Questions about switching to soy milk from cow's milk?!

I gave up milk a few months ago (I'm 15), and I've actually only experienced positive "side effects". My face cleared up a little bit, and I don't feel and bloated as often. You just can't drink it excessively. I drink about 2-3 8oz glasses a day for vitamin B12.
I'd recommend trying Silk Soy milk. I buy for Lite Vanilla flavor and use that for everything, including cereal and just drinking. The plain flavor isn't really the greatest, in my opinion. Their chocolate absolutely amazing!
At first it is going to taste a little different. Soy milk is thicker, a little darker, and obviously has different flavor. But you get used to it. It took me about 2 months and now I don't see a difference.

I switched my son to soy formula from a milk-based formula when he was a baby, and one major side effect I noticed was that he was more "plugged up" than ever before. As with anything, if you are worried about side effects, you could always try half soy milk with half cow's milk and sort of ween your body off the cow's milk.

We drink Silk Organic (I'm allergic to preservatives), but my husband also buys Silk Vanilla every now and then, and he loves it.

Congrats on the switch ... we use soy milk in our smoothies, on cereal, and in a lot of cooking and baking so that we can get more protein in our diet. It is definitely a healthy switch!

You shouldn't have any problems drinking soy milk (in moderation), unless you have a soy allergy. Start with regular flavor. You can use it to replace milk in everything from cereal to cooking.

Personally, though, I prefer a milder milk alternative like almond or rice milk. They serve the same purpose, but have a much less pronounced flavor. Soy milk always tastes strongly of oats to me.

no side effects unless obviously youre allergic to soy. but if you were you would probably know it already.

silk is good. get vanilla. there is protein in soy milk you know.

vegetarian that doesnt drink cows milk cuz it grosses me out, but im totally hypocritical because i eat cheese.

You could drink soymilk or almond milk. The best brand for soymilk is edensoy milk (this is the less processed, you would also want to try and get unsweetened, also almond milk is very good too, get pacific unsweetened or almondbreeze.

Chocolate alpro soy milk is just gorgeous. It has a lovely wheaty taste.
Most of it tastes a bit like sugary water to me though. I thankyou for not writing what disgusted you about cow's milk!

Ex vegan and lactose intollerent.

silk is better then almond;silk has a little darker color then cows; it will also take a little getting used to the taste,but u will

There are a lot of side effects of drinking soy milk unless you consume a very small amount of it. Soy milk is very high in phytoestrogen, which is the plant equivalent of estrogen. It acts the same in your body as normal estrogen. If you regularly drink soy milk, you're regularly consuming more estrogen then your body needs -- it's like taking estrogen steriods from a doctor. Would you do that? No. And you shouldn't drink soy milk, either.

If you are a boy and you put a lot of estrogen in your body, you could grow breast tissue, called gynecomastia. (Form boobs)

If you are a girl and you put more estrogen in your body then it needs, you will start having issues with your period, and you increase your chances of getting breast cancer.

Also, you might be interested in knowing that the human body cannot digest soy unless it is fermented.

If you consume only small amounts of soy milk, it's probably fine for you unless you have an allergy or something.

Please read the Vegetarian Myth, a book. You are 14 and at a time in your life where your body is seriously growing and changing. Depriving it of substances it needs (meat, mainly), you're doing yourself damage in the long run.

Good luck.