There are a few foods that you should not make at home for your infant; one of these is Homemade Formula. As of late, we have had a few questions and suggestions that we post a recipe for Homemade Formula.
While there have been many recipes floating around the internet and spread by other sources as well, wholesmebabyfood.com will not post these recipes. Please do not try to make your own homemade formula.
"Homemade formulas should not be used." says Nick Duy, assistant to the director in FDA 's division of regulatory guidance. "Homemade formulas based on whole cow's milk don't meet all of an infant's vitamin and mineral needs. In addition, the high protein content of cow's milk makes it difficult for an infant to digest and may put a strain on the baby's immature kidneys. Substituting evaporated milk for whole milk may make formula easier to digest, but it is still nutritionally inadequate when compared to commercially prepared formula. Use of soy drinks as an infant formula can actually be life-threatening (See accompanying article).".
Commercially prepared formulas are regulated by the Food and Drug Administration as a food for special dietary use.
"Infant formulas are the most heavily regulated food that there is," says Wallingford. "cow's milk protein that has not been cooked or processed is difficult for an infant to digest. In addition, the high protein and electrolyte (salt) content of cow's milk may put a strain on an infant's immature kidneys. Substituting evaporated milk for whole milk may make the homemade formula easier to digest because of the effect of processing on the protein, but the formula is still nutritionally inadequate and still may stress the kidneys."
Please also keep in mind that soy "milk" is a soy based beverage. Soy beverages are NOT milk in the traditional sense and unless fortified, do not contain proper nutrients for growing infants, toddlers and children. For more information about Soy and Rice Milks
These beverages should NEVER be confused with soy based infant formulas and should not be given in place of infant formulas. Infant formulas are nutritionally fortified, and contain the complete sets of vitamins, minerals, fats and proteins that are necessary for infants.
Timeline of the Development of Commercial Infant Formula
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Cow-milk-based formulas
1867 – Formula contained wheat flour, cow milk, malt flour, and potassium bicarbonate
1915 – Formula contained cow milk, lactose, oleo oils, and vegetable oils; powdered form
1935 – Protein content of formula considered
1959 – Iron fortification introduced
1960 – Renal solute load considered; formula as a concentrated liquid
1962 – Whey:casein ratio similar to human milk
1984 – Taurine fortification introduced
Late 1990s – Nucleotide fortification introduced
Early 2000s – Long-chain polyunsaturated fatty-acid fortification introduced
Noncow-milk-based formulas
1929 – Introduction of commercially available soy formula (soy flour)
Mid 1960s – Isolated soy protein introduced
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"Human-milk substitutes existed before the modern age of formulas. Because some infants could not be fed by their mothers, humans adopted two methods for substitute feedings. The most obvious was the utilization of a surrogate mother (e.g., wet nurse), who would feed the child human milk. The alternative was to feed the child milk obtained from another mammal. The most frequently used sources were the cow, sheep, and goat (Fomon, 1993). Until the end of the nineteenth century, the use of a wet nurse was by far the safest way to feed infants who could not be breastfed by their mothers. As general sanitation measures improved during the latter part of the nineteenth century, and as differences in composition between human milk and that of other mammals were defined, feeding animal milk became more successful. However few infants survived until infant formulas based on cow milk with added water and carbohydrate were introduced"
Read more
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Resources & Learning More:
FDA - Breast Milk and Formula
Feeding Baby - Nature & Nurture
History of Infant Formula