<[log in to unmask]> wrote:

[client considering liver-based homemade formula]
> This is made from  
>     *   3-3/4 cups homemade beef or chicken broth,  
>     *   2 ounces organic liver, cut into small pieces  

That's a dealbreaker immediately. The risks of eating husky and polar
bear liver are well known (fewer than 100 g of polar bear liver can kill
an adult). Some don't know that those risks occur with the livers of
more common domesticated animals as well, although these risks are very
well established in the literature. 

One can eat as much beta-carotene (plant vitamin A) as one likes without
a problem, but the animal form (retinol/retinyl esters) will poison you
in overdose, and tolerances with liver ingestion are low. Two ounces of
liver a day is enough to put an infant that age at an unacceptably high
risk of vitamin A toxicity. I took pains to calculate this back when my
toddler developed a liver paté habit, and found that what I considered a
safe dose for him was absolutely no more than one ounce per day, with
plenty of breaks, and that was with chicken liver (beef is higher) and a
toddler much larger and more resilient than a tiny infant barely out of
the newborn period.

Liver has been suggested as a supplement in comp feeding programmes in
disadvantaged areas, especially where vitamin A deficiency is common. In
those programmes, they talk about feeding 2-3 _grams_ a day (less than
one-tenth of an ounce), to children not tiny infants, and about the
risks of retinol poisoning over that:

<http://www.fasebj.org/cgi/content/meeting_abstract/22/1_MeetingAbstract
s/1096.8>

The risk is non-theoretical. Here are some case reports for you on
vitamin A poisoning due to pediatric liver ingestion, including a
fatality:

<http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/abstract/65/5/893>
"Chronic Vitamin A Intoxication in Infants Fed Chicken Liver "
PEDIATRICS Vol. 65 No. 5 May 1980, pp. 893-896

"Twin female infants were fed 120 gm of chicken liver homogenate daily
for four months. They developed irritability, vomiting, and bulging
anterior fontanelles. Computed tomograms of the brain revealed enlarged
ventricles in both infants and dilated subarachnoid spaces in one.
Plasma vitamin A concentrations were elevated. After all sources of
vitamin A intake were stopped, the infants recovered without sequelae.
The chicken liver homogenate contained 36,000 IU of vitamin A per 120
gm. Since infants often receive 4,000 units of vitamin A daily from
fortified milk and vitamin supplements, they probably cannot be fed 60
gm of chicken liver safely more often than once weekly."

<http://www.jpeds.com/article/S0022-3476%2887%2980109-9/abstract>
"Severe hypervitaminosis A in siblings: Evidence of variable tolerance
to retinol intake"
The Journal of Pediatrics Volume 111, Issue 4 , Pages 507-512, October
1987

"A 2-year-old boy had signs and symptoms of chronic hypervitaminosis A.
A course of increasing severity led to eventual death. A younger brother
later had similar clinical features. Chicken liver spread containing up
to 420 IU/g vitamin A was the likely source of intoxication. "

There are more I can't get to without an institutional subscription.
(And many more about children who were fed high-dose vitamin A
supplements by "health-conscious" parents.)

Even chronic subclinical toxicity is a concern, as it's been shown to be
associated with bone abnormality.

>     *   5 tablespoons lactose1  
>     *   1/4 teaspoon bifidobacterium infantis2  
>     *   1/4 cup homemade liquid whey (See recipe for whey, below)  

Isn't this a massively dairy allergic infant? Why do they think the baby
will tolerate whey?

>     *   1 tablespoon coconut oil1  
>     *   1/2 teaspoon unflavored high-vitamin or high-vitamin fermented cod
> liver  oil or 1 teaspoon regular cod liver oil3  

More liver; more high-dose vitamin A being shovelled into fragile
infants not remotely able to deal with it. I'm boggling here.

>     *   1 teaspoon unrefined sunflower oil1  
>     *   2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil1  
>     *   1/4 teaspoon acerola powder1,2  

These infant formulae scare me. Why not try an elemental formula, if
they really have exhausted all other options?

Lara Hopkins

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