One is Child, which I was impressed with until I got to page 72 of the Sept
2004 issue:

" DID YOU KNOW?
How did babies survive on breast milk alone throughout evolution if, as we
now know, breastfed infants need extra vitamins and iron in their daily
diet?  The noted infant nutritionist Samuel J. Fomon, M.D., professor of
pediatrics at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, says that because people
historically lived outside most of the tme, infants got iron from contact
with the soil and significant vitamin K by ingesting the bacteria in their
unsanitary environment.  Also, unlike babies who are raised indoors, they
were exposed to much more sunlight, which converts body chemicals into
Vitamin D."

""I think this is really misleading since he doesn't address the iron issue
in
the first part of the paragraph, but because he's mentioned as an expert
it's almost validating it.""

I think it is not just misleading, but not true, either!  Surely this doctor
knows that not everyone in the past lived in either the desert or the
tropics!  Many cultures existed for millenia, in areas that had very little
weather that would be appropriate to take a baby out into, especially not
with enough of them exposed to get much sun or dirt on them.  For example,
in Europe, there were groups who kept everything inside with them, including
their livestock, throughout the winter.  Even now, in Europe, it is typical
for parents to keep their babies bundled up, even in warm weather.  In
Germany, when people took their babies outside in prams, about all you saw
was their eyes, because they would be wrapped in heavy clothing and covered
with a feather comforter.  My German neighbor had a baby born the same day
as our adopted son, Thomas, and it was interesting seeing the difference in
the way we handled things.  The first time I saw anything more than their
baby's eyes, outside, was the month that the two babies turned a year old.
It was a rare, nice spring day, and probably about 60 degrees Fahrenheit.
Thomas was outside playing in the dirt with his brothers, in jeans and a
sweater.  The German baby was pushed by her Oma, in a stroller, wearing a
hat, gloves, jacket, and a blanket wrapped around her legs.

I think alot of northern Europeans might take exception to the idea that
their ancestors lived in unsanitary conditions, too!  Yet, staying with
Germany as an example, the totally breastfed babies who did not get exposure
to the sun, soil, whatever, certainly managed to grow up strong, healthy,
and intelligent!

It is too bad that credentials can give the impression that whatever someone
says is correct.  The doc who said these things may be an expert in infant
nutrition, but I doubt that he knows much about history or sociology!

Darillyn

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