MY DAUGHTER HAS RECENTLY TURNED 1 AND SHE IS REFUSING MILK AND FORMULA. SHE EATS ANYTHING I GIVE HER EXCEPT TUNA , BUT I AM AFRAID THAT SHE WILL NOT GET THE NUTRIENTS THAT SHE NEEDS FROM MILK. I GIVER HER STUFF LIKE YOGURT AND CALCIUM FORTIFIED SNACKS,ETC.. BUT IS THAT ENOUGH. I KNOW THAT A LOT OF HOMEOPATHS ARE VEGETARIANS, AND I AM LOST IN THAT DEPARTMENT. PLEASE ADVISE ON HOW I CAN BE SURE THAT SHE GROWS TO BE AS STRONG AS HER MILK CHUGGING BROTHER. SH HAS LOST THREE LBS SINCE HER LAST DR VISIT (3MO AGO) AND THEY WANT ME TO KEEP AN EYE ON THAT.

Hi Somer-

Listen to what your daughters body is telling you. If she is refusing milk don't worry about it, she can get all the calcium she needs from yogurt, fortified OJ, and steamed broccolli or other dark green veggies. 15min of sunshine per day provides the vitD. I personally believe that the only animal meant to drink cows milk is - well - a baby cow. After about a year babies appetite does slow down a bit - but since she has lost weight I would offer her small snacks throughout the day. Hey a couple of cheddar cheese cubes has loads of calc. It is a common belief that we need milk for our bones and teeth - well, check out the animal kingdom - apes for instance -VERY strong bones and teeth and I've yet to see one with a milk mustache. Mother Nature or God or whatever you believe in, would be pretty silly to create humans as the only species who needs to drink the milk of another animal for health. You must have your hands full with two little ones under the age of 3. One of the members here is an expert on the eat right for your blood type diet - maybe she'll chime in with some pearls of wisdom.

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Man, do not pride yourself on your superiority to animals. For they are without sin and you in your greatness defile the earth by your appearance on it and leave traces of you foulness after you. Dostoyevsky

Dear Somer,

I thought everyone knew how bad cow's milk is for babies; in fact, juvenile diabetes has been linked to it, along with more ordinary things like ear infections. Breast milk on the other hand...now there's a good baby food! The perfect food for babies. In most parts of the world, kids are breast fed til the age of 4. (They also sleep with their moms.) Our traditions, on the other hand, are firmly rooted in whatever is best for the dairy industry, the drug and hospital industry, the oil industry, and so on.

Snoopy

Ah, Snoopy, such blatant truths make me sad. But, the baby's reaction to this "cultural legacy" certainly makes me feel better.

Barb is correct about the other sources of calcium. People are surprised to learn just how abundant it is in many other non-animal sources...such as the dark green leafy veggies. This is a wonderful opportunity to turn your child onto the variety of those veggies while she is still young. I am a little concerned about the weight loss, however, as the loss of a few pounds in a baby can be a substantial loss. Has she begun to regain some of these lost pounds over the last 3 months?

Divina

__________________
...and deliverance has many faces<br />but grace<br />is an aquaintance of mine

THE LOST WEIGHT HAS BEEN OVER THE LAST 3 MONTHS. SHE IS STILL ABOVE AVERAGE ON THE GROWTH CHARTS,SO THE DOCTOR SAID TO JUST KEEP AN EYE ON THAT. HE SAID SHE WAS OK FOR NOW. WOULD YOU HAVE ANY SUGGESTIONS ON SOME GOOD VEGETARIAN (OR VEGGIE-LIKE) BOOKS THAT I CAN GET. I DON'T THINK IT WOULD BE SUCH A BAD IDEA IF I INCORPERATE INTO OUR LIVES AS A FAMILY. I HAVE A PROBLEM WITH HIGH CHOLESTEROL AND SO DOES MY SON (IT IS GENETIC). I AM NOT OPPOSED TO MEATS AS LONG AS THEY ARE COOKED LEAN. I FEEL THAT YOU NEED ANIMAL PROTIEN THE SAME AS ANY OTHER ANIMAL THAT IS CARNIVOROUS. ANYHOO, IF I HAVE A BOOK TO REFER TO IT WOULD HELP.
P.S. I MEANT TO MENTION THAT I ALONG WITH MY DAUGHTER HAVE HAD AN INTOLERANCE TO MILK FROM BIRTH (BREAST OR ANIMAL). I FIGURED SHE WOULD REJECT IT AND IT MAKES SENSE THAT IT WAS HER BODY TELLING ME SOMETHING. LORD KNOWS I NEVER LISTENED TO MINE

[ 08 May 2001: Message edited by: somer ]

Dear Somer,

actually Human beings are omnivorous, not carnivorous. That means we can kind of eat a lot of different stuff to get our nutritional needs met, nature built us with that flexibility (and possibly with the choice regarding meat?)

Cows milk is actually a powerful drug, and in fact has alot of power as a homoepathic remedy. It is quite possible that many people end up proving the remedy by devoting themselves to the consumption of milk. Migraines, constipation, all sorts of digestive problems, insomnia, chronic fatigue.

__________________
David Kempson.<br />Dip.Homoeopathic Medicine.<br />Lecturer Australian College of Natural Therapies (Brisbane Campus)<br />Member AHA, AROH, HMA<br />Member Australian Homoeopathic Association. Member#0442.

Hi Somer,
I agree with everything that Barb and Snoopy say. Drinking the milk of other animals is not neccessary and may be positively harmful.

There is a strange fixation about Calcium with allopathic Doctors especially with children and post-menopausal women.

The fact is that the deposition of Calcium in the bones is not simply related to intake of the mineral. It is neccessary to take in sufficient Calcium in the diet and to have a supply of vitamin D (either from diet or sunshine) but Calcium is a very plentiful mineral in a good balanced diet. In fact other minerals such as Magnesium and Zinc are equally important in ensuring that bone calcium levels are maintained, so a balanced diet is the key.

The hormonal control of calcium in the bones is quite complex and centres around the thyroid and parathyroid hormones, in a healthy individual there is a constant flow of calcium into and out of bone tissue.

Good luck with the vegetarian food, I won't reccomend any books as those in the UK are probably not available in the US, but I'm sure that any good bookshop will stock plenty.

Best wishes

Dave

I APPRECIATE YOUR REPLIES AND I THINK I HAVE TO GO WITH DJK ON THIS ONE. I AM NOT FULLY INTO THE HOMEOPATHY AS SOME MAY BE, BUT I HAVE EXPIRIENCED FIRST HAND THE GOOD THAT CAN COME OF MILK. AT ANY RATE I NEED TO FIND A HAPPY MEDIUM TO HELP KEEP MY BABY GROW STRONG. SINCE MILK ISN'T AN OPTION FOR HER, I NEED TO FIND BETTER ALTERNTIVES. I HAVE BEEN GIVING HER OJ WITH CALIUM, GREENS, AND STUFF LIKE YOUGURT AND COTTAGE CHEESE, BUT I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT I AM HITTING ALL OF MY OPTIONS. I DON'T WANT HER TO GET BORED WITH THE SAME THINGS ALL THE TIME. SHE WILL EAT ALMOST ANYTHING,BUT SHE NEEDS VARIETY OR SHE TURNS HER NOSE UP AT IT. IF THERE ARE MORE SUGGESTIONS ON WHAT SHE CAN EAT TO GET HER CALCIUM AND IRON, PLEASE LET ME KNOW.

[ 09 May 2001: Message edited by: somer ]

Dear Somer,
A really good book on healthy food for babies and toddlers is Ruth Yarons Super Baby Food...I know how difficult it can be to get children to eat well because I have a 2 year old and a 6 month old...
Kirsten

Okay, so what is your baby's blood type? Yours? Your son's?

There was a study done in the 1950's where a group of recently weaned, previously breastfed babies, were given a variety of foods to chose from. They got to pick what they ate. All the children at the end of the study were extremely healthy. Two of which had rickets at the beginning of the study, and cured themselves by their food choices. Our bodies know what they need. Unfortunately, society leaches this instinct out of us over time.