Preservative free, lactose free/ soy cheese and yogurt?

DD is super sensitive to preservatives and will have a nasty hype up/come down if she eats any. I also recently figured out she was lactose intolerant. She is so sensitive to lactose that I gave her a teaspoon of normal yogurt today to try suss out how bad it is and she had really nasty runny poo 20 mins later. yesterday she had a matchstick size piece of cheese and was same result. I am really worried about her calcium needs not being met! I really can't give her the preservatives because she gets so upset that she literally starts sobbing when they are coming out of her system!

I am trying to locate lactose free or soy cheese and yogurt that are also preservative free. I read so many numbers in the brands available in the small selection of supermarkets here and was a horrid list of numbers included! If anyone knows of any brands it'd be much appreciated to let me know what they are. Haven't had any luck in the shops so far but maybe if I can get a brand's name they might order it in for me!

Thanks in advance, tearing my hair out here.

CL, that must be very stressful for you :hug: Have you considered seeing a dietician at all? There are some that specialise in food allergies and intolerances and would be able to help you identify the exact intolerances and plan a diet which meets the nutritional needs. There is very little chance that your DD is lactose intolerant - it is so very rare in babies as to be basically non-existant, and if she were lactose intolerant she would not have been able to tolerate any breastmilk or formula since birth. It is however possible that she has other food allergies which have caused temporary damage to her tummy and therefore temporary lactose intolerance. It is also possible to have temporary lactose intolerance after a tummy bug. There is an article here that you might like to read which explains it better - Australian Breastfeeding Association - Lactose intolerance and the breastfed baby. Don't let the title put you off, not all the article will be relevant but it does explain lactose intolerance which you might find helpful.

It is possible that your DD has an allergy or intolerance to something in the dairy (not lactose) which is causing her symptoms, maybe cows' milk protein - this is where a dietician can be really helpful so that you can identify that. Another thing to consider is that soy has been linked with a range of other issues too, and that more than half of the people who have a reaction to cows' milk protein, do to soy also. It is possible to meet the calcium needs without either dairy or soy, it can just be a bit more tricky. There is a list of high calcium foods here - Vegetarian Network Victoria - Complete Nutrient Summary .

All the best CL.

I am lactose intolerant. I hate to confuse matters, but unless it's swiss, cream or processed cheese there is no lactose in cheese. You may be looking at a milk protein allergy, or there may be another issue entirely.

Soy yoghurt has a lot of thickeners in it (most of the numbers) so that it resembles yoghurt more.

Dd1 was lactose intolerant she was throwing up from birth on both breastmilk and formula, it was only once she went onto lactose free formula at eight months that it stopped. She could eat cheese although she didn't like it and very small amounts of yoghurt to get some calcium and her formula had it too. It's a tricky thing to confirm, we were told she was just had reflux but looking back at photos she looked very sick and pale until we changed her diet.

I'm vegan. Unfortunately Cheese substitutes are mostly for taste only and don't have a fabulous amount of calcium in there. I get mine from fortified soy milk, sesame seeds and/or tahini (tablespoon of one of them, daily) leafy greens, almonds, broccoli, white beans. I also take a supplement just to be on the safe side. It all seems to work because I had a bad bike accident last year, and nobody could believe I didn't break any bones.

BUT for those times when you just can't live without cheese... Cheezly (health food shops, crueltyfreeshop online only) is great, comes in several styles - mozzarella, edam, a few others (I only ever buy the mozzarella style though!) Kingland do a Soy Cheese (in the sausage style packet) available at Coles, good for putting "in" things, like I do a Broccoli and Cheddar tart with it, but it has a very powdery texture and strong flavour. Whatever that other brand of Soy Cheese is that you get at Coles actually has milk protein in it, so probably no good for you.

Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese (some Coles, most Woolies) is the real hero. It's lower in fat and so good! I use it as a base for dips, and also for my un-cheese white sauce, to have with vegies, in lasagne etc.

I'd definitely be going to see a nutritionist for mroe suggestions, or, like you're doing, keep reading up on it.

Thanks for the input everyone. MantaRay, I think I might see a dietician with her. When I put her on the lactose free milk she eats tonnes compared to when i put a little milk on her brekky. This whole thing is confusing and yes stressful. all the foods in my house are now made from scratch and shopping is a nightmare. Hope I can find a dietician here, I really don't want to travel to perth.

Black rose- we were also told DD had reflux but she's never been a GREAT sleeper even with the reflux medication so I stopped it after a month. although she did have nasty battery acid vomit that burnt.

Audax- thanks for the suggestions. I might look around more or see a nutritionist. a trip to the doctor may be in order to find out about


lol, post was sitting a while because DD needed me. Rang local hospital to enquire about a dietician and need a referral so heading to dr's mon.

Really appreciate the nudge people. I think sometimes you want to feel you know what's best for your child but need and extra push to seek outside help!

Dairy free living is a hard road. Making stuff from scratch is just how you have to roll, unfortunately. Puff pastry is dairy free (although there's palm oil in most) and I think it's Nanna's brand of apple pies? One of them, anyway. Black and Gold cake mixes are dairy free, as well as some of the Green's varieties, but not all, so check. Chocolate and strawberry ice cream toppings are good. Oreos and McVities Digestives biscuits, as well as *I think* the pink ones with sprinkles.
Good luck at the Drs!

CL, if you go to the dietician association website - Dietitians Association of Australia (DAA) : Find an APD - and select allergy/food sensitivity in the area of practice, you might find a dietician near you who specialises in this. I know of one really good one in WA but she is probably in Perth.

black_rose, did you read the article I linked to? It might be helpful for you to know that your DD's problems were not caused by lactose intolerance. If she had been lactose intolerant she would not have survived for 8 months - I mean literally would not have grown at all and would have needed severe medical intervention to stay alive. This is very, very rare. Most likely your DD had either reflux or food allergy/intolerance (not lactose though!). Do you know of any food sensitivities that she has now?

My DD's are both allergic to cow milk protein, DD2 is reactive to soy, and DD1 oats. Both had issues with bananas and anything high in salcilytes. I put them on an elimination diet and we found alot of what they reacted through. We also saw an allergist whilst doing all of this. I followed the Fail Safe diet at first to rule out preservative reactions. I remember the first few weeks spending hours in the shops reading labels. It was very daunting.

We have not had dairy, cheese, anything in over 3 years now. We eat heaps of broccoli, spinach, sesame seeds (extremely high in calcium but also a high allergen food), and use multivitamens to help with calcium intake. Magnesium is very important when ruling out dairy, as it is what the body uses to absorb calcium and no matter what the foods calcium value is, without magnesium its not worth it.

My DD's both had reflux symptoms as well, my DD2 was 9 weeks old when I saw a Lactation Consultant who helped with going on an elimination diet and stopping dairy in my diet in order to breastfeed her. When she was 6 months and starting solids, we became very serious about the elimination diets and seeing an allergist. I suggest going through an allergist or dietician as MantaRay said. Its a hard journey, but much worth it!

It's odd though. I don't think it's cow's milk protien allergy because she was fine on her formula. the "reflux" symptoms settled at 5 months old or so and only seem to appear when she's teething. Maybe she was actually allergic to something in my milk that i ate for the 4 month period I breastfed. I have eliminated ALL preservatives and her behaviour improved. She seemed to have an incredibly distressing "come down" as whatever was in her system wore off. Was really heartbreaking to see and as a result i eliminated every number in her diet. She has only had one since and that was after eating a cracker a child gave her at a birthday party. I didn't even realise it wasn't one of the ones I brought with us until she was onto the last bite.

Also baffling is the fact that when she's on the lactose free milk her digestive system appear normal. No runny poo and no farty pants. it's only when i give her normal milk, cheese or yoghurt. unless it's something else removed in the lactose removal process?

Unfortunately I only know of one dietician within town and it's through the local hospital. none others are listed in directory. they might have an "allergist" I can be referred to within the hospital somewhere along the line though so fingers crossed.

I really appreciate everyone's input. the whole situation is quite baffling and new to me so any advice is appreciated! :hug:

There is a thing called secondary lactose intolerance, where as a result of some kind of "insult" (usually a bout of gastro or a large amount of a protein that you are sensitive to) the bowel lining is damaged and becomes much more sensitive to gas production. It should get better when the "insult" is fixed though.
Is the lactose free milk UHT? It may be that the UHT treatment (which is a more aggressive heat treatment than normal pasteurizing) alters the milk proteins in such a way as to make them less allergy-inducing for C. Try a tiny bit of UHT normal milk and see what happens!

You could also just give her lactose and see what happens - if you can get hold of the dummy pills from a pack of OCPs and crush a couple and see if they provoke a reaction.....They contain a few milligrams of lactose each - about the amount in a ml of milk.

KMN, funny you should mention gastro and a sensitivity afterwards. If I remember rightly DD had a bit of a tummy bug just prior to me noticing her reaction to milk.......... Might try a small quantity of uht milk and see if a reaction. The lactose free milk is UHT. now you've got me thinking. She definately had a reaction to something in my breast milk while breast feeding though and would vomit FOUNTAINS after a feed. It smelt rancid and burnt my skin where it contacted. felt like acid and left red blotches where it landed. I think I should see the dietician anyway though because I feel like I'm going in blind regarding her diet. been balancing it but I feel DD could eat more of certain things maybe. Probably the best time now to teach her to eat properly.

Does C cope with cooked milk - like lasagne sauce or that sort of thing? If she does then I think that you may have at least part of the answer - and then she can have dairy if it has been cooked (either as UHT or by you), which gives you a few more options.
Teaching her to eat well now is an excellent plan - just be prepared for her to sabotage that plan for a while in a few months time. My DS went from an eat-most-things 12 month old to the-only-vege-i-will-eat-is-peas 18 month old and is now slowly returning to a more orthodox diet!

hmmmm, last thing i made was chocolate custard (was DESPERATE for her to eat with teething). I think she handled it okay. I might have to try it again, well with a healthier option. Oh yeah and i discovered she hates sweets lol! Won't even eat pear because it's too sweet.