THERE IS NO REAL SUBSTITUTE FOR BREAST MILK

THE MILK LETTER
A Message To My Patients
     "MILK" Just the word itself sounds comforting! "How about a nice cup of hot milk?" The last time you heard that question it was from someone who cared for you–and you appreciated their effort. The entire matter of food and especially that of milk is surrounded with emotional and cultural importance.
     Milk was our very first food. If we were fortunate, it was our mother's milk—a loving link, given and taken. It was the only path to survival. If not mother's milk it was cow's milk or soy milk formula–rarely it was goat, camel or water buffalo milk.
     Now, we are a nation of milk drinkers–nearly all of us–infants, the young, adolescents, adults and even the aged. We drink dozens or even several hundred gallons of milk a year, and add to that, many pounds of dairy products such as cheese, butter, and yogurt.
     You may be surprised to learn that most of the human beings that live on planet Earth today do not drink or use cow's milk. Further, most of them can't drink milk because it makes them ill. There are students of human nutrition who are not supportive of milk use for adults. Indeed, of all the mammals, only humans--and then only a minority, continue to drink milk beyond babyhood.
     Who is right? Why the confusion? Where best to get our answers? Can we trust milk industry spokesmen? Can you trust any industry spokesmen? Are nutritionists up to date or are they simply repeating what their professors learned years ago? What about the new voices urging caution?
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     I think that an answer can also be found in a consideration of what occurs in nature & what happens with free living mammals and what happens with human groups living in close to a natural state as "hunter-gatherers." Our Paleolithic ancestors are another crucial and interesting group to study. Here we are limited to speculation and indirect evidences, but the bony remains available for our study are remarkable.
     There is no doubt whatever that these skeletal remains reflect great strength, muscularity (the size of the muscular insertions show this), and total absence of advanced osteoporosis. And if you feel that these people are not important for us to study, consider that today our genes are programming our bodies in almost exactly the same way as our ancestors of 50,000 to 100,000 years ago.
     Invariably, the mother of any mammal will provide her milk for a short period of time immediately after birth. When the time comes for "weaning", the young offspring is introduced to the proper food for that species of mammal. A familiar example is that of a puppy. The mother nurses the pup for just a few weeks and then rejects the young animal and teaches it to eat solid food. Nursing is provided by nature only for the very youngest of mammals...
     Can mother's milk increase intelligence? It seems that it can. In a remarkable study published in Lancet during 1992 (Vol. 339, p. 261-4), a group of British workers randomly placed premature infants into two groups. One group received a proper formula, the other group received human breast milk. Both fluids were given by stomach tube. These children were followed up for over 10 years. In intelligence testing, the human milk children averaged 10 IQ points higher! Well, why not? Why wouldn't the correct building blocks for the rapidly maturing and growing brain have a positive effect?
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     So don't drink milk for health. I am convinced on the weight of the scientific evidence that it does not "do a body good." Inclusion of milk will only reduce your diet's nutritional value and safety. Most of the people on this planet live very healthfully without cows' milk. You can too. It will be difficult to change; we've been conditioned since childhood to think of milk as "nature's most perfect food." I'll guarantee you that it will be safe, improve your health and it won't cost anything.
You can read this entire letter at: http://www.notmilk.com/kradjian.html (Robert M. Kradjian MD, The Milk Letter- A Message To My Patients, Breast Surgery Chief, Division of General Surgery, Seton Medical Centre, Daly City, CA).

INFANT OVERDOSE RISK WITH LIQUID VITAMIN D
     The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is warning of the potential risk of overdosing infants with liquid vitamin D. Some liquid vitamin D supplement products on the market come with droppers that could allow parents and caregivers to accidentally give harmful amounts of the vitamin to an infant. These droppers can hold a greater amount of liquid vitamin D than an infant should receive. "It is important that infants not get more than the recommended daily amount of vitamin D," says Linda M. Katz, M.D., M.P.H., interim chief medical officer in FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition.
     Vitamin D promotes calcium absorption in the gut and plays a key role in the development of strong bones. Vitamin D supplements are recommended for some infants—especially those that are breast-fed—because deficiency of this vitamin can lead to bone problems such as thinning, soft, and misshaped bones, as is seen with the condition known as rickets. However, excessive vitamin D can cause nausea and vomiting, loss of appetite, excessive thirst, frequent urination, constipation, abdominal pain, muscle weakness, muscle and joint aches, confusion, and fatigue, as well as more serious consequences like kidney damage. Get more information at FDA Consumer Health Information (www.fda.gov/consumer).
INFANT OVERDOSE RISK WITH LIQUID VITAMIN D. FDA Consumer Health Information, U.S. Food and Drug Administration. June 2010. (Accessed 13 Sept 2011) http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm214343.htm

MILK FOR BABIES

by William Sears MD and Martha Sears RN

Let me be clear—there is no real substitute for breast milk. It is simply the best food for your baby. It provides all the nourishment they require and builds immunities protecting your baby against developing certain infections to which they will be exposed...Using human milk as the nutritional standard, formula manufacturers follow a basic recipe that includes proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, and water. They combine various ingredients so that the nutrients in artificial baby milks follow the same rough proportions as human milk...Cow's milk contains most of the nutrients necessary for adequate infant nutrition, although not in quite the proper proportions.

To be fair, formula companies have produced milk for babies which, at least on paper, seems to resemble the real thing. Formula is definitely better than it used to be. But on close inspection, what the factories make doesn't quite measure up to what mom makes. It is nearly impossible for artificial baby milk manufacturers to make a milk with nutrients even close to what mothers' bodies can make.

We do know that there are significant health differences between formula-fed and breastfed infants. Human milk is a live substance containing live white blood cells and immune-fighting substances, and is a dynamic, changing nutritional source, which daily (sometimes hourly) adjusts to meet the individual needs of a growing baby. Formulas are nothing more than a collection of dead nutrients. They do not contain living white cells, digestive enzymes, or immune factors. In terms of human history, they are a new experiment.

The bad news is that each change in formula is really just a new experiment. Breast milk is rich in brain-building omega 3's, namely DHA and AA; breast milk automatically adjusts to the infant's needs; and levels decline as a baby gets older. Fat is the most important nutrient in breast milk. Human milk contains lipase; an enzyme that the body uses to break down fats in food so they can be absorbed in the intestines. Human milk is rich in cholesterol; and is nearly completely absorbed.

The absence of cholesterol is another reason for concern in artificial baby milks. The absence of cholesterol and DHA, vital nutrients for growing brains and bodies, may predispose the child to adult heart and central nervous system diseases. While formula fat does contain the two essential omega acids (linoleic and linolenic), formula does not have any DHA, the fatty acid vital for brain development.

Up until recently, researchers believed that infants could make DHA from these essential fatty acids as adults do, but recent studies have shown that formula-fed infants don't have the same high DHA levels that breastfed infants do. Babies may need a supply of DHA ready-made. This biochemical infant quirk has caused a lot of controversy among formula manufacturers as to whether or not to add DHA. As it stands now, DHA precursors, linoleic and linolenic acids, are there, but they are not as biochemically active as they are in breast milk.

William Sears, MD is Associate Clinical Professor of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, University of California, Irvine, CA. Martha Sears, RN is a "professional mother" and a registered nurse, author, lecturer, and an advocate for breastfeeding. http://www.askdrsears.com

THE VITAMIN D STATUS OF BREAST-FED INFANTS
     When a mother does not have sufficient levels of vitamin D, her lactating secretions (mother’s milk) tends to have very low levels of vitamin D–usually not enough to meet the needs of the baby exclusively breastfed. The effect of sunshine on vitamin D is particularly important to exclusively breast-fed infants who are not receiving supplements, and the vitamin D content of breast milk is low.
     In 1986, University of Cincinnati Medical Center epidemiologist Dr. Bonny Specker and her Medical Center associates, bioengineer Neil Edwards, research assistant Sean Lyon and director of neonatology Dr. Reginald Tsang investigated the effect of sunlight exposure on maintaining vitamin D status in infants.
     The group found that vitamin D concentrations in the blood of infants correlated directly with the degree of sunshine exposure, and that infants were able to maintain vitamin D concentrations within normal ranges with sunshine exposure of only 30 minutes a week when wearing diapers or two hours of sunshine exposure a week fully clothed.
Specker B, Edwards N, Lyon S, Tsang R. Vitamin D Investigation. NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, Virginia. 1986

PERHAPS EVERYBODY DOES NEED MILK?
     Milk and dairy products in general, have been demonized for years as common allergens, high-fat foods, and sources of hormones, pesticides, and other xenobiotics. But perhaps that cow has a silver lining. Just the fact of being overweight can result in increased oxidative stress and inflammation. In a recent study, two diets were tested to determine whether either diet had an effect on markers of inflammation and oxidative stress in overweight or obese individuals.
     A group of 20 individuals (10 overweight - BMI 25-29.9; 10 mildly obese - BMI 30-34.9) were randomly assigned to a dairy-based diet group (1,200-1,400 mg calcium daily) or a soy-based diet group (500-600 mg calcium daily). The dairy was provided primarily by three milk-based smoothies daily, while the dairy-free soy group consumed three soy-protein smoothies daily.
     The study was a crossover design, so after 28 days of consuming one diet and another 28 days for a washout period, the diets were switched. Caloric content of both diets was the same. Markers of inflammation and oxidative stress were measured at baseline and on days 7 and 28 of each diet period. The dairy-based diet resulted in a significant decrease in markers of inflammation and oxidative stress, while the soy diet did not exert any significant effect.
     The dairy, but not the soy, diet also resulted in an average 20-percent increase in adiponectin, a protein hormone that helps decrease obesity and related conditions, including insulin resistance, fatty liver, atherosclerosis, and type 2 diabetes.
Based on the research of Michael B Zemel, Xiaocun Sun, Teresa Sobhani, and Beth Wilson. Effects Of Dairy Compared With Soy On Oxidative And Inflammatory Stress In Overweight And Obese Subjects. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 91, No. 1, 16-22, January 2010. http://www.thorne.com/practitioners/breaking_news.jsp