How healthy is a Vegan diet? How can you make it more fattening?

Question

I have a 15 month old that is allergic to milk, eggs, chicken, PEANUTS, nuts, and peas. So, I kind of have to put her on a vegan diet. For those who were vegans since babies, did you drink soy milk? That's all I can give her and I know a lot of vegan recipes have soy in them. The reason that I am concerned is that I keep reading and seeing everywhere that soy is bad for you. This makes me upset because I can't help that she can only drink soy milk. I forgot to mention that I can't give her rice milk or coconut milk. Is there anyone that's been drinking soy milk and eating foods made with soy for many years? Let me know that you are healthy, so I can have some kind of peace of mind? Also, she is underweight from not being able to eat so many things. Any suggestions on how to fatten up her diet? Please help I can't seem to get a real straight answer out of anyone else.

Answer 1

im a 24 year old and have been vegetarian nearly all my life, through fussiness when i was a child (my mother used to cry because i wouldnt eat meat or take milk) and have flitted between vegetarianism and veganism for many years. i have always eaten soya, even in the 80's when food was in such a bad state that it may as well have been eaten off the floor! what im saying is that i have never had any problems in my life in anyway, not with my oestrogen levels (which is one of the things they try to say can be altered by soya) nor with any form of breast cancer scares (touch wood) or any other minor or major health problems. i find that chocolate soy milk is terribly high calorie and also some of the chilled soya milks are high calorie so if you give them to your child they may help give her a little push towards the fat we girls need to have. my mother has also turned vegetarian in the last few years and always tells me about any new scares, but i would agree that a lot of it is media frenzy to push out us veggies. the one thing i would say is that soya growth destroys land and it cannot be used to grow in after soy has been harvested, but that is a problem for the GM crowd.. try to stick to organic soya products, in the UK cauldron do some good organic tofu's and things.

all in all to answer the question, ive had soya in my diet for twenty years at least, in the eighties when it would defiantly have been gm and bad news. today it will be so much better, and im completely fine, on every level. i am female so i can also maybe help by telling you this as it tends to be women they target with threats of breast and ovarian cancer. im sure if these were going to happen unnaturally they would be happening to me about now.

Answer 2

This is all my personal opinion:
I've been a vegan for 2 years, but I've been vegetarian for the last 10. I've been drinking soy milk and eating soy products for a long, long time and I am completely healthy! (no medications, no health issues, plus I'm even 6 weeks pregnant right now and eating lots of soy products.) I've read the things about soy being harmful. From the info that I've checked out about it, the meat and dairy industry are big business in this country. If people realized how wonderfully nutritious and healthy soy products are, then the meat and dairy industry would lose profits. (One reason why they pushed that "Got Milk" campaign, and how they say drinking a glass of milk a day helps lose weight.) It's all about the dollar. If you want a really good perspective on the subject - check this website out:
http://www.healthyat100.org - (scroll down and click on "What about soy?" by John Robbins.)
To add some healthy fat into your daughter's diet, you could try beans or hummus. Or put some garbanzo beans in a blender with some olive oil and make a spread for crackers (kind of like hummus without the garlic and lemon.) Tofu is a good source of healthy fat. Try smoothies made with soymilk (or chocolate soymilk), tofu or soy yogurt & some berries . Earth balance brand butter is a great source of healthy fat. It also raises the good cholesterol. Try it on toast or in baked goods. Soy ice cream has a lot of fat and may not be good to eat every day but it's an excellent treat. How about veggies dipped in vegan sour cream? I think Tofutti brand makes a good sour cream with no hydrogenated oils. Or toast with a vegan cream cheese (again, I think Tofutti brand makes this). Good luck and I hope this helps somewhat. No worries!

Answer 3

Please know that all the "studies" done that say soy is bad are only done on highly processed fake meats and use genetically altered soy.

Thus far, Eden Soy passes the test for completely NON GMO soy milk.
http://www.non-gmoreport.com/soy_milk_eden_foods.php

Or, buy your own soy milk maker and buy non gmo soy beans. These guys RULE!!:
http://www.tosteds.com/laura%20beans.htm

I used to be a very sick kid. Then I went vegetarian. I've been using tofu and soy milk for around 14 years now. Never had a problem. My health has improved across the board!

I've always been paranoid of genetic engineering so I've done my best to stay away from those things.

There are a number of good "raising vegan children" books on the market. As well as excellent articles in a lot of vegan magazines.

Here is one article I found online.
http://www.vegansociety.com/html/people/lifestyle/families/parenting/vegan_children/

Answer 4

first of all i don't know if your baby can drink soy milk

but i do know you can make your own soy milk, you can buy a soy milk maker machine for $100, just add water, and soak soy beans for 6 hours and press start, in 15 mintues you'll have fresh homemade soymilk, it tastes good without adding anything to it, cost is less then 15cent per batch, 3 large cups
compare to $2 or $3

i'll took soy product for years, i'm fine, people in asia all drink soy and eat tofu, no cancers

the bad stuff you read about soy, is talking about soy protein isolates, that's a part of soy extracted from used soy trash, they're recycling food to turn it into food again, don't eat the soy protein isolate things, like chips, and others

Answer 5

First of all, soy milk or products made with soy are not necessarily "bad for you." If you are replacing regular milk with soy milk then you aren't giving the baby as much vitamin D. My wife drinks soy milk all the time and seems to be as healthy as can be. As far as fattening up her diet, if she isn't allergic to all dairy products then yogurts and cheeses are good. But if she is then you could try soy yogurt and soy butter on bread. Good luck.

Answer 6

You probably don't want to fatten your child but raise it in a healthy way. Make sure she gets enough protein, minerals and vitamins. The best thing for you is to either buy a cookbook with vegan recipes for toddlers or put "vegan toddlers" into the google search engine. Both my children are vegan (they are in their late teens now) and more than healthy. A few ideas what your child could eat at this age:

Bagels with hummus
Bean burritos or tacos
Fresh or dried fruit, especially bananas
Mashed potatoes (made with soy milk and vegan margarine)
Oven-cooked chips
Pancakes and waffles
Pasta with tomato sauce
Low- salt Yeast extract sandwiches
Pizza without cheese, topped with vegetables and pulses, tofu, or vegan meta substitutes
Raw vegetables with dips
Shakes made with soy milk and fruit
Tofu/vegetarian dogs
Veggie burgers

There are lots of soy based yogurts, cheeses and cheese-spreads for a variety, also egg free mayos etc, you can also make scrambled tofu which children love, but I suggest you talk to your doctor for more advice.

Answer 7

let me start out by saying i am vegan and have been so for over 4 years. i know that there are alot of anti-soy food people out there. they spread around a bunch of bs rumors to scare people away from a healthy diet. some say that because of the high estrogen levels in soy it can be harmful, especially for boys. but there is no conclusive evidence whatsoever to support these claims. just like everything else, soy can be bad in highly excessive amounts. amounts impossible to be consumed by one person. my husband has been vegan for 9 years and is extremely active and in superb health. i drink silk soymilk almost exclusively because it is enriched with alot of vitamins. it is important that your child gets enough of the right fats. i would recommend avocados and olives on a daily basis. is she allergic to all nuts? if not walnuts and almonds or macadamia nuts are really high in good fats. you could also give her flax seed oil or ground flax seeds. just mix them in oatmeal or something. silk just came out with a new soymilk that is enhanced with dha an omega 3 fatty acid that is extremely beneficial to the developing brain. it is derived from sea algae so there should be no allergy problems. as for soy yogurt the best i have tried so far is whole soy. best in creaminess, texture and flavor. i don't know if kids will or even can eat fish, but salmon and mackerel are really high in fat. also, let her splurge once in a while with some dark chocolate candy. try bug bites. they make little individual dark chocolate candies. they are delicious and not at all bitter. i am not sure if they are made on shared equipment, though.
another tip, while fiber (from whole grains, cereal, rice, etc.) is essential in a child's diet, it can be too filling. because kids eat so few calories don't fill them up on bulky foods that have little or no fat. hope this helps :)

Answer 8

I'll set your mind at ease about soy. I've been a daily user of soy foods for at least 30 years (since I first learned about them)! I make my own soy 'milk', tofu, soysages and more. I also buy and use the ready made stuff too. As compared to the general US population I'm very healthy, I've lived longer than any other member of my fathers family (EVER) and my doctors agree that it's due to my soy based vegetarian ways.

The junk-science you see today is largely based on a book by Kaayla Daniel and earlier books by some other meat industry shills. The *only* independently reviewed and proven *potential* harm from soy is if you eat large amounts totally raw (just like Kidney and other beans). The meat and dairy industries are losing market share to soy bean products and have been spreading the junk in a desperate attempt to stop the shift in eating habits towards soy foods. If I was as sleazy as them I could say that cow milk now has human genes in it!
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg15320691.700-cows-milk-just-like-mama-makes.html

Get the idea? That's how they work, take one little article and blow it out of proportion!

As to your daughter's health? Has she been to an allergist and had a full spread of allergy testing? If you've got insurance, you may want to find a vegan dietitian specializing in allergies! I'm not one but figuring out allergy work arounds has been a hobby of mine for a long time. I could probably help expand her food options but that's a BIG topic for an answer here and would also depend on a full and complete list of everything she's sensitive to. You may wish to unblock your YA email to contact me for some 'amateur' help. YA keeps your address private BTW.

A point that may help allay your fears is that there is a chance she will grow out of her allergies! You might attempt to remove canola oil from her diet since there are a few studies that link canola to the rise in allergies (but they are *not* proven) and you also might consider reducing the use of anti-bacterial products for the same reason (and that's not proven either!).

If you just want to increase her calories you could consider adding olive oil or avocado to her menu. Try rubbing a little of each on her back to watch for rashes or other reactions, it's not a 100% method of discovering a food allergy, but it does indicate the strongest allergens! You might also try virgin Palm Kernel oil the same way. Other than that just feed her more of the foods she does tolerate! Use the skin test before introducing new foods!

Edit:

If you're concerned about GMO soy you might want to see my answer to the "High Soy Diet?" question. I was getting ready to drop that bomb here but found a better home for it!

Answer 9

I feel your frustration and think I can help. I, too, am allergic to wheat, soy, eggs, commercial dairy, peanuts, and many other things. I invite you to join my food allergy group on yahoo. It is packed with ideas, tips, and recipes. Click join, and read the "files" section. People who haven't gone through this are clueless and most doctors are useless about it. I think this group can help. Here is the link
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/foodallergynetwork/

If you prefer, you can email me and I will try to help you-I know how frustrating it is for an adult with allergies, and my 12 year old daughter. I can't imagine dealing with an infant with allergies. You have my upmost respect and compassion

Answer 10

like both, fruits: berries, oranges, pears, peaches, dragonfruit, pomegranate.... Vegetables: CUCUMBERS, bok choy, green beans, broccoli,.... I actually guess the two are great.