How Can My One Year Old Get Enough Calcium When Seems Allergy to Dairy?

the country of Japan consumes (by far) the least amount of cows milk however they are also the least likely to have osteoprosis (sp?). There are lots of other foods that contain calcium than just cows milk. Calcium rich foods are better than viatamins cause the body absorbs the calcium better. Hope this helps...Good Luck

Dear M.,

You've gotten some great advice here already, so I'm not going to repeat that. I just want to mention a couple of things that others haven't said.

First and foremost, it's unlikely that lactose is the culprit at your son's age. The problem is more likely to be milk *protein.* That's important because lactose-free formula will *not* help. He really needs to be off all forms of dairy (not only cow's milk products but also goat and sheep's milk).

Second -- okay I have to repeat something others have said, since it's such a good point -- the dairy lobby in the United States is very powerful. They -- the corporate interests that make a profit from milk -- are really behind the message that milk is essential to a child's diet and that it's the only source of calcium out there. Not true. Leafy greens, flax seed, fish oil, are all fine substitutes, and people who use these sources of calcium instead of milk have much lower rates of obesity, among other problems.

What I make for my son (whom at almost 4, still can't tolerate dairy) are "green smoothies." Calcium-fortified OJ, half a mango, and a handful of spinach. He gets one in the morning and one before bed, plus a liquid calcium supplement. He's a tall, healthy little boy who just about never gets sick.

To get the nondairy calcium complement just right, though, I really recommend consulting with a holistic nutritionist or a naturopathic physician. There *is* a cost to this, but you probably only have to do one consult, and it will save you from long-term anxiety.

Good luck!

Mira

I would make sure to verify any supplements you give him with your pediatrician before starting them.

One of the biggest rip offs are calcium pills (I used to take Caltrate +D). It's not a bad product, but it throws 600 mg of Calcium into one pill - the adult body can only process 500 mg at a time, so you're wasting the remainder. They also contributed to kidney stones in me because it was way more calcium than my body could process - even during pregnancy.

So, I'd see if a supplement is necessary.

But, I'd also Google dietary sources of calcium. Broccoli, for instance, is very high as well as other items listed by the first posted.

Take this into consideration, too.....humans are not biologically designed to be able to process dairy (only 1 population on Earth that carries the gene for lactose tolerance - of israeli descent). Once a child is naturally weaned from breastmilk, dietary contributions (mostly from green, leafy vegetables) provide the necessary calcium.

Hope that helps.
Good luck!

here's O. website listing no dairy sources of calcium:

http://www.ellenskitchen.com/faqs/calcium.html

Google "calcium rich non dairy foods" for other resources.

I agree with the doctor. I have a friend with a son who is anaphalactic allergic to milk and milk products. He is so limited with he food that he dropped weight significantly as soon as he was off formula and you are right, getting the right amount of calcium is a challenge. Starting him on vitamins is a good idea, you can get infant vitamins that will increase is overall vitamin intake and they are not a high enough dose to cause any problems with the vitamins that they are already getting in their formula. Whatever they don't use, most will just be eliminated by bodily functions. Also I would check on the amount of vit D you are giving him because I know that that is how much I take in a day and it can cause me constipation, that is at the top of the the range for vit D. Vit D is one of the vitamins that is not eliminated and can build up in the body so I would talk to your pharmacist about that one. Pharmacists are very knowledgable about holistic stuff so that might be the person to talk to about what to put him on. I would keep him on formula (even until he's 2 if you have to) until you can stabilize his diet to maintain his weight. My friends little guy went from the 75th percentile down to the 3rd percentile because he was so limited by his diet and then had no appetite. Once he was on vitamins his appetite came back a little bit and he started to gain weight again. He is now 3 and still only weighs 26 lbs but he is healthy. Also be aware of the amount of estrogens in Soy as it seems to be the alternative to milk and in large amounts is not great for developing boys. Best of luck to you

OJ with Calcium is one! I make smoothies with it!

There are lot's of non dairy sources of calcium. These include seaweeds such as kelp, wakame and hijiki; nuts and seeds (like almonds and sesame); blackstrap molasses; beans; oranges; figs; quinoa; amaranth; collard greens; okra; rutabaga; broccoli; dandelion leaves; kale; and fortified products such as orange juice and soy milk. For a 1 yr old, recommended daily intake of calcium is about 500mg.

My son has also been lactose intolerant since about 14 months. For a while, I gave him rice & soy milk fortified w Calcium and O Soy yogurt, which has calcium. The packages should say # of mg of calcium and if not, check company websites. Now, I also give him lactose free milk and he tolerates it quite well. Since your son is over 1, you could also start trying that now. Good luck.

Welch's has a calcium fortfied grape juice.

You sound like you are on top of things M.! Here is a great overall vitamin for your son: http://healinghappens.myshaklee.com/us/en/products.php?sk...

And here is a weblink I found with suggestions on how to get more calcium:
http://www.ehow.com/how_###-###-####_get-more-calcium-die...