The KInd Life Community Forum

An update to this is that our naturopath said that the issue might be my breast milk. She said vegan breastmilk is well documented to not contain as high levels of fat soluable vitamins and fat as non-vegan milk. I'm wondering if I need to consume dairy so my baby gets the fat through my milk?

Thanks, Emma Marie,
I was just feeding him mixed grain cereal 2x a day, plus fruits and veggies cut up to give him practice using his pincer grip. Sadly, he doesn't like avocado (although I'm going to try getting creative and mixing it with other fruit). Since the latest weigh in, I have been giving him coconut yogurt, adding olive oil to his cereal, spelt bread with olive oil on it, daiya cheese cubes, and have pretty much stopped the veggies. That's great to hear that your daughter was smaller but that it wasn't a problem. Weigh in is next week and I know if he hasn't gained 1-2 pounds my dr. is going to send him for blood work and other tests (I don't know what those other tests are! Eek!).

Fish oil is not a good source. It has problems with contamination. Here are a few short videos to help you wit this issue.

http://nutritionfacts.org/video/is-distilled-fish-oil-toxin-free/ http://nutritionfacts.org/video/plant-based-omega-3-supplements-2/

http://nutritionfacts.org/questions/what-would-you-suggest-as-an-ideal-omega-369/

As a dietitian who works with kids 0-3 and a vegan you do NOT have to feed your child flesh products. If you are worried about omega-3 oils, you can get a micro-algae Omega-3. There are a few of them on the marketplace. Keep them cold. Is you naturopath vegan? They should know the problems of feeding anyone saturated fats. In fact, I might think about finding another practitioner. This person does not sound like they do a lot of research. Especially about vegans.

Since I do not know what your child eats, I'll give you a few tips for weight gain. First, is your child having problems or are they lethargic? If not, then let's get to some weight gain. Make sure they are having full-fat soy. NOT low fat anything. A great breakfast is fortified tofu, apple sauce or some other fruit mashed in with flax meal. I would NOT use flax oil in anything but the smallest container. It is very easy for the oil to go rancid. Get a cheap $10 coffee grinder, grind up flax seeds into meal and store in the frig in an opaque container. I have used pea or hemp powder for kids with metabolic problems. These are kids who have a hard time gaining weight. Also, make smoothies with kale, either raw or slightly steamed. A mango smoothie with silken tofu, kale, juice, flax meal, mango chunks and banana is terrific and kids LUV it. Green leafy veggies are another good, not fantastic, source for Omega-3. The fat in the tofu will help get the fat in the flax and greens into the digestive system.

We do not do oil because of how it can clog the inside of the artery and cause inflammation. Any oil can do this lard or olive.

Nut butters are great. Just put walnuts into a good food processor and let it run. Within 5 minutes you will have walnut butter. At 9 months, you can put it with anything you kid can eat. Full of Omega-3 oil. Make sure the walnuts are fresh and keep them in the frig

My best friend's son also lost weight at 10 months. She did the soy milk/tofu mash and her son is now a 14 year old vegan.

Please contact me if I can be of any further assistance. LaDiva Dietitian

Darlings, Like the no dairy, but oil is a problem.

I agree with Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn that oil, like the kind that comes in a jar or tub, clogs the interior of the arteries and veins. Studies show that any type of oil - olive or canola or lard or palm or coconut damages arteries. What it does is clog the endothelial cells. [Don't worry, there's no test]. These cells line the circulatory system. Any type of oil can be changed in the liver to LDL cholesterol. This type of cholesterol can embed itself into the lining of the artery, become a nasty substance and begin creating plaque. Also, any oils floating around the bloodstream can clog these cobweb thin cells and stop them from passing gas. In many situations you don't want to pass gas, but for your arteries this is really important. The gas that is emitted is Nitric Oxide. This gas blows up your arteries like a balloon to keep your circulatory system dilated and flowing. Frying foods, according to most vegan nutrition experts [T. Colin Campbell, Brenda Davis, Vesanto Melina, Julieanna Hever, Michael Greger, Caldwell Esselstyn, Neal Barnard], is the worst cooking method on the planet. I would keep that to special occasions.

As to mochi adding to the fat content of milk, it is the frying in oil which adds the fat content. So why not just pour the fat in the milk and eliminate and rancidity that may be creating in the frying process?

I have no idea what the problem with tofu is. In fact, studies show tofu ingestion for girls under the age of 15 is protective against breast cancer. Soy products are protective against dementia and prostate cancer. Those are studies I know just off the top of my head. Tofu has the highest amount of absorbable calcium in the Northern American marketplace. In Asia, tofu can have formaldehyde in it as a preservative, so I would not eat the yellow tofu in Indonesia. It is true that edamame is healthier than tofu because it is the whole bean and tempeh is healthier than edamame. That is due to the fermentation adding probiotics. However, I fail to find studies which show that tofu is a bad food. I very much respect Ayurvedic medicine, but just because its been around a long time doesn't mean everything about it is perfect. Ayurvedic medicine recommends lead ingestion as a solution to some disease states. I'm never eating lead.

As you probably have gathered, I'm a fact wonk. Here are a few SHORT videos explaining about soy. Dr. Greger only specifies tofu in 2 of them, but there is nothing negative about soy isolates or other urban food myths except for quantity. Of course, never fry it. For a stir "fry", I sear veggies, tempeh or tofu in a very hot pan, then add water. I don't use a lot of soy sauce due to the salt content.

http://nutritionfacts.org/video/does-tofu-cause-dementia/

http://nutritionfacts.org/video/tofu-vs-tempeh-2/

http://nutritionfacts.org/video/too-much-soy-may-neutralize-plant-based-benefits/

http://nutritionfacts.org/video/how-much-soy-is-too-much/

Why does your naturopath think you need Arachidonic acid? I get the essential fatty acid thing, but I wouldn't worry about it. If you are eating sources of Linoleic Acid [Omega-6], you will make all the AA you need. Vegan sources for LA are: nuts, seeds, seed oils, soybeans and soy oil. Small handful of walnuts or couple of teaspoons of walnut butter will do it.

Here are a couple of videos about that.

http://nutritionfacts.org/video/improving-mood-through-diet/

If you don't know how to make nut butters, here's a funny video:
http://www.youtube.com/user/LaDivaDietitian/videos?query=cashew+butter

Hope everything works out.

Thank you all for your input! He had his big weigh in yesterday. He has gained 1 pound, 5 ounces and has remained in the same percentile. He is almost 10 months and weighs 17lb, 5 oz. The doctor isn't as concerned because he didn't "fall off of the chart" as she was worried about. I certainly have a lot to think about/look into. I think I will stop adding oil to things and just focus on feeding him healthy foods. The soy issue is so confusing because I hear such conflicting evidence! The GMO and pesticide issues bother me more than the other health concerns people have identified about soy (so what we do use we buy organic). We tend to eat more beans/lentils than soy anyway. I'm still torn about the fish oil, as our family dr. told us to hold off on nuts until 18months to 2 years!!! That is really hard for a vegan to do. As far as being a fact wonk, that is great, but I find so many "facts" are countered with other "facts" and that they are all as clear as mud! Lol. Thanks again for all of your thoughts on this!