"The lactose-free formulas are truly a fad.... so there is NO rationale for
choosing a formula without lactose for infants.  NONE!"

...and as other posters have indicated, removing lactose may have serious
effects on the nutrition and brain development of babies.... seriously
under-researched, according to Naomi's post.

This is truly shocking...even more shocking than the marketing of formula
generally, which Maureen Minchin famously described as the most widespread
uncncontrolled experiment with infant health (paraphrasing). It makes a
mockery of manufacturers' claims to be constantly concerned with infant
health blah blah blah.

The level of information in the current UK ad for L****F*** (asterisks as I
am not being approving) in the professional journals is deplorable. This
one is in the health visitor's journal Community Practitioner:  'If a baby
has symptoms such as wind and diarrhoea, these may be caused by the lactose
present in routine formula'  it says. Every UK health visitor must hear
mothers worry about their babies'  wind several times a week...and for this
they're advised to recommend a clinically-unproven,  possibly unsafe and
certainly more expensive product.

IMHO, if this stuff remains legal, it should only be available on prescription.

Heather Welford Neil
NCT bfc Newcastle upon Tyne