; she would often eat it for dinner if she could, and I was always sure she would eat breakfast since there was cereal in the house.

Eventually, we discovered the milk was the cause of the eczema, and we breathed a sigh of relief until she realized that meant no more cereal. I was told that cereal without milk just wasn't the same, so we needed to find a substitute she could live with. Luckily, it seemed, she really liked the soy milk I got her to try. Not long afterward, we had her tested for allergies, as she seemed to still be having some difficulties with rashes, gastrointestinal ailments, and eventually a return of the eczema. Turned out she was allergic to milk, but the thing she was most allergic to was soy.

Although the tide has begun to change, people have been turning to soy for years as an alternative for those allergic to cow's milk. And that's been a lot of people. The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America estimates that as many as 5% of the children under 3 are allergic to milk. Although many lose that allergy before they reach kindergarten, some obviously don't. The most common move for many parents whose infants showed a reaction to regular milk formula used to be to switch to a soy base. But it turns out soy is not as innocent as it seems.

The AAFA says that soy is one of the most common products to cause allergic reactions, among the top 9 food products. It contains 15 allergenic proteins in itself. Those who have an allergy to soy must be very careful about what they eat. Soy is found in all kinds of products. Oriental food is often laden with it, but soy can also be found in breads, chocolate, bouillon and vegetable oil.

So what is the answer for those who can't drink cow's milk? Rice milk seems to be one of the most popular. It is not too expensive, and some brands have a pretty long shelf life, so someone who doesn't use milk too often but still wants some could keep it around for quite a while.

My daughter has outgrown her milk allergy, and soy products don't seem to bother her much, but she's one of the lucky ones. I can't help but wonder what might have happened had we not been able to get her allergy tested and discovered the problem with the soy. I certainly never considered it a threat. We must continue to pass the word along so everyone knows that while soy may be a good choice for many people, it is not the best choice for those with an allergy to cow's milk, especially children.

References:

Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America. Aafa.org.

Mayo Clinic. Mayoclinic.com.