Which one should I be drinking: soy milk, rice milk or cow's milk?

I could really use some help on this issue. I have three children who ALL have the cow protein allergy (this was explained in a previous post. My children are 7, 2 and one. If my two year old drinks cows milk or eats yougurt or cheese she gets down right nasty and hard to live with. My dilema is I really do not know what to give them. Soy is said to be high in estrogen and rice milk seems to be missing some essential items for brain development etc... I would really appreciate some advice on what to give kids who cannot tolerate milk products (when I nursed my kids I had to give up all milk products or they would scream non stop ... they are very sensitive to cows milk and products of cows milk)

Something you may want to look into more is coconut milk...

I agree with Anon that we shouldn't be having dairy products of any kind. I refrain from eating all dairy including cheese, ice cream, yougurt etc.. and I am very healthy. I also believe that we shouldn't drink the milk of another animal once past weaning. I posted info on this above. Humans eat and do a lot of things that are not natural or healthy because we like them. This does not mean that they are good for us. Processed foods are undeniably bad for us! So is the pollution in the cities we created!

People have been drinking milk for thousands of years, it's perfectly healthy for most. You could say the same thing about people living in cities or eating all the other processed food people eat. Also if you are anti-milk you must be anti-cheese, ice cream, yogurt, chocolate and so on, can't have it both ways. Sorry for the rant but comments like that irritate me.

-Oli B

The following article outlines the difference between Raw milk from cows eating their natural diet of grass and the milk from a modern dairy farm that is highly processed; suggesting that it's no wonder many people are allergic to milk from such unnatural sources. It is my speculation that many people who are allergic to milk are allergic to the latter and not the former.

http://westonaprice.org/transition/dairy.html

I have light soy milk and when that is not easily available, non fat cows milk every morning with my high fiber cereal, freshly ground flax seed and fresh fruit. I assume those of you who don't want anything resembling milk aren't eating cold cereal. I feel great and my skin, hair etc is in good shape.

There are a lot of very interesting statements being made in this discussion. I would love to see some input on this topic from the medical and nutritional experts on this site.

I recently began seeing an MD for nutritional counseling, and learned, to my great surprise, that many people, including myself, are allergic to the proteins in cow's milk. For me, this explains a lifetime of often severe "IBS-like" symptoms. I'm sure this type of allergy isn't widely understood because the American Dairy Council does not want us to know about it. Also, I think many people, including some doctors, confuse the protein allergy with lactose intolerance. It's completely different -- protein is protein and lactose is a sugar. That means I can safely digest goat and sheep milk, even though these milk products also contain lactose. I also consulted a naturopath who told me that rice milk products are OK, but soy and all types of animal milk products are verboten. I try not to consume too many goat/sheep products, but it sure is nice to have some really delicious cheese to put on my pasta now and then.

Here's an interesting article that breaks down some of the differences between soy and cow's milk, as well as a bit of information on which is easier on the environment:

http://www.slate.com/id/2195690/

Some things covered in the article: the sources of protein and calcium, dairy production vs. soy production, and how much greenhouse gases are produced by each. It is a side issue to your question of which is better for you (and the article doesn't deal with rice milk), but in an age where we're constantly conscious of our effect on the planet, it's nice that the information's out there.