Dear Friends:
    I subscribe to a health newsletter. In today's edition, there is an
article about Infant Formula Fortification, where parents are encouraged to add egg
yolk, cream, cod liver oil, various nut oils and coconut oils to the basic
Nutramigen or Alimentum. The article starts about by praising the wonders of
human milk, then goes on to give a recipe for fortification.
    The website for this 'gem' is
http://mercola.com/2000/oct/22/infant_formula.htm.
    I am sharing the letter that I wrote to the authors.
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"Dear Dr. Mercola:
    I realize that this article seeks to improve the nutritional status of
formula. Your newsletter's goal is to educate the public to improve its health.
   I am concerned about the impact this article will have. Parents will get
the idea that they can make their own good formula by adding good things to the
product they have purchased. The article does nothing to promote
breastfeeding; it follows the pattern set by all formula advertising which is to begin by
praising human milk, and then going on to tout the value of a manufactured
product.
    The World Health Organization and the American Academy of Pediatrics
recommend exclusive human milk or exclusive formula feeding for 6 months. Adding
egg yolk, cod liver oil, cream, various nut oils, and coconut oil to a baby's
diet before 6 months can create a host of health problems, such as food
intolerances and gastrointestinal disease.
       I have also a concern about the recommendation to use a hydrolized
formula, Nutramigen or Alimentum. 90% of babies will not react to the highly
processed proteins in hypoallergenic formula; this is the definition of
hypoallergenic. The other 10% of babies will react. This reaction can include
anaphylactic shock because the processed proteins are small enough to permeate the
immature gut wall. Martin-Esteban ( "Evaluation of an extensively hydrolyzed
casein-whey protein formula in immediate cow's milk protein sensitivity" J Ped
Gastro & Nutr 1988; 26: 398-401) made the recommendation that the first intakes of
hydrolyzed formula should be given under medical supervision because of the
risk of anaphylaxis.
    I wish that you would take this article out of the newsletter as it has
the power to cause more harm to infants than the authors ever imagined."
   -------------------------------------------------------------------
    I also forwarded the website to Marsha Walker.
    warmly,
Nikki Lee RN, MS, Mother of 2, IBCLC, CIMI, CCE, craniosacral therapy
Adjunct faculty, Union Institute and University, Maternal and Child Health:
Lactation Consulting
Supporting the WHO Code and the Mother Friendly Childbirth Initiative

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