Good, Better, Best: What Should I Put on My Cereal?
***Note: I apologize to all those who have sent me unanswered email questions. I am trying to get to them all. FYI, I prioritize what is blogged over what is emailed. 🙂
Dear GreenSmoothieGirl: What should I put on my cereal?
Most people put fractionated (skim, 1%, or 2%) antibiotic- and steroid- and hormone-treated cow’s milk on their cereal. Then, they figure out that dairy isn’t good for them and they switch to soy milk, another fractionated/processed, highly estrogenic and thyroid-suppressing food. (A great man named Ezra Taft Benson who held the highest agriculture post in the U.S. said, in the 1950’s, way before research showed this more definitively, that any time we alter our food source, it will be to our detriment.) I recommend you avoid both of these options altogether. Even if you’re not a milk drinker, you may wonder what to put on your cereal.
Good: (1) Rice Dream (still a bit processed but made from brown rice and unsweetened) or almond milk from the health food store, or (2) raw, whole dairy milk
Better: Raw goat’s milk (an especially good option for young children)
Best: Homemade nut “mylk” (put 1 part nuts like cashews, almonds, or pumpkin seeds, soaked overnight and drained, with 4 parts water in your BlendTec and puree until smooth, optionally with a tsp. of vanilla)
Why is raw goat’s milk better for you than dairy? First, you usually find it directly from the people milking the goats, not huge dairies using many chemicals. It’s raw, not homogenized or pasteurized, thus retaining its enzymes. It has a smaller fat molecule than cow’s milk, so it permeates the human semipermeable membranes rather than causing the body to produce mucous to flush it out. And its enzyme and amino acid profile is more similar to human milk. Babies weaned onto it do better than with dairy or soy.
Nut mylk avoids animal proteins altogether, and if you soak the nuts overnight, they are germinated and “live,” containing an abundance of enzymes to add to your breakfast cereal, not to mention good omega 3 fatty acids and a wealth of vitamins, minerals–and insoluble fiber, if you don’t strain it (just shake before using).
Posted in: Recipes, Whole Food
so would it be best to wean a baby onto nut mylk? i know nuts are a highly allergenic food
also- where does the meyerland goat milk in the stores fit in? ( on the good, better, best scale)
me again- i’ve been curious about what “food group” the alternative milks fit in to, in my daily calorie allotment. I don’t count calories, but rather I try and get a varied diet. So would rice milk count as a bread serving or as a milk/milk alternate serving? Would nut milk count as a meat/meat alternate serving serving or a milk serving?
I weaned all my babies onto raw goat milk (you may have to pound the pavement a bit to find a source, but you can usually find one). Meyerland is pasteurized and processed, but I used it when my children were little and my source “kidded” the goats for a couple months out of each year. I would not wean babies onto nut mylks as a staple. Just want to be clear that I am not recommending it as a formula.
I recommend abandoning the “meat” and “bread” food group ideas, since they’re underpinned by bad science paid for by the meat and dairy industries, and generally everyone using those “pyramids” are promoting excesses of animal protein and refined grains. BUT, nuts have both protein and fats, and rice milk of course is a grain.
Is there a “food pyramid” picture you can recommend? I have seen this one:
http://www.med.umich.edu/umim/clinical/pyramid/
Is it about right?
I like that one pretty well, like John Fuhrman, M.D.’s even better (because meat and refined foods are represented as even a smaller, more occasional part of the diet). I can’t find a web representation of it to bring over.
Hi Robyn,
I was wondering about goat’s milk for infants, particularly as my husband and I are adopting and breastfeeding will be difficult to say the least. Do you think it would be a good alternative to formula for a newborn or should I look more into breast milk banks? Also, my sister may be willing to freeze some of hers for me, but her family doesn’t eat very well (pretty typical SAD), do you know if that would matter very much considering the benefits of breast milk over other things? Any ideas would be appreciated, thanks!
In response to Laughtercastle, I have read that you can actually get your body to produce some milk even if you have not had a baby. Dr. Sears talks about it in his Baby Book. Best to you and your new little one.
I am also dying to know what Robyn will say about which is better…..breast milk from a woman with an awful diet of only processed foods and no vitamins or formula from the store……because can you really give goats milk to a two week old baby as the baby’s only form of food?
Laughtercastle,
Congrats on your impending arrival. If you are healthy there is no reason you cannot produce breast milk. Any woman with intact breasts (no surgery that cut the milk ducts) can lactate. I know of several adoptive mothers that breastfed exclusively for months. I also met a mother who gave birth but who had lost both breasts to cancer. Her mother (age 55) started pumping and produced breast milk for her grandchild!
First of all, call the local hospital and ask to talk to a certified (important) lactation consultant. Then find out about renting a breast pump (you need hospital grade). There are books out about adoptive mothers breastfeeding. Do not give up on yourself without starting! Fenugreek is especially helpful at increasing supply after your milk comes in. Any female can produce breast milk even without being pregnant. It is just persuading our pituitary gland that we need to lactate. Thinking about your baby and pumping should be a good start. Make sure you get a lactation consultant who you are comfortable with. I am keeping my fingers crossed for you. You can do it!
Peds Nurse Practitioner
I am still wondering what is better….breastmilk from a woman with poor diet or formula from the grocery store. I have had surgery which cut the milk ducts. Can a brand new baby have goats milk only? Even the pediatricians say not to give cows milk to babies.
For Anonymous,
I am a well versed breastfeeding advocate and in my opinion, no matter the moms diet….breast is best (it even says so on the cans of artificial baby food, aka formula)!!
Check out LLL (La Leche League), WHO (World Health Organization) and your Pediatrician (if they are going by their own “book” they will have to tell you that breastfeeding is a far superior choice to artificial baby food, aka formula, goat milk and/or homemade artificial baby food and that it’s recommended for the first 12 month or longer).
Breast is best and you can lactate, relactate or induce lactation if you’ve never been pregnant. The information is out there. Just look for it.
If you are truly unable to provide breastmilk for your babe (which can happen if there is surgery to the milk ducts, though sometimes milk can be produced), you can look for moms to donate breast milk (there is a yahoo group that facilitates this) to you or purchase breast milk through a milk bank (there is a milk bank in Northern California).
LLL (La Leche League) is a great place to start and there are volunteers and meetings all over the world….they are a great resource and they are free!!
Best of luck,
Leigh
Does anyone know how long nut milks will last in the refrigerator?
Here is John Fuhrman, M.D.’s food pyramid:
Here is John Fuhrman, M.D.’s food pyramid: http://www.drfuhrman.com/library/foodpyramid.aspx