Regular milk wasn't part of my youth, so I'm not a big milk drinker. Years ago someone told me to try soy milk, but the thought of even licking a spoon dipped in soy milk made me nearly gag. I finally got the nerve to lick that spoon though, and now I'm hooked! What the heck is soy milk, and why is it so good? There's no way this stuff can be good for me - I feel like I'm having a glass of eggnog or a melted shake. I've been taking these disgusting huge horse pills that were making me PB. Now I mash them up, mix them in a cup of soy milk and chug it down no problemo.

Next question, why are there 50 different kinds of soy milk, and what are the benefits of it vs. milk. What kind should I be drinking?

Give me all you got on soy milk, please. Thanks

I had to laugh, I still think about the D-E-N-I-A-L story when my mother is driving me nuts. Just my two cents on soy though, if your going to drink it, make sure the brand your getting doesnt contain "Carrageenan" its added to many soy products and has been LINKED to breast cancer.

Leah:)

sOy fOOd!!! RockS jiji...

Well after much pausing and walking in front of the Soy section I bought 1/2 gl of Silk - vanilla flavored. I could not believe the taste It was and is yummy.. I then poured my self a cup after I tasted it and can you believe my youngest Cristian took it away and drank it all. So there I go around the house asking my other Son and Husband to taste it. Now on to the Rice Milk I'm feeling adventures:)

My boys love the vanilla flavored soy milk in their cereal every morning for breakfast!

The consenses about SOY vs WHOLE MILK from the Health conference I attended in March is that Soy is better than Whole Milk. Whole Milk the way it is processed these days is getting worse. Lots of hormones and other things added to the food they feed the dairy cows so they will produce more milk that it turns me off to MILK in general. The only way to ensure no additives is to buy Organic Milk from a trusted store.

On the flip side, Soy has been in the market so much that they are starting to screw with it now. So just be careful what you are putting into your bodies.

Read Read Read labels. The ingredients are listed in order of the most quantity first. For instant if Sugar is listed first then that is a predominate ingredient in that product and most likely should be avoided. If you can't pronounce the ingredients then skip over that product.

Haven't heard much on Rice Milk yet.

Soy milk has all the benefits of milk without the animal fat. That's basically why it's touted as being a wonder food. I'm not convinced, though based on DeLarla's experience I might just have to taste it. I've been repulsed by the very idea of soy "milk" for years!

I don't drink that much milk as a rule, so I don't think there's any big benefit from switching from my 1%. (Possibly my disinterest stems from MY powdered-milk days, courtesy of a non-custodial dad who never kept fresh milk for visiting children. I remember pouring mine off a 26th-floor apartment balcony!) Plus, there's some indication that in people with hypoactive thyroids soy is counter productive. (Off to read the other thread on that subject right now...)

I've been repulsed by the very idea of soy "milk" for years!

You sound like me! It just sounds bad! I guess I might have to try it too, although I too rarely drink milk.

*** hanging head low*** I get "hypo" and "hyper" thyroid confused. I have to take meds cause my thyroid is slow. Did I finally find a delicious milk product that I'll actually drink, only to learn it will hamper my weight loss?

Is whole milk the same as 1%? Regular milk is too thick, so if I drink milk it's only 1-2%.

Betty and Alex, you girls just have to try this stuff. Maybe I bought sweetened or something? But it's like drinking Carnation Instant Breakfast or eggnog. I can't believe how good it is. I started reading labels when I bought the stuff, but there are about 25 different containers of soy milk, which is why it was easier for me to ask here. The carton I bought had all sorts of health benefits from Protein to Calcium.

Whole milk is "regular milk" It's "whole milkfat". If I drink cows milk it's also 1 to 2%. I like whole milk sometimes, but it's just way too fatty, and skim is nasty to me.

I bought some of the Silk soy milk and thought it was alright. I'm going to try some other brands, and checkout the Ricemilk as well.

And yes, Hypo-thyroid is the one you have, where your thyroid is slower... hyper is fast... like a hyper little kid . But see what your doc says?

*edited for typos*

The reason hyper vs. hypo confuses me is because nearsighted vs. farsighted sounds backwards to me. I also have a problem with astigmatism. Do you have a stigmatism, or an astigmatism? They should drop the "a" and call it a stigmatism! People also get "fortunately and unfortunately" backwards all the time.

Therefore I have a slow thyroid, no confusion! Now I have to read up about how soy will affect my already slow 'roid.

I tried the 8th Continent Soy milk Light Vanilla flavored...tastes great but as it turns out I am allergic to it. It almost jepordized my surgery. I was adding the soy to my protein shakes to up my protein intake and ended up in the ER with my throat nearly swollen shut.:devious They gave me a dose of prednisone to clear the swelling. I went to see the Doc the day before my surgery was scheduled for to be sure my throat was in good enought shape to handle the anesthesia and was almost denied my surgery due to the weight gain from the prednisone and the mere fact that prednisone is a steriod and compromises your immune system.

I was left in the exam room waiting for 40 minutes to hear whether my surgery for the next day was still a go or not. The nurse prectioner came back in to find me a balling mess of tears and snot. :cry She asked me what was wrong and I looked at her as if to shoot her dead in her shoes. :dead I said well, you left me in here for 40 min. not knowing whether or not I am going to have my surgery tomorrow. I have jumped through a lot of hoops to get here -even jumped through a few hoops you guys forgot to tell me about and now here I sit wondering if I just paid for a surgery that I may not get to have. she laughed and said oh honey you're ok. the doc said he will see you tomorrow in the hospital. hugged me and left the room. :speechles

all that being said...just be careful if you have a tendancy towards allergies and you are still waiting to be banded.

I got some rice milk. It's good - sweet and very light. I prefer the rich, creamy soy milk, but I think I'll alternate between milk, rice milk and soy milk for variety and to be on the safe side.

My husband always makes fun of me because I mix everything up, so I'm using up the 2% milk by adding it to my new rice milk.

The bottom line is I still LOVE soy milk, which really shocks me.

I tried the Vanilla Soy Milk and did not care for it at all.

I put it in my 3 year olds sippy cup and he said yuck, I want white milk.....!! It was funny!

I hate vanilla so I just tried plain soy milk. I hate when people wear vanilla scented stuff, or vanilla scented candles. (Funny, I have no problem when it's baked in cookies though.)

I'm glad I found this thread! I refuse to drink animal milk anymore, although I will have a little on a bowl of Cereal.

I love with a passion the 8th Continent Soy Milk. Their website has recipes too, and not just smoothies.

I am planning on eating a lot of tofu once I get this band. I even have an old recipe for a delicious tofu chocolate mousse that will probably be helpful for the soft food stage.

Do we have a dedicated recipe resource somewhere on this site?