Introduction
After the outburst of 2008 China's Milk Scandal, when local milk powder tainted with melamine caused the death of 6 babies1, parents in Hong Kong and China lost confidence in domestic infant formula products. Many of them turned to foreign brands and are much more concerned about additives used in infant formulae2.
This article discusses DHA, a common additive used in imported infant formula products. Manufacturers claim that DHA could improve infants’ mental development and enhance their intelligence. Does DHA really make our babies smarter?
About DHA
DHA stands for docosahexaenoic acid, a type of omega-3 fatty acid3. DHA is a major component of the retina and human brain. It is naturally found in fish oil, algae, fungi and breast milk. Many scientific studies have demonstrated that DHA could lower risk of cardiovascular diseases and Alzheimer’s disease4.
Is DHA necessary for babies?
Peng Xiaofang and Cheung Hon-Yeung from the City University of Hong Kong worked together studying functions of DHA in biological membranes. It was reported that DHA is a structural component of membranes of important neural structures4. And within the first 18 months after birth, infants have rapid growth in brain size, resulting in an approximately 30-fold increase in total DHA content accumulated in brains. 4 Therefore infants require sufficient DHA for brain growth during this period.
Several authorities recommended daily intake levels of DHA. For instance, the World
According to above laws, Mad-About-Milk organizers have a legitimate argument regarding the requirements for selling milk produced out-of-state to the state of California. Furthermore, requiring out-of-state producers who want to sell milk in California must meet the California fluid milk standards violate the interstate commerce act. It is the federal regulation of business to prevent any unfair business practices among its industry. California fluid milk standards create state trade barriers which interfere with commerce between states. Even though, California has the right to set their own standard, but they cannot ban federal standard milk from entering the state. Allowing out-of-state milk producers to sell their product in California
California Fluid Milk Standards: Do the Mad-About-Milk organizers have a legitimate argument regarding the requirements for selling milk produced out-of-state to the state of California? Does the regulation violate the interstate commerce act?
more beneficial for infants than formula? The evidence that is available implies that the WIC
The purpose of the experiment was to understand and determine the influence of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) on the spinal cord, and how the dietary Omega-3 (n-3) a fatty acid could counteract these effects. Not much is known about the effects of TBI on motor centers in the spinal cord. We are now starting to understand that TBI reduces the expression of some molecules that are critical for synaptic plasticity of the spinal cord.
In a research article “Breastfeeding and early white matter development: A cross-sectional study” by Sean Deoni, Douglas Dean, Irene Piryatinsky, Jonathan ‘O Muircheartaigh, Nicole Waskiewicz, Katie Lehman, Michelle Han, and Holly Dirks (2013) two questions are addressed: Do breastfed infants grow up to have a higher IQ than formula-fed infants? Is the duration of
Scientists have conducted numerous studies that show little or no benefit to an infant’s development from adding DHA to infant formula. Overall, research results are inconsistent and inconclusive. Meanwhile, the formula companies have advertised aggressively in an attempt to convince parents that their DHA formula provides the same nutrients, and therefore the same benefits, as breast milk. There is no proof that DHA containing formulas are any better than other infant formulas, let alone similar to human milk. Infants who are not breastfed are at increased risk of numerous infectious diseases including bacterial meningitis, bacteremia, diarrhea, and respiratory tract infections to name a few. They are also at increased risk of sudden infant death syndrome in the first year of life and are more likely to develop Type I and Type II diabetes mellitus. As adults,
In addition to the cardiovascular system, ɳ-3 fatty acids are important for brain development and function. The brain, one of the most vascular organs of the body, is composed sixty percent of fat. It requires ɳ-3 fatty acids to make flexible and fluid multitasking responses (Sears 62). Research indicates that people with the highest blood levels of ɳ-3 DHA had best brain performances and higher brain test scores (Bauer). Brain analysis indicated that people with various nerve diseases, including multiple sclerosis and macular degeneration, consumed high amounts of ɳ-6 fats, but low amounts of ɳ-3 fats. Consuming sufficient amounts of ɳ-3 fatty acids make the three important brain structures healthier: brain cells (neurons), nerves extending from neurons (axons), and connections at the end of neurons (synapses) (Sears 64).
Part of the North America diet is to drink eight glasses of milk a day. Who would ever think that such a habit could cost your life? In 2008 that is exactly what happened in China, four babies died and 53,000 fell ill. How does a parent feel, when on the most important aspects of helping your child grow is to give them milk for calcium and instead it kills your baby.
Is it really possible for a child to be more intelligent if breast fed? Through careful examination and many research studies, breast milk has been considered a factor in highly intelligent students. Am I saying that if you do not breast feed your child that they are most likely to have a low intelligence level? Of course not, I’m just saying that it
Unlike what we have been thought, milk is unhealthy and it will cause many different diseases in human’s body. Even though that they try to limit the bacteria in raw milk before and after milking, but they just can lower the level of bacteria, they can’t remove all of it, and by drinking milk we transfer diseases to our body (Garedew et al, 2012, p 950). Before milking they will sterilize cow’s breast and also they will inject antibiotics to lower the level of bacteria in cow’s body. They also use sterilize milking equipment so the bacteria available on the equipment will not reach cow’s breast and directly milk. With all those sterilized processes they still need to do the pasteurization process because of
We know that formula supplementation that is not medically needed may change baby’s hunger drive, altering milk supply. This may lead to a decrease in milk supply and may cause difficulty with breastfeeding and the likelihood that a new mother will continue exclusively may be affected. Formula may pose risks to the baby as well, such as changing the natural stomach lining, increased risk of allergies, fussiness at breast, increased spitting-up, and the process of learning to breastfeed may be disrupted due to the change in suckle (Mori, Khanna, Pledge, & Nakayama,
Though mothers may need breast milk for their newborns right away, they may be poisoning their baby with bad milk if being sold from an unknown person. “But the FDA has expressed concern about milk-trading websites, warning consumers that the milk offered there carries an increased risk of contamination by drugs or disease, including HIV” (qtd. in “Brown”). If mothers get the milk they want to buy tested by professionals, it would be safer for the baby. The mother providing someone else with the milk may be involved with drugs or have some type of sickness, leading to the breast milk very unhealthy to the newborn. Mothers should be very cautious with making decisions like this while involving their own baby.
An infant who is breastfed receives added health benefits compared to a child who is formula fed. In the first few days after birth, the breast milk is comprised of protein, vitamins A and E, and antibodies which help protect the infant from infection. After the first few days, the mature breast milk contains fats and cholesterol, which are essential for the growth and development of the infant’s nervous system, eyes, and brain. It also contains micronutrients calcium and magnesium, which are beneficial to the infant’s growth (Thompson et al., 2010).
A lot of these problems seen in formula feed babies are due to the fact that the particular composition of the formula doesn’t suit their digestive system. Breast milk consists of the optimum proportions of fats, carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins, minerals and water. It is extremely digestible for a new-born baby because the milk is naturally refined to perfectly suit the baby’s digestive system. The milk also contains growth factors such as, epidermal growth factor (EGR) and insulin-like growth factor. The epidermal growth factor works by helping to prepare the lining of the gut to absorb the nutrients from the milk consumed. Insulin-like growth factor is believed to be one of the primary factors regulating early growth and development. Breast milk also contains essential fatty acids that are not present in most formula milk products. The two essential fatty acids present in breast milk are docosahexaenoic acid and arachidonis acid. Both of these play a vital role in optimal development of the central nervous system, intellectual and visual development in babies. Furthermore, one of the most prominent advantages associated with breast feeding over formula feeding babies is that, breast milk naturally changes composition to correspond to the stage of development of the infant. For example, colostrum is the name given to the first milk produced post-delivery. It has an abundance of white cells and antibodies, it also contains a
The ruling came in the backdrop of samples of milk collected randomly by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India in 2011 revealed the large-scale sale of adulterated milk across the country.