Cow's milk in place of baby formula?

jack27

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There's a debate raging on twitter about Ray's recent statement to Patrick Timpone that the best alternative to breastfeeding is cow's milk. The main objections seem to be the potential for iron deficiency and the risk of intestinal bleeding. The former seems baseless, but the bleeding issue seems to be a real concern as the studies I've seen indicate that, especially in the first three months, cow's milk definitely causes increased loss of blood in the stool, although the studies are unclear about just how much of a problem this is. It's not like Ray to make a statement like this without knowing what he's talking about. I think the pertinent question is whether his recommendation holds true for infants younger than six months, and especially younger than three months. Would appreciate any info people can share.
 
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There's a debate raging on twitter about Ray's recent statement to Patrick Timpone that the best alternative to breastfeeding is cow's milk. The main objections seem to be the potential for iron deficiency and the risk of intestinal bleeding. The former seems baseless, but the bleeding issue seems to be a real concern as the studies I've seen indicate that, especially in the first three months, cow's milk definitely causes increased loss of blood in the stool, although the studies are unclear about just how much of a problem this is. It's not like Ray to make a statement like this without knowing what he's talking about. I think the pertinent question is whether his recommendation holds true for infants younger than six months, and especially younger than three months. Would appreciate any info people can share.
So then how did babies survive in the olden days when a mother had no milk or even died?
 

Nebula

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My grandma raised her newborns completely with evaporated milk as recommended by her doctor, because she had a lot of trouble nursing. Not sure if she diluted or added anything to it. They turned out alright, but who knows it could have caused some health issues. I guess it made it easier for babies to assimilate after being broken down with high heat and pressure. I don’t know if I’d trust modern evaporated milk anymore to use. Then there’s getting the right ratio of carbs to protein and electrolytes right which differ between humans and cows and other factors. Human newborn kidneys have a harder time with high protein and non-isotonic electrolytes.
 
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Phaedrus

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I was curious about this too with all the news headlines around the formula shortage. I looked up some common formula brands, and the ingredient list is usually just some combination of dried nonfat milk, vegetable oil, and vitamins/minerals. We know the vegetable oils to be toxic and the vitamins to be potentially allergenic and/or contaminated with heavy metals, so full fat cow’s milk would seem to be a much safer alternative when breastfeeding isn’t an option. Another possibility is goat’s milk. Apparently it’s closer to human breast milk in terms of nutrition or digestibility? I think it has some prebiotic enzymes that more closely mimic human milk compared to cow’s milk if my memory is correct.
 

Phaedrus

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I was curious about this too with all the news headlines around the formula shortage. I looked up some common formula brands, and the ingredient list is usually just some combination of dried nonfat milk, vegetable oil, and vitamins/minerals. We know the vegetable oils to be toxic and the vitamins to be potentially allergenic and/or contaminated with heavy metals, so full fat cow’s milk would seem to be a much safer alternative when breastfeeding isn’t an option. Another possibility is goat’s milk. Apparently it’s closer to human breast milk in terms of nutrition or digestibility? I think it has some prebiotic enzymes that more closely mimic human milk compared to cow’s milk if my memory is correct.
Forgot to add an anecdote from my mom’s best friend. This is back in the ‘70s. She married a Greek man and they had a baby that was quite colicky and underweight, and the breast feeding wasn’t going well. The Greek grandmother insisted the new parents go take a few weeks to travel the Greek islands so mom could catch up on sleep, and that she would watch the baby. Apparently the family had goats and so grandma bottle-fed the baby raw goats milk - when they got back, the baby was fattened up and no longer colicky!
 
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I'd rather give cow's milk than the poison known as formula
Yeah look at the usual ingredients in baby formula, I posted in the beginning of this thread!

 

Dr. B

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I was curious about this too with all the news headlines around the formula shortage. I looked up some common formula brands, and the ingredient list is usually just some combination of dried nonfat milk, vegetable oil, and vitamins/minerals. We know the vegetable oils to be toxic and the vitamins to be potentially allergenic and/or contaminated with heavy metals, so full fat cow’s milk would seem to be a much safer alternative when breastfeeding isn’t an option. Another possibility is goat’s milk. Apparently it’s closer to human breast milk in terms of nutrition or digestibility? I think it has some prebiotic enzymes that more closely mimic human milk compared to cow’s milk if my memory is correct.
goats milk is A2, cows milk isnt always A2, i dont know if theres more reasons
There's a debate raging on twitter about Ray's recent statement to Patrick Timpone that the best alternative to breastfeeding is cow's milk. The main objections seem to be the potential for iron deficiency and the risk of intestinal bleeding. The former seems baseless, but the bleeding issue seems to be a real concern as the studies I've seen indicate that, especially in the first three months, cow's milk definitely causes increased loss of blood in the stool, although the studies are unclear about just how much of a problem this is. It's not like Ray to make a statement like this without knowing what he's talking about. I think the pertinent question is whether his recommendation holds true for infants younger than six months, and especially younger than three months. Would appreciate any info people can share.

why does cows milk cause the bleeding, is it because it has more casein? human breast milk is mostly whey or something? in that case couldnt you use a whey protein powder mixed into orange juice or some fruit juice or coconut water
 

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