I agree with Heather. I think the biggest difference between the
substitute we were raised on (evaporated milk and karo syrup) and
commercial AIM is money--money for research (utterly and completely
biased, of course) and even more money for marketing.
As to the Weston Price recipe, before anyone jumps on the Sally Fallon
bandwagon, I suggest they read her writing about breastfeeding. She
thinks very little of LCs--thinks we deceive mothers in just about
every way possible, and is very disparaging of LLL (although I think
she is right that LLL downplays the dangers of environmental toxins and
the SAD). She believes that anyone who eats a diet that she does not
approve of should not breastfeed. She believes breastfeeding is
important for a few months only and that after the first few months,
all women should be taught to make her formula. She believes her
recipe is actually better than human milk when women have what she
considers to be deficient diets. She believes that insufficient supply
is very common and she tells women who have fears about having enough
milk to get a Lact-aid and feed her formula--never does she suggest
that the mother might actually have or be able to make enough milk. She
says that women should not feel guilty if their milk "dries up" b/c
their babies will grown strong, healthy and smart on her formula. She
thinks it is "unrealistic" for women to bf exclusively and implies that
her formula is the panacea for all of these mothers.. She states that
all babies, breastfed or not, should receive egg yolk beginning at 4
months. She states that the goal should be healthy children, not
"breaatfeeding for the sake of breastfeeding".
What is difficult for me is that while I think her opinions are very
dangerous, I also agree with her that Western women have generally very
poor diets and that maternal nutrition matters very much in the
quaility of a mother's milk. I also agree with her that insufficient
supply is commonly linked to poor maternal nutrition.
As to Janice's friend's response: I am surprised that a nutritionist
would not know that nutriutional yeast is an excellent source of folic
acid, so this formula is not in any way deficient in it or B vitmains
at all. It also would have sufficient EFA's, vitamins A and D and amino
acids, so long as the milk is from grass-fed cows (so the theory
goes--and I would bet that compared to commercial AIF, this would be
true). I am also surprised that she would worry about coconut oil,
since it is such a healthy saturated fat and is an ingredient in
commercial AIM. I'd be a lot more concerned about the soy oil in the
commercial product.
I guess I would argue that the kids being raised on commercial stuff
don't seem to be faring any better than those of us raised on the
home-made stuff. So, I can only wonder if those who advocate that
commercial is safer than an organic home-made product aren't just as
influenced by the AIM manufacturers' marketing as are all the docs who
we complain are influenced by the drug-companies to promote their brand
of any given drug? I doubt I know a single holistic care provider who
would advocate the commercial stuff over a home-made formula. If I were
in a position where I needed milk, I would use donor human milk, but I
can see why moms who prefer not to give their babies synthetic food
would rather make their own.
Jennifer Tow, IBCLC, CT, USA
Intuitive Parenting Network LLC
From: Janice Reynolds <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Re: homemade formula
<snip>a Public Health Nutritionist and Chair of
the Breastfeeding Committee for Canada's Nutrition Committee - Johanna
Bergerman.
The 3 concerns about homemade formula she has, are:
1. the protein content. The cow's milk protein has to be modified,
through
heat treatment, for the baby to digest it more easily. It is a very
difficult process to heat treat milk to modify the protein. She would
have
serious concerns with a homemade formula that is not heat treated. If
homemade formula HAD to be given (no other options), a recipe that used
evaporated whole milk would be much better than raw milk.
2. essential nutients are missing, especially Folic Acid.
3. Iron - must be in an absorbable form.
So I read Johanna the recipe listed on the Weston Price Foundation
website.
http://www.westonaprice.org/children/recipes.html
She noted that it has no folic acid. The added fats are good, but it is
unknown what effects these sources (coconut oil) would have on the baby.
bifidobacterium infantis is good. There is NO folic acid listed, and
this
is a CRITICAL nutrient.
It is NOT heat treated, so protein is not modified for baby to digest.
There is no added iron.
In her opinion, she would strongly recommend use of a commercial
formula,
rather than homemade.
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