Poor G.  I don’t say this very often and he’s not a ‘woe is me ‘ kind of guy, but this time I really mean poor G.   With all his food restrictions and times when he could not have the mouth watering treats others were having he does not complain.  He accepts it and doesn’t dwell on what he can not have.  I really admire this about him and now I am pushing his good nature to the limit.  I have taken away the one food product he loves and consumes in mass quantities.  He went through withdrawal and I had to watch him go trough the DTs (depressed teenager).  I have taken away his soy milk.

Here’s why… Soy is very rich in phytoestrogens which may or may not alter the testosterone and estrogen levels in men and may cause ED (when I started to mention this to G he ran away covering his ears and yelling LA LA LA LA LA as I laughed at his discomfort because I am a sensitive mother).  I have not read the studies but I have asked a lot of questions.  I have asked dieticians, doctors and nurses about G’s consumption of soy milk and the possible effect of the phytoestrogens.  None had an answer for me, none knew what effect soy may or may not have on hormone dependent development.  So over the years I have always wondered, if menopausal women drink soy for the phytoestrogens then what could the possible effects be on a growing boy. G is thirteen and growing so fast I swear if he stands still you can see his bones stretching.  Along with this concern is the fact that G was drinking about 2L of soy milk in a day and a half.  That’s a lot of soy!

What alternatives are left?  There’s rice milk – tastes like drinking a watery bowl of rice.  There’s Tao – a potato based milk alternative but we can’t find it anymore.  There’s hemp milk – but it’s not fortified (not even with THC) so what’s the point of drinking it?  New to the market is coconut milk but you have to really like coconut to drink it.  So that leaves almond milk.  Of all the nuts G is allergic to, almond is not one of them.  Almond milk is vitamin fortified and a good source of calcium.

Almonds milk it is.  G is not too happy about it.  He’s drinking more water, which is a good thing and cheaper.  To ease the sting of having his favourite drink (actually favourite consumable period) taken away, I have been buying chocolate and vanilla almond milk as well as the regular (the regular is really bland but better to cook with).

So it’s water, almond milk and the occasional glass of juice for now and I really mean it when I say ‘poor G’.  I know he’s not happy about it, but until I get some answers about phytoestrogens and development I think it’s best to avoid massive consumption of soy.  He’ll probably thank me when he’s 25 and doesn’t have to buy a bra.