Thread: Cows milk v. soy milk

I've been drinking soy milk in my lattes every morning since 2003. So six years. I'm wondering now if any of my health issues have to do with too much soy (refer to my "Very personal female question" thread).

So after doing some thinking and starting weight watchers, I tried to switch to cow milk (fat free). OMG! I had the worst stomach issues yesterday. Could I have made myself lactose intolerant? I don't like cows milk at all. Ick, but I thought I should since that's what WW recommends and too much soy is bad.

Huh, I am so confused. Any thoughts or ideas? Should I stick to soy? Should I slowly add in skim? Should I try another milk altogether? I am not giving up my espresso and I refuse to drink it black. There has to be a solution!

Thanks!

I eat cereal with soy milk (vanilla) every morning for breakfast without a problem. I can't drink cow's milk because I'm lactose intolerant.

Too much soy is bad. You can try rice milk, almond milk or any of the others to avoid that.

I have a soy intolerance and have to limit my intake. I used to eat protein bars with soy based protein (1-2 a day) and it definitely jacked my hormones (Worst. Acne. Ever.). Stopped the soy and in a few months things balanced out.

Too much soy is bad, but a latte or two with soymilk isn't gonna hurt you (if you're not consuming soy in another form.)

i love soy milk. i dont drink a ton of it, but i can't drink regular milk ( i have crohn's). it's never given me acne or anything like that. so i don't know if it causes any other health issues.

I'm lactose intolerant, too, so I stick with soy, almond or rice milk. Prefer the taste anyway over cow's milk.
But my question is: How much is too much (soy)??? I'm wondering if that's the cause of my adult acne lately ,f::

I try to only have soy about once or twice a month. But lately my boyfriend keeps making those chickenless nuggets so I've been having more. I don't know how much is too much but I know a Lady who said Soy was the cause of her Breast Cancer. Now she's probably not sure of that but I don't want to take chances.

If your health issues are related to your thyroid, then soy milk could be making it worse. My doctor checks my thyroid every couple of years, since I have been experiencing the symptoms, but always says it is within the normal range. When I heard about soy and thyroid, I stopped drinking soy milk, and now rarely consume any soy products. I had been trying to lose some weight for a long time, and when I stopped the soy, some of that weight just fell off. It was really weird. I still can't lose those last 10 pounds though.

Have you tried the lactose free milk? Have you made any other major diet changes?

Here's what Dr. Weil says on the subject. People think he's a whackadoo though.

Soy Milk, Soy Foods, Isoflavones, Carrageenan - Dr. Andrew Weil

Oh and the reason why I don't like milk: Why Not Drink Milk?

I have not read your other thread, but after maybe seven years of drinking at least 3 cups of soy milk every day, I strongly suspected an excess of phytoestrogens were contributing to my female health issues. Google "estrogen dominance". I have not been off of it long enough to tell you if it has helped, maybe 5-6 weeks, but I can tell you for sure going off of it cold turkey can land you in hormone he#@. If I could have a do over, I would wean myself off of it more gradually.

My sister suggested I try rice milk for my lattes, which I have not. I am currently using coffee mate belgian chocolate toffee creamer in plain dark dunkin donuts coffee, which is pretty good, but has nothing on a good soy latte. My daughter got a book for me from Barnes & Noble called "I love Coffee" which has 100 coffee recipes, to help me find a more suitable replacement.

I think soy is fine in moderation, and probably beneficial to women in their 50s when estrogen begins to decline... But I suspect an excess of it did a serious number on me. I went through a lot over the summer and was on my way for more, but I've put more medical interventions on hold until I can give this dietary change a chance. Good luck, Andalee.

ETA: "estrogen dominance" won't lead you to any information on soy, but I did also read that two cups of soy milk a day was enough to elevate your estrogen levels due to the natural phytoestrogens in soy. I'm a small person, so I figured it might take even less for me.

Originally Posted by andalee-oriental

Here's what Dr. Weil says on the subject. People think he's a whackadoo though.

Soy Milk, Soy Foods, Isoflavones, Carrageenan - Dr. Andrew Weil

He's my kinda Whakadoo. Did you see his food pyramid? Nice, minus the eggs and cheese and stuff.

Maybe you could try some Lactaid milk and see if that feels better on your tummy?

(I know, lactaid, ick, but my husband has crohn's and can't drink regular milk but refuses to drink soy.)

If I'm not mistaken, the milk-mucus link has been debunked in scientific studies.

(In reference to the link about reasons not to drink milk)

Originally Posted by GenevieveOfAtlanta

If I'm not mistaken, the milk-mucus link has been debunked in scientific studies.

(In reference to the link about reasons not to drink milk)

Has it? I wonder who paid for that study.

Well from memory, I remember being more mucus-filled after drinking milk. Of course that's an old memory as I haven't drank milk in probably 8 years. Does anyone else have this experience?

Originally Posted by SamarDahab

Has it? I wonder who paid for that study.

Well from memory, I remember being more mucus-filled after drinking milk. Of course that's an old memory as I haven't drank milk in probably 8 years. Does anyone else have this experience?

Milk Consumption Does Not Lead to Mucus Production or Occurrence of Asthma -- Wüthrich et al. 24 (Supplement 6): 547S -- Journal of the American College of Nutrition

Relationship between milk intake and mucus product... [Am Rev Respir Dis. 1990] - PubMed result

I am suspicious of most pro-dairy research because of who ittends to be funded by ( dairy industry) altho I s'pose the same may be said of pro-soy.

I have noticed that most Western folk do over-do it with the soy, which probably leads to some of these issues. I think the soy lattes are fine if that's all the soy you do. If you are having issues with non-fat milk then maybe you are lactose intolerant... try Lactaid or some of the other dairy-free options. Good luck!

My doctor has told me to avoid eating alot of soy because we really don't know the long-term affects of the phytoestrogens.

Also, it has been my experience that the soy milks that actually taste good have a crapload of sugar in them.

my doctor took me off soy milk .said it was high in sugar, to make it taste good.but i could not drink it, it was slimy...back on 2% and have lost weight

Originally Posted by GenevieveOfAtlanta

Milk Consumption Does Not Lead to Mucus Production or Occurrence of Asthma -- Wüthrich et al. 24 (Supplement 6): 547S -- Journal of the American College of Nutrition

Relationship between milk intake and mucus product... [Am Rev Respir Dis. 1990] - PubMed result

Thanks I'll read them even though I'm sure I'll disagree. It's can't hurt to have more information.

Originally Posted by zamora

my doctor took me off soy milk .said it was high in sugar, to make it taste good.but i could not drink it, it was slimy...back on 2% and have lost weight

When I do buy Soy Milk I buy unsweetened. The sweetened is way too sweet for my tastes but I dont' add sugar to much of anything so I'm not a fan of the very sweet.

milk and dairy makes my asthma worse...I become more congested

I am a vegetarian who doesn't drink milk. I also don't like the flavor and texture of soymilk or rice milk. Often they leave me with an itchy mouth as i'm mildly allergic to it. I started drinking almond milk and not only is it delicious but it doesn't give me any weird side effects.

Originally Posted by anyadance

I am a vegetarian who doesn't drink milk. I also don't like the flavor and texture of soymilk or rice milk. Often they leave me with an itchy mouth as i'm mildly allergic to it. I started drinking almond milk and not only is it delicious but it doesn't give me any weird side effects.

It seems to make nails grow really pretty too.

I'll try almond milk, but isn't that high in fat? The whole point is to lose weight...I know rice milk a. is nasty and b. is more fattening than soy milk.

Oh and I like vanilla soy milk, but I do switch to light and unsweetened now and then because I know the sugar isn't good for me. But all be darned if an ice cold vanilla soy milk latte isn't like one of my favorite things in the world. Sigh.

ETA: as for the lactose thing, I seem to tolerate cheese pretty well...Hmmm.

How is rice milk more fattening? Just curious...I don't like it. I prefer soy.

I haven't read all the comments, but I thought I'd give you my two cents:
I drink Almond milk - the unsweetened, Blue Diamond brand - it's got 3g fat per serving and 2g carbs.
I am leary of soy and cow's milk/cheese doesn't agree with me. Rice milk is too sweet tasting to me, so I stick with almond milk and enjoy it immensely!

Question about almond milk. . . does it actually taste like almonds? I have no desire to replace my cow milk with anything (I love dairy), but if almond milk tastes like liquified almond I think I would like to have some just because it sounds good. LOL

(I've made almond milk before from scratch, for historic cooking, but dont know if the commercial stuff is actually processed in someway to make it more like regular milk. . . thats why I am asking.)

Basina - I just ate a regular almond and then drank a little almond milk (gotta have scientific proof!) and I think that no, the almond milk I drink is much more creamier tasting than an almond tastes. The milk I drink is processed more than the homemade beverage that you can make. I like the idea of making my own, but I don't know how and am a victim of convenience ;)