adverse reaction to almarai "fresh" milk....any experiences? | ExpatWoman.com
 

adverse reaction to almarai "fresh" milk....any experiences?

230
Posts
EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 14 September 2012 - 05:36

my son, who turned 1 while we were in the U.S. over the summer, started drinking fresh cow's milk there (Vitamin D/Whole) with no problems whatsoever. we got back here last week, and i gave him the almarai full cream milk and he started vomitting from it each time he had it. i assumed it was too heavy for him and gave him the almarai low fat, and he had an upset stomach after having it each time...for 4 days. after understandably getting tired of changing soiled clothes and blankets 3 times a day, i bought rachel's milk, and he's had no reaction to that at all! first full night's sleep in a week!

i'm assuming there's something with the pasteurization process that is either not killing some enzyme or bacteria that he can't handle or it's not strong enough. the fresh milk here is so fresh it lasts 4 days, but back home, it's a couple of weeks because of the high pasteurization. and it doesn't say anything on the bottle, the rachel's says pasteurized and homogenized.

he can drink about a liter a day so the 22 aed a liter would add up real fast. will his body get used it to eventually if i keep giving the almarai? should i try boiling the almarai milk and seeing what happens as well?

anyone have any ideas or experiences?

1530
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EW EXPERT
Latest post on 21 September 2012 - 07:56
Thanks ladies. After much consideration, I started my lo on camels milk. It is the closest thing to nature here, much better than the UHT ones, and cheaper than the Rachel's which seems to be missing from the shelves! He's had no problems with it either. The dairy discussion is a controversial one. I came off dairy a few years ago and discovered that the human digestive system is able to digest sheep and goats milk & cheeses much more easily than the casein in cows milk. All sinuses, chest infections, flu disappeared. My best friend in Ireland is a nutritionist and only feeds her LO's goat and sheep products, and avoid dairy at all costs. She feels it is the main cause of colic (for breastfeeding mums - who drink milk) and dairy formula. There is as much calcium in a head of broccoli as there is in a glass of cows milk (for the "what about calcium?" questions I often get asked) I think camels milk is also much easier on the human tummy too. http://www.naturalchild.org/guest/linda_folden_palmer.html I wonder if children and infants can drink other milks, equally delicious and yet very nutritious? Avoiding soya milk of course, there is rice, almond, hazelnut, buckwheat, quinoa, oat and spelt milk available in Dubai. <em>edited by hilsbils on 21/09/2012</em>
332
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EW EXPLORER
Latest post on 21 September 2012 - 07:41
Na115, just to clarify, there is no nutritional difference between "fresh" milk and UHT milk except the temperature at which the milk is treated to kill the bacteria, have you checked the labels? The calcium on the brand of UHT we use is higher and the sodium is lower. I would also take into account other factors within the milk production company's supply chain which may interfere with the "freshness" of the milk. I'm glad you found camel milk to agree with your LO but for those of us using UHT, it's not necessarily a worse option than local milk.
230
Posts
EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 18 September 2012 - 07:22
Thanks ladies. After much consideration, I started my lo on camels milk. It is the closest thing to nature here, much better than the UHT ones, and cheaper than the Rachel's which seems to be missing from the shelves! He's had no problems with it either.
332
Posts
EW EXPLORER
Latest post on 15 September 2012 - 20:20
Hi, our DD has been on Elle & Vire UHT for months and is absolutely fine. I found the local milks made her constipated and were generally runnier than overseas brands.
230
Posts
EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 14 September 2012 - 14:13
thanks ladies. i was thinking it could be a bug at first, but it's too coincidental that it started with the milk and stopped when he didn't have it anymore. i only tried almarai, the noises that his stomach started making were so loud, i feel bad trying to try anything else. poor kid, has lost so much weight in the past week because of this. i was thinking what i should do if we're out, in case of an emergency...formula would be the best bet. i'll have to try it and see how he copes with the taste of it. i put this in my other post: As luck would have it, our Spinney's ran out of the Rachel's, so now we're trying the Elle & Vire UHT one....fingers crossed. Even though, I don't like the idea of UHT either. Grr...why does it have to be so complicated??
2782
Posts
EW EXPERT
Latest post on 14 September 2012 - 14:12
oops I didn't read that part, yes if the Rachel's was fine its prob not temp lactose intolerance. Maybe keep on the Rachel's for anther week then try the Almarai again? The pasteurisation process should be fine, you could try boiling it before giving it to him to be doubly sure, perhaps you struck a dodgy batch or maybe he did just have a tummy bug that has now gone.
488
Posts
EW EXPLORER
Latest post on 14 September 2012 - 13:44
But if he was fine on the organic milk it could be related to the fact it's not organic...if the Rachel's milk was fine...?still going lactose free for a wee while wouldn't hurt either.
2782
Posts
EW EXPERT
Latest post on 14 September 2012 - 13:08
it could be nothing to do with the brand, he may have picked up a bug and now have a temporary lactose intolerance (reasonably common after a tummy bug). Maybe try a lactose free milk for a month and then try again?
180
Posts
EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 14 September 2012 - 11:51
Have you tried other brands of fresh milk or only Almarai? It could be something that the cows have been fed that has come through in their milk like antibiotics - many antibiotics first side effect is gastric upset. Personally, I prefer to be cautious and continued with a follow on formula - Hipp Organic worked well for my baby and I think it would work out cheaper than buying fresh organic milk. After reading about pus in fresh commercial milk, I certainly would not be giving it to a young child. Just google it and see what is really going into our milk.
488
Posts
EW EXPLORER
Latest post on 14 September 2012 - 10:29
Hi there....when we moved to cows milk I only ever bought organic full cream milk. It is expensive but I'd rather cut back in other areas to be honest. My DS only has about 250 mls a day though, a litre is a lot...perhaps give him more water/less milk? You could try the organic UHT in the organic store which is cheaper as well perhaps....I have friends that do this. If your son is vomiting with the almarai I'm not sure boiling would help and it would be such a hassle! Perhaps some other ladies might be able to give you some advice with other non organic milks.
 
 

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