Is Rice Milk safe?

[Guest]

I undestand that brown rice is not OK for HFI's, but wonder about this product since I have a Lactose intolerance.
These are the ingredients of Rice Dream Enriched Original Rice Drink: Fitered water, organic brown rice (partially milled), expeller pressed high oleic safflower oil, tricalcium phosphate, sea salt, vitamin A palmitate, vitamin Ds, vitamin B12. "Sugars= 10 g"

Also, wondering about sugar content of Soy Milk...any help is greatly appreciated!

[azmary]

Duh, I didn't even know soy was on the avoid list because I have always become sick from it and have stayed away from it for years! I was simply entertaining the idea of re-introducing it.
Which "avoid" list are you refering to? thanks

[azmary]

Just a little update on what I have found so far from the website of Rice Dreams:

"Rice Dream is free from added sugar. Its mildly sweet taste comes from the complex carbohydrates in the rice itself. The rice starch is partially broken down into sugars - primarily maltose - by the action of enzymes, in a process that is very similar that which occurs during the digestion of cereals in the body. Maltose, a complex sugar, is digested and released in the bloodstream more slowly than simple sugars such as glucose and fructose, and it therefore provides a steadier, more sustained release of energy."

This was not enough info for me to be satisfied, so I have sent an e-mail to the company explaining the restrictions of the HFI diet. (There was no phone number given.) I'll post something when I receive more info.

[azmary]

OK, KJ, I better come out of the closet...yes, please call me Mary; no, I don't have a little one. I have registered as a member here, but was hesitant because, well, I don't really belong on the HFI site.
Here's my "coming out": I am simply an adult DFI, but with an extreme sensitivity to fructose. The best help I have received is from you folks, the hyper-vigilant, super-caring, passionately involved parents of HFI kids. I have never seen anything like it -

So, no, I don't have the serious condition/prognosis of HFI's and I certainly don't have the emotional situation of you loving, nurturing parents of HFI's. What I do have is a huge heart and compassion for each of you, along with a heap of gratitude for all that you have done for someone like me, a DFI learning to live with HFI restrictions.

Guess I'm glad to be totally honest. Please let me know if I don't belong here and I will stop posting...thanks and blessings! Mary in AZ

[azmary]

This may be a duplicate "thank you" for your warm welcome, Kristen! (don't know if my prior response was received.)
I do hope I can add more than compassionate support for every one of us on this journey. You are already feeling like old friends with stories I truly care about...bless you! mary in az

[benjamins mom]

Hi. Can anyone suggest a good calcium source for a child with fructose intolerance and a milk allergy? I'm wondering if water and vitamins is the best option. Any ideas? Thanks!!

[jenferg]

I give my soon to be 2 year old son goat's milk, as he has lactose intolerance. A little different than a milk allergy, but it is worth a try. We tried rice milk and other rice products and found that it made him awlful sick. All kids, even with HFI are different. Sorry it has been so long since I have written , but I check this site often. thanks to everyone for all the info. Jen F.

[Tammy]

I give my daughter "Care One" antacid tablets for calcium. She can have peppermint or spearmint flavor. I think this might be a "Giant" brand. Tums and Rol-aids all have something that isn't allowed. So I would suggest checking store brand from different stores in your area. One may be ok. And even different stores from the same chain as I have 2 Giant stores near me. One is ok, and one isnt.

[azmary]

Thanks for the feedback on milks and calcium sources. I had written the Rice Dreams customer service e-mail twice (they don't list a phone number), and I never received a response. So, I thought I would just try some regular ( not vanilla) and see...what was I thinking? Abdominal symptoms right away, but also it tasted a little too sweet and seemed thinner than skim milk. Just my experience that I do not want to repeat. mary in az

P.S. Jen F: Is your son highly sensitive to lactose? I was thinking about trying goat's milk and/or cheese, but I've wasted so much $$, time, and "sick time" trying new things, that I get very leary...

[Benjamins mom]

Thanks everyone for your quick and helpful replies! Avoiding fructose is hard, but it's the milk avoidance that makes things harder. I'll check into your ideas...and hope I can get him to meet his daily calcium requirement! :-) carrie

[Chelsea]

Benjamins said:

Avoiding fructose is hard, but it's the milk avoidance that makes things harder.

I remember all to well. When we started the diet we were also contending with a dairy allergy, however my dietician threw out the idea that perhaps she really wasn't allergic to dairy but that what we were thinking was allergies was actually the fructose bothering her. I tried hard to avoid fructose and dairy but the choices were so limited that after awhile I slowely reintroduced the dairy and she did fine. They didn't want me to do it right away because they wanted to see that she was responding to the fructose free diet. Is there a chance this could also be the case? I have read it's very common for HFI children to misdiagnosed with dairy allergies.

[Benjamins mom]

Thanks for understanding the frustration. He used to have instant diarrhea with dairy...I mean, at the table as soon as the food went in. So, we avoided it for close to 2 years. Then I slowly got him onto milk last summer and he was fine for a couple weeks. Eventually his tummy hurt all the time. I took dairy away and he stopped complaining/wanting to be held. A few months later (last fall) I tried small amounts again. He seemed okay but eventually he started getting this red rash around his lips. I played around with the dairy now and then to see what it was really from...thinking it could've just been chapped lips from the weather or something else. I've controlled all other variables and challenged him 3 times and it seems like the smallest amount of cheese gives him an exzema type rash around his lips. Of course all this challenging has made his body fight more against it...his rash now eventually bleeds and then scabs and looks awful for a couple weeks. So, I feel like I need to avoid all dairy again. He tolerates rice milk, but from all I read here I wouldn't want to be causing subtle damage to his liver or something and feel like I need to get him on another dairy source. Perhaps I can just cut back on his rice milk and add the calcium tablets?

[shep]

benjamins said:

Hi. Can anyone suggest a good calcium source for a child with fructose intolerance and a milk allergy? I'm wondering if water and vitamins is the best option. Any ideas? Thanks!!

[shepherd]

kirkamn has a calcium powder which you can bakewith or put in a drink. i put in my girls omletts this morning.
lisa long island new york

[CK]

I haven't been able to have dairy either, but have been doing fine with Goat Milk. It takes a bit to get used to, but now it is fine. The only rice milk I have seen either has sugar in it or is made from brown rice.

[charleslmims]

Rice Milk has always made me sick. I have been using WestSoy no Sugar Added and it has less than 1 gram of sugar (I understand it is natural Dextrose) I use it so I dont use half and half all the time on cereal. I eat shreaded wheat, oatmeal, malto meal and at Natural food stores you can get puffed millet, rice and wheat with no sugar. I can eat the generic cherios, less sugar, I thought I had a bad milk alergy, but I can eat real large curd cottage cheese, and real cheeses. Whey is the enemy and it makes me very sick as it is used as a food extenders. The problem is that those of use with HFI have to eat real food, like what was available after the last ice age. I find the Caveman diet helpful. I tried Adkins but it gave me a 1 cm kidney stone that almost killed me. Charles L. Mims