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working link to Today's Parent article



 
 
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  #1  
Old September 19th 03, 05:02 AM
Corrine
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Default working link to Today's Parent article

Sorry about the previous link, this one should work:

http://tinyurl.com/nwf5


--
Corrine Mahar-Sylvestre
Quinte Doula Service
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~
~Women have known these things since the beginning of time...
we just forgot to tell each other for a while.~


  #2  
Old September 19th 03, 04:25 PM
Michelle Podnar
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Default working link to Today's Parent article

I read that article in last months magazine, and have recently got the
newest magazine, where there are probably about 10 replies (in the mailbag)
from formula feeders who blast the article and Today's parent for writing
it, and one BF who supported the article.

--
Michelle P
Ava Marie July 14, 2002
"Corrine" wrote in message
.. .
Sorry about the previous link, this one should work:

http://tinyurl.com/nwf5


--
Corrine Mahar-Sylvestre
Quinte Doula Service
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~
~Women have known these things since the beginning of time...
we just forgot to tell each other for a while.~




  #3  
Old September 20th 03, 05:17 PM
Fer
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Default working link to Today's Parent article

"Michelle Podnar" wrote in message
...
I read that article in last months magazine, and have recently got the
newest magazine, where there are probably about 10 replies (in the

mailbag)
from formula feeders who blast the article and Today's parent for writing
it, and one BF who supported the article.

--


I'd be curious to find out why it was blasted. Was there misinformation? I
found it quite interesting.


--
~~~Cheers!~~~
Jenn-WAHM-DS11-DD6-TTC#3

Michelle P
Ava Marie July 14, 2002
"Corrine" wrote in message
.. .
Sorry about the previous link, this one should work:

http://tinyurl.com/nwf5


--
Corrine Mahar-Sylvestre
Quinte Doula Service
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~
~Women have known these things since the beginning of time...
we just forgot to tell each other for a while.~






  #4  
Old September 20th 03, 05:25 PM
Dawn Lawson
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Posts: n/a
Default working link to Today's Parent article (not xposted)



Fer wrote:
"Michelle Podnar" wrote in message
...

I read that article in last months magazine, and have recently got the
newest magazine, where there are probably about 10 replies (in the


mailbag)

from formula feeders who blast the article and Today's parent for writing
it, and one BF who supported the article.

--



I'd be curious to find out why it was blasted. Was there misinformation? I
found it quite interesting.


Because those who chose to FF feel that bfders are elitist and
judgemental? That's how it always comes across. I suppose if you
haven't managed to give bfding a decent try, there is some feeling of
defensiveness?

There certainly didn't seem to be anything incorrect in the article.

That said, I find Today's Parent to be quite frustratingly superficial
and not a source I would rely on for information. (Tons of little
things, like this month's family morning article, showing at least 8 wk
old kittens and refering to the "newborn" kittens...and the clothes in
the muffin making scene don't make sense if they do that first....minor,
maybe, but it drives me nuts...)

  #5  
Old September 20th 03, 06:31 PM
Truffles
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Default working link to Today's Parent article (not xposted)

Dawn Lawson wrote:

That said, I find Today's Parent to be quite frustratingly superficial
and not a source I would rely on for information. (Tons of little
things, like this month's family morning article, showing at least 8 wk
old kittens and refering to the "newborn" kittens...and the clothes in
the muffin making scene don't make sense if they do that first....minor,
maybe, but it drives me nuts...)


That's why I stopped subscribing but I still visit the website.

--
Brigitte aa #2145
edd #3 February 15, 2004
http://www.babiesonline.com/babies/j/joshuaandkaterina/

"Readers are plentiful; thinkers are rare."
~ Harriet Martineau

  #6  
Old September 20th 03, 06:44 PM
Dawn Lawson
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Posts: n/a
Default working link to Today's Parent article (not xposted)



Truffles wrote:
Dawn Lawson wrote:

That said, I find Today's Parent to be quite frustratingly superficial
and not a source I would rely on for information. (Tons of little
things, like this month's family morning article, showing at least 8
wk old kittens and refering to the "newborn" kittens...and the clothes
in the muffin making scene don't make sense if they do that
first....minor, maybe, but it drives me nuts...)



That's why I stopped subscribing but I still visit the website.


I got the subscription along with a friend, as it was very inexpensive,
but I won't be renewing. I guess the crux of the matter is that to sell
subscriptions you have to please most of the people much of the time,
that that just doesn't leave a lot of room for fact ;-)

I have taken to tearing out the usually good recipies, and the
occasionaly provoking editorials and letting DS have the rest before it
gets recycled. Not really my idea of an effective use of resources.

Dawn

  #7  
Old September 21st 03, 06:29 AM
Larry McMahan
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default working link to Today's Parent article

In misc.kids.breastfeeding Corrine wrote:
: Sorry about the previous link, this one should work:

: http://tinyurl.com/nwf5


: --
: Corrine Mahar-Sylvestre
: Quinte Doula Service
: ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~
: ~Women have known these things since the beginning of time...
: we just forgot to tell each other for a while.~


Well, I still can't get to the damn page!

Larry
  #8  
Old September 22nd 03, 05:39 PM
Brandy Kurtz
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default working link to Today's Parent article-For Larry

Larry McMahan wrote in message ...
In misc.kids.breastfeeding Corrine wrote:
: Sorry about the previous link, this one should work:

: http://tinyurl.com/nwf5


: --
: Corrine Mahar-Sylvestre
: Quinte Doula Service
: ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~
: ~Women have known these things since the beginning of time...
: we just forgot to tell each other for a while.~


Well, I still can't get to the damn page!

Larry


I copied it for you to read, because it is very interesting!

Hot Milk
The unbottled truth about formula

By John Hoffman



• What is in formula?
• What's not in formula?
• How close is formula to breastmilk?
• What are they doing to improve formula?
• What are the risks associated with formula?
• Soy: who needs it?





It's a safe bet that most parents who use infant formula — and the
majority of Canadian parents do at one time or another — know little
about it. One reason is the difficulty in finding an unbiased,
unpoliticized source of information about formula. There are those who
would prefer parents didn't use it; they don't like to talk for fear
of promoting formula. Others openly promote it, offering vague and
sometimes misleading marketing info but few details. Still others try
to be more balanced, but in an attempt to avoid guilt trips, they
soft-pedal the differences between formula and human milk.*

The one thing all these sources agree on — at least they all say so —
is that "breast is best," which leads to much discussion and, at
times, debate about breastfeeding. All the while, formula sits quietly
on the shelf, relatively unscrutinized. We hear and read a lot about
breastfeeding, but little about formula. It's time to correct that
with some straight answers.

What is in formula? Back to top


Most infant formula comes from cow's milk (the exception is soy
formula), but a lot has to happen before it goes from the cow to the
can and, ultimately, babies. The short, blunt version is that the
manufacturing process literally takes cow's milk apart and puts it
back together again with some components left out and others added.

Cow's milk is very high in saturated fat, which human babies have
trouble digesting, and low in monounsaturates, the main fats in human
milk. So the first step is to remove all the fat. The resulting skim
milk is heated, then dehydrated if it's going to be in powdered form.
Then new fats, in the form of vegetable oil blends, are added along
with proteins, milk sugar (lactose) and a long list of nutrients,
vitamins and minerals that are required by federal regulation to
approximate their levels in breastmilk.

Cow's milk has three times as much protein as breastmilk. Calves need
this because they grow so quickly, but for human babies it would put
too much of a load on the liver and kidneys. Cow's milk also has a
higher proportion of casein to whey — the two kinds of proteins in
mammal milks — than breastmilk does. So formula manufacturers must
reduce the overall amount of protein and add extra whey to mimic the
protein balance found in breastmilk.

Other ingredients prevent the mixture from separating or going bad.
Some formulas have thickeners, and specialized formulas for premature
babies have enhanced levels of nutrients. Any newly developed formula
must meet a number of safety and nutritional standards, including
clinical evidence that it is nutritionally adequate to promote normal
growth.

What's not in formula? Back to top


Human milk is a complex substance which, even now, is not fully
understood. The list of known breastmilk components not present in
formula is too long to go into fully and includes enzymes, hormones,
growth factors and substances that fight infection and help develop
the immune system.

Simply put, human milk is alive, says James Friel, professor of human
nutrition at the University of Manitoba. "Some components are
biologically active. They play a role that goes far beyond nutrition,"
he explains. "For example, if you put an oxidant stressor — something
like cigarette smoke — in breastmilk, it resists the stressor, and
breastmilk does this better than formula even though formula contains
more antioxidants. That strikes me as odd and I wish I understood it
better." Friel thinks it might one day be possible to add biologically
active material to formula, but doesn't expect to see this any time
soon.

One important biologically active component of human milk is a protein
called secretory immunoglobulin A (sIgA), which has the ability to
bind to foreign substances (including harmful bacteria) so they can be
eliminated from the body. It lines the wall of the gut, which is one
of the main entry points for infection. Colostrum, the thicker milk
that a mother's body produces in the first few days, is especially
high in sIgA.

Formula contains these little fighters as well, although they're less
plentiful and they're bovine (cow) immunglobulins which are programmed
to recognize micro-organisms that cause disease in cattle rather than
humans, and operate in the bloodstream rather than the gut. Bottle-fed
babies still develop immune systems, obviously, but they miss out on
some of the early and long-term protection provided by sIgA.

The most immediate threat from lack of sIgA is during the first weeks
of life, when a baby's gut is vulnerable to infection. Advances in
hygiene and sanitation, plus ready access to treatment, have made
life-threatening gastrointestinal infections rare in Canadian babies.
But they still cause considerable illness and many infant deaths in
the developing world, where powdered formula is sometimes mixed with
contaminated water.

Another biological capability, present in breastmilk but not formula,
is the ability to alter itself. Breastmilk changes, both as the baby
grows and during each feeding. Foremilk, which is produced at the
start of each feeding, is relatively low in fat. As the baby sucks,
the level of fat rises, satisfying him and lulling him into that
blissful state a nursing mom loves to see. The fat levels of human
milk also change in the baby's second six months, when his growth rate
slows. In recent years new formulas, called follow-up formulas, have
been designed to more closely match some of the nutritional needs of
an older baby.

How close is formula to breastmilk? Back to top


Both are milks that can sustain fledgling human life, but the
similarity ends there. Nutrients in a man-made substance do not work
the same way as they do in a naturally occurring substance. As
dietitian Cristine Bradley, senior manager of medical affairs for
Indiana-based formula maker Mead Johnson, puts it: "Compositionally,
I'd call it apples to apples but functionally, it's apples to oranges
in many ways."

A couple of examples: Iron was added to formula in the 1980s. However,
the iron in formula is not nearly as well absorbed as that in
breastmilk, so formula must contain considerably more for a baby to
get the same amount.

Another example is nucleotides, which are the building blocks of DNA
and RNA and help strengthen the immune system. After they were added
to formula in the '90s, Bradley says, the expected immunity benefit
was not borne out. "There was some excitement about this for a while,
but after inconsistent research findings it was generally agreed that
this was not as promising as we first thought."

What are they doing to improve formula? Back to top


Although formula is still fundamentally different from human milk,
several significant improvements have been made in the past 30 years,
including fine-tuning to improve the balance of proteins and the blend
of fats. Manufacturers have added new varieties, including
lactose-free formulas, special formulas for premature and ill babies,
and hydrolyzed formulas with predigested protein, for infants with
digestion problems.

The most recent innovation is the addition of two long-chain
polyunsaturated fatty acids called DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) and ARA
(arachidonic acid). Both play a key role in brain development and it
has been theorized, though never proven, that the presence of DHA and
ARA in breastmilk may explain why breastfed babies score higher than
formula-fed babies on toddler mental development tests.

This past winter Canadian babies got their first taste of formula with
DHA and ARA (made from algae and fungus, respectively). The question
is, will these additives make formula-fed children smarter, as the
"A+" in one product's name implies?
Sheila Innis, a professor of paediatric nutrition at the University of
British Columbia, says the clinical research is mixed. "I would be
very cautious about making that statement for a healthy full-term
baby. In one small study, 18-month-old babies fed formula with DHA and
ARA scored higher as a group than babies fed standard formula, but
four other larger studies showed no difference. The evidence is much
clearer for premature babies, who are born without stores of these and
other nutrients."

What are the risks associated with formula? Back to top


There are risks associated with formula feeding. To help mitigate
them, parents need to fully understand them.

Improper mixing: Formula should be mixed exactly according to
directions. Some parents have made mistakes, sometimes because of
literacy or language problems. Some have over-diluted powdered
formula, which can lead to malnutrition, or failed to properly dilute
concentrated liquid formula, sometimes in a misguided attempt to
increase nutrients. The result can be dehydration and kidney problems.

Contamination: Formula manufacturers say their quality control and
product safety are the tightest in the food industry. Still, any
man-made food carries the risk of contamination. In recent years there
have been several small, isolated outbreaks of serious illness and a
few deaths (mostly premature babies or those with immune problems)
caused by a bacterium called E. sakazakii which was found to have come
from powdered formula. (The outbreaks prompted Health Canada to
recommend liquid formula — which is less likely than powder to be
contaminated — for bottle-fed babies who are immuno-compromised or in
intensive care.)

The take-home message is that powdered infant formula is not a sterile
product and must be handled and stored properly. Dawn Walker, a nurse
and former executive director of the Canadian Institute of Child
Health, says that one of the most common infant feeding questions she
hears is, "Can I reheat formula?" "The answer is no," Walker says.
"Once formula has been warmed up for use, if you reheat it, bacteria
growth increases exponentially. It's very risky."

Illness: Statistically, formula-fed babies are more likely to get
colds, ear infections, milk allergies, diarrhea, urinary tract
infections and bacterial meningitis. How much more likely? That's hard
to say. Obviously, few babies (formula fed or not) get meningitis, so
the risk is very low to begin with. With more common illnesses like
ear infections, other factors also increase the risk — such as whether
mom smokes or the child is in group daycare. One large study of two-
to seven-month-old babies found that the risk of ear infection
increased with the proportion of formula in the child's diet; those
fed entirely on formula were twice as likely (13.2 percent) as those
who breastfed exclusively (6.8 percent) to have had an ear infection
in the past month.

Bottle-fed infants are also at greater risk for becoming overweight;
they grow and gain weight more quickly and, on average, are less lean
than breastfed babies. One large German study of five- and
six-year-olds found a 4.5 percent rate of obesity among those who had
been bottle-fed, compared with 2.8 percent for breastfed children.
Since it's mom or dad who decides how much goes in the bottle and
when, a formula-fed baby may not learn to read his body's signals as
easily as one who nurses on demand. Stephanie Atkinson, professor of
nutrition in paediatrics at McMaster University, comments, "I'm
concerned that there may be some kind of metabolic programming going
on that may explain the increased rates of obesity in formula-fed
children."

Another concern is that formula-fed children may face an increased
risk for developing Type 1 diabetes. Some studies have found a higher
incidence in children who were exclusively formula-fed or who were
breastfed for less than three months. Other research has found that
early exposure to cow's milk increases the likelihood of developing a
type of antibody that can be found in children with diabetes. No clear
link has been established, but a major ten-year international study
was launched in 2002 to compare the rates of Type 1 diabetes in babies
fed standard formula versus those fed hydrolyzed formula.

When you add up all the risk factors, it sounds daunting. However,
trying to predict the likelihood that any one child will get any one
illness is impossible. Likewise, lower risk is no guarantee; some
breastfed babies get ear infections and some bottle-fed babies don't.
And let's face it: There are a lot of healthy adults walking around
who were raised on formula.

If we look at formula as a medical intervention, a way to nourish a
baby when breastmilk is not available, it stands up fairly well. The
problem is that this substitute became a competitor. And formula
simply can't compete with human milk. Here's how James Friel views it:
"We've been making formula for over 100 years and I've spent 20 years
of my life trying to make formula better. All the people I've dealt
with in the industry are honest, hard-working and dedicated. In spite
of that, we are still unable to make formula that comes very close to
human milk and, for me, that's a disappointment. We try to break human
milk down into its components and put it back together again, but it
really doesn't work that way."

Formula's greatest achievement may be that, although it still doesn't
really compare to human milk, it has become a reasonably safe
substitute that has improved over the years. Perhaps that is all it
ever can be.

Soy: Who Needs It? Back to top


About 15 percent of the formula sold in Canada is soy based. Soy
formula was developed because many babies had trouble digesting cow's
milk formula. In recent years concerns have been raised because soy
formulas contain high levels of isoflavones, a plant-based form of the
hormone estrogen. Isoflavones have been found to affect the fertility
and sexual development of rats. No clear link has been made to
problems in humans, although researchers are paying attention.

According to Stephanie Atkinson, professor of nutrition in paediatrics
at McMaster University, the real story about soy formula is that too
many parents are using it inappropriately. "Very few infants actually
need soy formula," she says. "Non-breastfed infants who have trouble
digesting regular formula would do better on the new hydrolyzed cow's
milk formulas [where the protein is predigested]. But many parents are
still switching to soy formula when there is a digestion problem. The
only sound indication for soy formula that I can think of would be a
non-breastfeeding mother who wants her baby to follow a strict vegan
diet."

* The terms human milk and breastmilk will be used interchangeably, as
will formula-fed and bottle-fed.


Originally published in September 2003


Copyright: "Copyright 2003. Todaysparent.com All Rights Reserved"


This story can be found at
http://www.todaysparent.com/baby/bre...807_101250_216
 




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