Before anyone gets on my case, I was not saying that breastfeeding does
not help prevent allergies.  Of course, it does, but it is hard to
*prove*.

A recent study is helpful though:

Marini A, Agosti M, Motta G, Mosca F. Effects of a dietary and
environmental prevention programme on the incidence of allergic symptoms
in high atopic risk infants: three years' followup.

Anyhow, the formula companies take information from studies such as this
and let it be known that mothers can pass on antigens from their diet
into the milk and this may cause the baby problems.  At the same time
they ignore that if the baby gets allergic symptoms from a bit of beta
lactoglobulin, then what would happen if the baby got a few ounces of
cow milk formula.

But I think the formula companies' long term strategy is to do away with
cow and soy milk formulas altogether eventually, and market only
hydrolyzed formulas.  In this way, they will be able to use studies such
as the above to show that hydrolyzed formulas prevent allergies almost
as much as breastfeeding (without the fuss and bother of avoiding milk
products by the mothers).  And they will sell these formulas for much
more (carnation's formula is not completely hydrolyzed), and also claim
they help prevent diabetes.

This is typical of the marketing approach of formula companies.  Take an
advantage of breastfeeding and turn it around to use against
breastfeeding.  We see it in the occasional question that comes up on
Lactnet.  "The doctor says that if the baby is breastfed for over 6
months, the baby will not develop his own immunity".

Jack Newman, MD, FRCPC