When I talk to parents, I explain the ARA & DHA & GRAS of formula like this:

ARA & DHA are naturally in your breastmilk.  They are some of the
ingredients that are supposed to give good neurological development to your
baby.

GRAS  means Generally Recognized As Safe. That's why the FDA lets the
formula companies put it in formula. Blue food dye falls in that category -
it's Generally Recognized As Safe. If the formula companies thought blue
formula would sell better they could ask for blue food dye to be put in it.

There are some studies that show that ARA & DHA enhance visual development
in babies - the strongest evidence is with preemies. One of the formula
companies [Ross]  also has studies that show that those additives aren't
needed and initially wasn't going to add ARA & DHA but their competitors did
it and they felt they would lose sales so they went ahead and did it too.

Nobody knows how much ARA & DHA should be in formula -or even if it should
be in there at all. The FDA didn't allow them to put it in because its
better for your baby they did it because they are GRAS. Like blue food dye.

The formula companies write their ads like this makes formula "so close to
breastmilk" and that's misleading. Formula is NOT close to breastmilk. Even
if these additives did everything the formula companies allude to (and we
don't know because they are doing the studies now after the formula has been
out on the market) among other things formula doesn't have anti-infective
properties. It contains antibodies to everything the mom is exposed to -
that's why generally babies who get formula are sick more often than
breastfed babies and when they get sick are sicker than their breastfed
counterparts. Breastmilk has living cells in it that clean up bacteria -
formula doesn't and that's why you have to throw the rest of the bottle away
when baby doesn't finish - unlike a bottle of breastmilk that the babysitter
can offer again. [many of my moms go back to work]. Your breasts make milk
that is age appropriate for your baby - it's right at one month, at three
months, at six months, at a year , at two years. Formula is all the same.
Breastmilk is different from the beginning of the feeding to the end of the
feeding when it has a higher fat content. They think that is part of the
mechanism that helps control obesity - the higher fat "dessert" helps babies
realize they're full. That's why formula fed babies are more likely to be
obese children and adults.

There's so much more to breastmilk.

Gail S. Hertz MD, IBCLC
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