I received a few emails asking if I wouldn't mind sharing the email I sent
out today to various newspapers and media productions regarding the
problems surrounding Lipil. Here's the jist of what I sent:
Dear --,
I am writing to express concern over the misleading of new parents by
hospital workers regarding the use of Enfamil's "new" formula, Lipil. I am
a volunteer breastfeeding peer counselor, and have heard on numerous
occassions since the formula's release, false and erroneous information
about its safety and contents. I have had moms tell me that their
Pediatrician/nurse at the hospital told them that Lipil was the
formula "with breastmilk in it." The facts are quite contrary to this
belief, as, according to Marsh Walker RN, IBCLC, "...the fatty acids in
this new formula are nothing like what is in breast milk and pose a number
of known and unknown risks to the infants who consume them. The DHA
contained in Lipil is extracted from fermented microalgae and the ARA is
extracted from soil fungus. The breast does not use either of these items
to manufacture its fatty acids, and these sources are new to the food
chain. Each of the processed oils has its own fatty acid composition,
adding a number of fatty acids to formula that already are contained in
the plant oils mixed into the base formula. Human fatty acids are
structurally different from manufactured ones from plant sources. Human
fatty acids interact with each other in a special matrix. Just because
they perform as they do in human milk does not mean they will perform at
all in an artificial construct. One study has started to question if the
large fat supplementation of formula iscontributing to the obesity
epidemic (Massiera F. Arachidonic acid and prostacyclin signaling promote
adipose tissue development: a human health concern. J Lipid Research 2002;
published on line ahead of print November 4, 2002."
"Formula salesmen have walked onto hospital maternity units and removed
all of the standard formula, lying that it is no longer being produced.
This formula is more expensive than regular formula so the companies have
profited greatly by making sure that the lower priced formula is not made
available. How many more babies have to be made sick in order for the
health care system and government regulatory agencies to pay attention to
something put on the market to make money. The only thing these additives
do is help a company capture a larger share of the formula market."
Our health care professionals are being mislead, who are in turn
misleading parents. Marsha Walker adds that as a result, "NABA has
received many, many reports of babies being fed Lipil and experiencing
watery, explosive diarrhea. This needs to be reported to the manufacturer
and the FDA as a side effect or adverse event of this formula. This is so
similar to the selling of Olestra (the stuff in potato chips that prevents
a person from absorbing the fat which caused painful cramping and diarrhea
in many adults) that it is a scary comparison. We do not know if babies
lose fat, fat soluble vitamins or any other nutrients through the stool
when they consume this formula. As a matter of fact, we know very little
about this formula."
Please help by informing the community of this. I can help you find
contact information for quotes and facts that you might need from the many
reputable Physicians, Lactation Consultants and Nurses who participate in
an on-line forum called Lactnet, where this information is being discussed
by approximately 2000 lactation educators and professionals.
Sincerely,
Megan Allen
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