Re: Nursing and pregnancy with iodine?

[Guest guest]

Katharaine: I am also breastfeeding - my daughter is 19 months and I

think my 4.5 yr old is done ;-) My ND got me started taking Lugol's

3 months ago or so. Based on the reading I have done so far, I am

comfortable taking 2-4 drops of lugols a day depending on how I

feel. I have been sending my ND articles from this group and he told

me yesterday (he's 65) that years ago this is the #1 thing

Naturopathic doctors would use to treat the majority of patients- he

said it's amazing how you forget about it over the years. AFter he

read one of the articles the other day he said it jogged his memory

and all came back to him about how important an issue this is!!! He

also told me I can up my dosage (which I already had ;-))

Another amazing remedy for the body is WATER. The Body's Many Cries

for Water is an amazing book. People (including me) always sluff it

off and say yeah, yeah, whatever- give me somethign to make me feel

better. Honestly I have more energy then you can possibly imagine

when I drink 10 glasses a day of water - I believe I am definately

dehydrated (based on what I have read in this book) which would also

make sense since I've been breastfeeding for almost 5 yrs now

straight and not drinking near enough water. It can take 3 months or

more for me to become rehydrated. Each person is different - in that

you take your weight and divide in half for ounces. I'm about 120lbs

so 60 ounces a day- the other critical factor is balancing it with

salt. In this book it talks about how important proper salt balance

is with the water.... he also says before you go out and drown

yourself drinking your required intake of water to gradually work

up; to it and make sure your kidneys can handle it... anyhow between

the water and Lugol's I have felt better then I have in over 10 yrs-

maybe even 20. I feel like a 'fun' mom and wife again and am eager

to keep exploring things!

Anyhow- this is just my experience and I don't know nything about

Armour... just Lugol's. People say it tastes bad- I figure in my

partying days years ago (before I got it together) I did shots of

booze that tasted way worse then Lugol's and I paid $4 a shot for it

and we called it FUN. ROFL

This is an interesting article on breastfeeding and iodine:

http://www.helpmythyroid.com/iodine.htm

<snip>

Can Iodine be used while a woman is pregnant?

In Japan, the average Japanese woman is eating 13.8 mg of iodine per

day while the average American woman consumes 100 times less iodine

per day (approximately 0.138 mg per day). For iodine

supplementation, I have been prescribing Iodoral, a product made by

the Optimox Corporation. Iodoral contains a 12.5 mg combination of

iodine/iodide per tablet. Iodine is very crucial in the first three

years of life from the development of the fetus inside the womb

until two years after birth. In the development of a child's IQ, I

feel that it would be very advantageous for the mother to supplement

her diet during pregnancy and, if she is nursing the child, for the

first two years after pregnancy.

<end snip>

hth

wendy

canada (who should be packing not yakking on ! LOL)

>

> Hello.

>

> This is my first post. Last year, I was diagnosed with multi-

> nodular goiter shortly after giving birth to my third child. I am

> currently seeing a Broda doc in Michigan (Dr. Woodhouse)

but

> more and more things about him, both as a person and as a health

> care practitioner, are making me uncomfortable. I am in my third

> month of Armour, just beginning an increased dosage of 3 grains.

I

> recently learned about iodine and asked about taking it at my

> appointment this week.

>

[Guest guest]

,

> Dr said that iodine is a potent anti-toxin and that I absolutely

can

> not take it while I am pregnant or nursing, as the body will dump

> everything on the baby. Is this true? He says I must totally

wean

> the baby before I take iodine, and then I could do whatever I

wanted

> to with iodine, but he gave no specifics or guidance about it.

I'm not an expert on this but Dr. ' advice seems pretty

reasonable to me. From reading many posts on this list it is clear

that many, many people supplementing with iodine experience detox

reactions, possibly from fluoride, bromide and mercury. I wouldn't

want that getting into breast milk. I would think a moderate amount

of iodine might be good, but I personally would stay away from the

strong stuff when pregnant or breast feeding.

> Dr.'so plan is that I am to practice birth control until he

> determines I am healthy enough to have another child. He quoted

me

> a range of 3-5 years on Armour, which I interpreted to mean 3-5

> years before I could have another child. This is ENTIRELY

> UNACCEPTABLE to me. We want to get pregnant as soon as possible.

Dr. ' advice makes sense to me here too. Healthy primitive

cultures waited at least 3 years between children, and they were

already healthy. That apparently is the amount of time it takes for

a healthy mother to recharge her body after the drain of pregnancy,

to ensure the next baby is also healthy.

Just one person's thoughts. Best wishes,

Sharon

[Guest guest]

>From: " sharflin " <sharflin@...>

>

> > Dr said that iodine is a potent anti-toxin and that I absolutely

>can

> > not take it while I am pregnant or nursing, as the body will dump

> > everything on the baby. Is this true? He says I must totally

>wean

> > the baby before I take iodine, and then I could do whatever I

>wanted

> > to with iodine, but he gave no specifics or guidance about it.

That's an interesting concept. Yes, I would worry about the detox.

However, it is imperative that the baby has iodine. It's a required

nutrient, so you may not want to mega dose on it, but you want to take

enough to be adequate for the baby's needs.

Lack of iodine in the extreme causes cretinsim. In milder forms, it causes

developmental problems not as obvious.

Skipper

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[Guest guest]

Dr. ' advice makes sense to me here too. Healthy primitive cultures waited at least 3 years between children, and they were already healthy. That apparently is the amount of time it takes for a healthy mother to recharge her body after the drain of pregnancy, to ensure the next baby is also healthy. Just one person's thoughts. Best wishes,Sharon I would also strongly recommend you consider spacing your children 3 years apart or so. We have 3 kids. We weren't natural health educated when we conceived them. But child #1 is the healthiest by far. #2 (who was born 19 months later, and conceived while I was still nursing #1) has multiple food allergies, and more crowded teeth, as well as crowded sinus passages, and a deviated septum. Child #3 (conceived 24 months later) has 23 food allergies, and has been sick almost constantly. Please

read up on Dr. Weston Price's research regarding the pre-pregnancy health/diet of the mother and it's effect upon the health and welfare of the child. I dearly love our children, and to see them suffer so many health issues which might have been prevented with better spacing (and nutrient replenishment by me before pregnancy), is heart-breaking. Also, my husband comes from a family of 14 (YES, FOURTEEN) children. He is #13. Many of his siblings are 11 months-18 months apart in age. (8 of them were born once a year, in succession). They all have multiple health problems with their hearts, thyroid, pituitary gland, etc. The nutritional reserves, or lack thereof, of the mother, can make a HUGE difference in the health of the children, and future generations. By the way, men can, and often parent healthy children well into

their 60's, so don't be rushed into having your children close in age based upon that factor alone. I applaud your love of children, and am glad you're considering a large family. I'm sure you want to bring them into this world with the best health and future possible. Rebekah (who's getting off her soap-box now ) __________________________________________________

[Guest guest]

>From: " mooredlighthouse " <mooredlighthouse@...>

>Reply-iodine

>iodine

>Subject: Nursing and pregnancy with iodine?

>Date: Thu, 08 Jun 2006 12:01:23 -0000

>

>Hello.

>

>This is my first post. Last year, I was diagnosed with multi-

>nodular goiter shortly after giving birth to my third child. I am

>currently seeing a Broda doc in Michigan (Dr. Woodhouse) but

>more and more things about him, both as a person and as a health

>care practitioner, are making me uncomfortable.

Then it's likely you know Michigan is part of the goiter belt, which is why

we were the first state to add iodine to salt. It's also very low in

selenium, so one in this state should know where their iodine and selenium

is coming from.

>Dr.'s plan is that I am to practice birth control until he

>determines I am healthy enough to have another child.

My " Broda ' doc in South Bend, IN says frequently women he treats will

get pregnant for the first time because Armour makes them capable of having

children.

There's no reason it would take 3 years to be healthy enough to have another

child.

>I am suspicious that my real problem is simply lack of iodine. I

>have had recurrent benign cysts in my jaw since the age of 16. I

>have always had irregular cycles, and to have my first two children,

>I was given a medical treatment consistent with those given to PCOS

>patients. I also have skin tags.

I think Dr. Derry mentioned somewhere that if you put iodine on skin tags

they go away.

Then add the newest problem, the

>goiter. These are all cystic and all indicate lack of iodine.

>I want to see Dr. Brownstein, since I live in Michigan, but my

>insurance carrier (Aetna) does not participate with him. I am

>particulary interested to hear from any of Brownsteins patients, or

>anybody with similar experiences to mine.

Many good doctors don't " participate " with insurance, but frequently your

insurance will reimburse you for at least part of the cost. Besides,

uninsured good treatment can be considerably more economical than insured

bad treatment.

Skipper

>

_________________________________________________________________

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[Guest guest]

FYI, I just received an answer from Dr. Guy Abraham about iodine,

pregnancy and breastfeeding. I have included my letter and his

response.

Katharine

QUESTION: I am currently taking Armour thyroid medication. I asked

my doctor about taking iodine and he said absolutely not, because I

am breastfeeding and would detox everything into the milk.. I've

come up with little success researching this myself, but what I have

learned is that breastmilk levels increase if one has iodine in the

diet. I was on 3 grains of Armour and began taking 1 tablet of

Prolamine Iodine (which my chiropractor sold to me). 1 tablet of PI

has 3 mg of Iodine and 20 mg of calcium. Anyway, I started getting

shakes and heart palpitations, so I decreased the Armour to 2 grains

and seem to be doing okay again.

I am interested in switching to Lugols, because of the iodine/iodide

mix. However, I still have that lingering question: is

iodine/iodide BAD for breastfeeding mothers and their babies?

ANSWER: Dear Katharine

Tell your doctor that mainland Japanese as a whole consume an

average of 14mg of Iodine a day. Over 90% of that amount comes from

seaweed. Japanese women do not stop consuming seaweed during

pregnancy and lactation. The Japanese fetus is exposed to 10-6

molar concentration of Iodine. The mainland Japanese represents one

of the healthiest nation on earth.

The Iodine in seaweed is inorganic iodine. Prolamine Iodine is an

organic form. We have available a tablet form of Lugol Solution

(Iodoral) which contains inorganic iodine and iodide. I have no

experience with Prolamine iodine but several Physicians are using

the Iodoral during pregnancy and lactation with good results.

You should ask your chiropractor and the company that makes

Prolamine Iodine if they have any data on pregnancy and lactation.

Kindly yours,

Guy E. Abraham, MD

[Guest guest]

Great response. I am taking Iodoral. I buy it from www.illnessisoptional.com or from Dr. Brownstein when I have an appt with him. (his shipping is high and I buy Metagenics online from the website I just mentioned and get free shipping over $100). I would recommend Iodoral over Lugols which is liquid and tastes nasty.

B.My Ebay Auctions: http://tinyurl.com/o9nqvLIKE SOY CANDLES? ASK ME! http://www.marloquinn.net/index.asp?consultant=381

Re: Nursing and pregnancy with iodine?

FYI, I just received an answer from Dr. Guy Abraham about iodine, pregnancy and breastfeeding. I have included my letter and his response.KatharineQUESTION: I am currently taking Armour thyroid medication. I asked my doctor about taking iodine and he said absolutely not, because I am breastfeeding and would detox everything into the milk.. I've come up with little success researching this myself, but what I have learned is that breastmilk levels increase if one has iodine in the diet. I was on 3 grains of Armour and began taking 1 tablet of Prolamine Iodine (which my chiropractor sold to me). 1 tablet of PI has 3 mg of Iodine and 20 mg of calcium. Anyway, I started getting shakes and heart palpitations, so I decreased the Armour to 2 grains and seem to be doing okay again. I am interested in switching to Lugols, because of the iodine/iodide mix. However, I still have that lingering question: is iodine/iodide BAD for breastfeeding mothers and their babies? ANSWER: Dear KatharineTell your doctor that mainland Japanese as a whole consume an average of 14mg of Iodine a day. Over 90% of that amount comes from seaweed. Japanese women do not stop consuming seaweed during pregnancy and lactation. The Japanese fetus is exposed to 10-6 molar concentration of Iodine. The mainland Japanese represents one of the healthiest nation on earth. The Iodine in seaweed is inorganic iodine. Prolamine Iodine is an organic form. We have available a tablet form of Lugol Solution (Iodoral) which contains inorganic iodine and iodide. I have no experience with Prolamine iodine but several Physicians are using the Iodoral during pregnancy and lactation with good results. You should ask your chiropractor and the company that makes Prolamine Iodine if they have any data on pregnancy and lactation. Kindly yours,Guy E. Abraham, MD

[Guest guest]

Katharine, thank you very much for asking Dr Abraham and sharing his response with us!!! I am very glad to hear what he has to say on this important issue.

I hope you will follow-up on his suggestion to ask the makers of Prolamine Iodine, etc., if they have any data on pregnancy and lactation.

I have posted a link to your email in the reproduction section of the links.

iodine/links/How_Iodine_Affects_t_001138666832/Pregnancy_001138404088/Emails_on_Iodine_and_001147192073/

Zoe

Re: Nursing and pregnancy with iodine?

FYI, I just received an answer from Dr. Guy Abraham about iodine, pregnancy and breastfeeding. I have included my letter and his response.KatharineQUESTION: I am currently taking Armour thyroid medication. I asked my doctor about taking iodine and he said absolutely not, because I am breastfeeding and would detox everything into the milk.. I've come up with little success researching this myself, but what I have learned is that breastmilk levels increase if one has iodine in the diet. I was on 3 grains of Armour and began taking 1 tablet of Prolamine Iodine (which my chiropractor sold to me). 1 tablet of PI has 3 mg of Iodine and 20 mg of calcium. Anyway, I started getting shakes and heart palpitations, so I decreased the Armour to 2 grains and seem to be doing okay again. I am interested in switching to Lugols, because of the iodine/iodide mix. However, I still have that lingering question: is iodine/iodide BAD for breastfeeding mothers and their babies? ANSWER: Dear KatharineTell your doctor that mainland Japanese as a whole consume an average of 14mg of Iodine a day. Over 90% of that amount comes from seaweed. Japanese women do not stop consuming seaweed during pregnancy and lactation. The Japanese fetus is exposed to 10-6 molar concentration of Iodine. The mainland Japanese represents one of the healthiest nation on earth. The Iodine in seaweed is inorganic iodine. Prolamine Iodine is an organic form. We have available a tablet form of Lugol Solution (Iodoral) which contains inorganic iodine and iodide. I have no experience with Prolamine iodine but several Physicians are using the Iodoral during pregnancy and lactation with good results. You should ask your chiropractor and the company that makes Prolamine Iodine if they have any data on pregnancy and lactation. Kindly yours,Guy E. Abraham, MD

[Guest guest]

I have to say, Dr. Abraham's response doesn't impress me much. Just

because Japanese women consume 14mg of iodine a day doesn't mean

American women will have identical responses if they do. Perhaps

because of genetics or biology (there are a few differences) but

more importantly because the Japanese women have been consuming

large amounts of iodine presumably all of their lives while American

women have not. If iodine does in fact liberate toxins, for the

Japanese women this would have been a life long process, while for

the American women it would have been a new release of longer

accumulating toxins. So to me the question is not whether a high

iodine diet is safe for Japanese women, but whether it is safe to

add high doses of iodine to a deficient diet, and then breat feed.

Perhaps Dr. Abraham has some data to answer this question?

Sharon

> ANSWER: Dear Katharine

>

> Tell your doctor that mainland Japanese as a whole consume an

> average of 14mg of Iodine a day. Over 90% of that amount comes

from

> seaweed. Japanese women do not stop consuming seaweed during

> pregnancy and lactation. The Japanese fetus is exposed to 10-6

> molar concentration of Iodine. The mainland Japanese represents

one

> of the healthiest nation on earth.

>

> The Iodine in seaweed is inorganic iodine. Prolamine Iodine is an

> organic form. We have available a tablet form of Lugol Solution

> (Iodoral) which contains inorganic iodine and iodide. I have no

> experience with Prolamine iodine but several Physicians are using

> the Iodoral during pregnancy and lactation with good results.

>

> You should ask your chiropractor and the company that makes

> Prolamine Iodine if they have any data on pregnancy and

lactation.

>

> Kindly yours,

>

> Guy E. Abraham, MD

>

[Guest guest]

>From: " ladybugsandbees " <ladybugsandbees@...>

>Great response. I am taking Iodoral. I buy it from

>www.illnessisoptional.com or from Dr. Brownstein when I have an appt with

>him. (his shipping is high and I buy Metagenics online from the website I

>just mentioned and get free shipping over $100). I would recommend Iodoral

>over Lugols which is liquid and tastes nasty.

One gets used to the taste. It's almost undetectable in milk. (For those

who drink milk, very few people could tell if a drop or two was added.)

Also not bad in orange juice.

I suspect it's a lot more economical as you can buy 2 ounces with shipping

for about $25 from Jcrows.com, and it lasts for a very long time. It appears

that's about the price 90 Iodoral tablets would be, I think a drop is about

equivalent to a tablet. At that rate, Lugol's is going to be a lot more

economical.

I occassionally use Lugol's for antiseptic purposes, and when I'm sick

occassionally take large doses so I don't know how long a bottle would last

if using it at a drop or two per day. My guess is it's going to be a tenth

the price of Iodoral.

Skipper

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[Guest guest]

I use Lugol's 3 times a day. I put 5-15 drops in about 2 ounces

of water, and gargle with it once or twice while scrubbing my gums

with a toothbrush. I reserve a small bit of the dilute Lugol's add

more water and drink it. Taste isn't bad at all. I follow with

mouthwash to remove any residual flavor, then drink a glass of cold

water.

I buy my Lugol's from Blue Spruce. Current price is $25 for 500

ml (about a pint). One bottle lasted me for months. I am about to

open the second bottle I ordered. I suspect the second bottle will

last much longer than the first one because I no longer have sore legs

I used to paint to Lugol's 4 times a week.

Alobar

On 7/1/06, Skipper Beers <lsb149@...> wrote:

> >From: " ladybugsandbees " <ladybugsandbees@...>

>

> >Great response. I am taking Iodoral. I buy it from

> >www.illnessisoptional.com or from Dr. Brownstein when I have an appt with

> >him. (his shipping is high and I buy Metagenics online from the website I

> >just mentioned and get free shipping over $100). I would recommend Iodoral

> >over Lugols which is liquid and tastes nasty.

>

>

> One gets used to the taste. It's almost undetectable in milk. (For those

> who drink milk, very few people could tell if a drop or two was added.)

> Also not bad in orange juice.

>

> I suspect it's a lot more economical as you can buy 2 ounces with shipping

> for about $25 from Jcrows.com, and it lasts for a very long time. It appears

> that's about the price 90 Iodoral tablets would be, I think a drop is about

> equivalent to a tablet. At that rate, Lugol's is going to be a lot more

> economical.

>

> I occassionally use Lugol's for antiseptic purposes, and when I'm sick

> occassionally take large doses so I don't know how long a bottle would last

> if using it at a drop or two per day. My guess is it's going to be a tenth

> the price of Iodoral.

>

> Skipper

>

[Guest guest]

>From: Alobar <Alobar@...>

> I buy my Lugol's from Blue Spruce. Current price is $25 for 500

>ml (about a pint). One bottle lasted me for months. I am about to

>open the second bottle I ordered. I suspect the second bottle will

>last much longer than the first one because I no longer have sore legs

>I used to paint to Lugol's 4 times a week.

500 ml is 16.9 ounces. At one or two drops per day that's practically a

lifetime supply for only $25. Whereas Iodoral is $25 for a 90 day supply at

one pill a day. There is a big difference economically. Supplements can

become expensive, Lugol's is one of the cheaper ones.

Skipper

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[Guest guest]

>From: Alobar <Alobar@...>

>Reply-iodine

> I buy my Lugol's from Blue Spruce.

I didn't see a link for that on the iodine site which would be at

iodine/links/Iodine_Sources_001138151092/Io\

dine_Supplements_001139757093/Lugol_Solution_001138150806/Places_to_Buy_Lugol__0\

01142034878/

Do you have a link for it?

I do see a link for Foy's Pigeon Supply, but having bought some from there,

I noticed it was so dilute it didn't even stain my skin.

Skipper

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[Guest guest]

I am about one-quarter ethnically Hawaiian, so, for me, the Japanese

information seemed all the more pertinant. My mother left the

islands, but before her, there were generations living by and eating

from the sea. Maybe the data is different for Caucasion genetic

pools... but it sure seems like a LOT of things in America are

compared to the Japanese. I wish there were an all-caucasion iodine

study... I think the closest thing availble right now is the research

of Dr. Abraham and Dr. Brownstein.

Katharine

[Guest guest]

I wish there were an all-caucasion iodine

>study

Not " politically correct " . Thus, not even in " scientific " usage any more.

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=caucasian

Anthropology. A member of the Caucasian racial classification. Not in

scientific use.

Skipper

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[Guest guest]

well maybe someone needs to clue survey researchers and my school

district in on this......every ethnic form I have ever checked off on

has had caucasion as a choice.....

I am not sure the accuracy of any of the 'racial' distinctions....I

remember watching something on tv - maybe a segment of Oprah when the

kids were not around---where they had this highly educated man who

most definely would have been classified as African

American/Negro/black----etc. whatever classification used for dark

skinned people. This guy had taken one of those genetic DNA test

things and found out that he wasn't 'black' at all!!!

And if you need a laugh, a college I once worked at had 95% of the

student body identifying themselves as " Native American " .....and in a

sense they were- I mean they were native to America - they were born

here.......Of course not what that survey was asking about.

On 7/1/06, Skipper Beers <lsb149@...> wrote:

>

> I wish there were an all-caucasion iodine

> >study

>

> Not " politically correct " . Thus, not even in " scientific " usage any more.

>

> http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=caucasian

> Anthropology. A member of the Caucasian racial classification. Not in

> scientific use.

>

>

>

> Skipper

>

> _________________________________________________________________

> Don't just search. Find. Check out the new MSN Search!

> http://search.msn.click-url.com/go/onm00200636ave/direct/01/

>

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Here you go, Skipper. This is a link to the 500 ml bottle.

http://www.bluebio.com/shopexd.asp?id=4069 & catid=403#top

Blue Spuce also sells smaller bottles too.

One has to register on their website before you can order, but

registreation is free and takes only a few minutes.

Alobar

On 7/1/06, Skipper Beers <lsb149@...> wrote:

> >From: Alobar <Alobar@...>

> >Reply-iodine

>

> > I buy my Lugol's from Blue Spruce.

>

> I didn't see a link for that on the iodine site which would be at

>

iodine/links/Iodine_Sources_001138151092/Io\

dine_Supplements_001139757093/Lugol_Solution_001138150806/Places_to_Buy_Lugol__0\

01142034878/

>

> Do you have a link for it?

>

> I do see a link for Foy's Pigeon Supply, but having bought some from there,

> I noticed it was so dilute it didn't even stain my skin.

>

> Skipper

>

[Guest guest]

I had to jump in on this discussion, because there are those who are

concerned about detoxing and nursing / pregnancy...

I suspect pregnancy might be different, because the baby is still

living inside you, and your organs are doing the " cleaning " . But since

your organs are doing the cleaning, I wonder if it is really as " bad "

as some believe to add some additional iodine. I would think you don't

want to trigger a major detox, as it could overload the adult's organs

and that would be bad for both child and adult, but at " lower " doses

to ensure health and ongoing excretion of toxins from the mom's

system...? I can't see a problem.

Also, because there is a direct impact on the overall hormonal system,

and pregnancy involves the hormonal system in a huge way, you may

actually be ensuring better health of all concerned if you take iodine

than if you don't because of fears of detox.

In my case, postpregnancy, if I don't take enough kelp / iodine, I

don't make enough breastmilk. So, although I'm taking about 4-6 mgs

iodine a day (which is more than the RDA, but certainly not " heavy "

compared to the level of supplementation of some on this board), and I

can see that my urine is a bit more dark coloured since I started

this, I'm not worried. Why? Because breastmilk concentrates iodine,

and iodine promotes detoxing, and so the baby should be getting

everything *she* needs in order to handle what's in my breastmilk. I

also take extra vitamin C and selenium -- which are also antioxidants

and should help with any " detoxing " effects. ly, the better my

health, the better the " health " of my breastmilk and as long as I'm

not taking doses of anything that would overload the baby (or are hard

to get rid of, like fat soluable vitamins), it would seem to me that

the degree of caution that we often see in western medicine is excessive.

ly, most doctors would give you a drug before they'd suggest an

herb or a natural substance, and that has never made sense to me. But

since no pharmaceutical company will ever fund a study to research a

natural substance, and there is no other real research money out

there, I guess we'll have to live with the fact that doctors are going

to know more about drugs, and are therefore going to prescribe drugs

before they ever prescribe something " natural " .

Back to breastmilk: if the baby was getting formula, she wouldn't be

getting any of the good stuff that's in breastmilk, and she would

still be getting " toxic " load. Some think that formula is better

because it has " less toxins " than breastmilk. Well, any toxins in the

food of the cows (pesticides, herbicides, drugs and hormones given to

cows, etc.) will still be present in the formula made from cow's milk.

So, there is no " completely free of toxins " food for an infant. Given

that, I'll take my chances with my milk, and the good vitamins and

minerals that I take being put into my milk...

Formula is based on a " processed " protein, which is unnatural for a

baby, and causes a lot of stress on their digestive tract. (There are

studies now which document the damage that formula feeding does to a

infant's digestive system... Sorry I don't have a handy link or two,

but can likely come up with them over the next couple of days.)

Further, comparing formula to breastmilk is like comparing Tang to

orange juice. They can add as many vitamins and minerals to Tang as

they like, and it is still clearly not orange juice and never will be.

It's processed and unnatural!

I'm not saying there is never a reason to use formula for feeding. But

I am saying that we tend to go to formula for reasons that are not

valid, and that we seem to forget that once the baby is born, we

should be making choices that put their health first. Breastmilk puts

their health first. Heck -- even the World Health Organization (not

known to be radical in their medical opinions) now says that all

babies should be breastfed; they should be exclusively breastfed for

at least 6 months; and that breastfeeding should continue to 2 years

and beyond if the mother is capable.

My 2 cents....