Infant Formula Contains Fluoride at Tooth-Discoloring Levels
October 22, 2009 | 1 Comment
Another reason to breastfeed your baby. While breastmilk does contain some fluoride, infant formula contains far more, and apparently, in amounts that are likely to cause damage to developing teeth.
All Infant Formula Contains Fluoride at Tooth-Discoloring Levels
New York – October 21, 2009 – All infant formulas, whether ready-to-feed, concentrated or organic, contain fluoride at levels which can discolor developing teeth, reports the October 2009 Journal of the American Dental Association (JADA) (1).
Fluoride, added to some bottled and public water supplies ostensibly to prevent cavities, is also in many foods and beverages, including infant formula. Excessive fluoride discolors and/or weakens permanent teeth (moderate fluorosis).
Researchers measured fluoride content of 49 infant formulas. See:
http://www.freewebs.com/fluoridation/infantformulafluoride.htm
The research team concludes, “Most infants from birth to age 12
months who consume predominantly powdered and liquid concentrate formula are likely to exceed the upper tolerable limit [of fluoride] if the formula is reconstituted with optimally fluoridated water (0.7 – 1.2 ppm).”
Surprisingly, the study reveals that all 6-month-olds and younger will also exceed the lower “adequate intake” (0.01 mg/day) from all formulas concentrated or not) risking moderate dental fluorosis from formula, alone. (2)
Breast milk contains about 250 times less fluoride than “optimally”uoridated water and isn’t linked to fluorosis.
“Babies don’t need fluoride and fluoride ingestion doesn’t reduce tooth decay,” says attorney Paul Beeber, President, New York State Coalition Opposed to Fluoridation, Inc. “So why are US babies still exposed to unnecessary fluoride chemicals via the water and food supplies and why aren’t parents informed of the consequences?” asks Beeber.
Up to 48% of school children have fluorosed teeth – 4% severe, reports the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) (3).
Both the CDC and the American Dental Association’s web sites advise parents to avoid mixing fluoridated water into concentrated infant formula, but they have never effectively broadcast this information to parents or the media (4,5).
A review of human studies by different researchers published in JADA (July 2009) concluded, “Our systematic review indicated that the consumption of infant formula [concentrated and ready-to-feed] is, on average, associated with an increased risk of developing at least some detectable level of enamel fluorosis.” (6)
“Parents, protect your children since dental and government agencies won’t. Petition local and state legislators to stop adding unnecessary and harmful fluoride chemicals into public water supplies and, thereby, into our food supply,” says Beeber. “Further, demand that the fluoride content of all food products be required on labels.”
Researchers agree that infant formula levels should be lowered.
“One interpretation of the available evidence would be that public health officials should create guidelines for infant formula consumption ensuring that the upper intake level established by the Institute of Medicine… is not
exceeded. Another approach would be to strive for ‘biological normality’ and to strive for fluoride levels observed in breast milk,” write Hujoel et al. in “Infant Formula and Enamel Fluorosis: A Systematic Review. (6)
A recent investigation by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) found that over-exposure to fluoride among infants is a widespread problem in most major American cities. EWG’s study found that, on any given day, up to 60% of formula-fed babies in US cities were exceeding the Institute of Medicine’s “upper tolerable” limit for fluoride. (6a)
In 2004, fluoride researcher Dr. Teresa A. Marshall told Reuters Health, “Very young infants are unlikely to benefit from the caries-prevention effects of fluoride…They may be at increased risk of dental fluorosis.” (7) Marshall co-authored “Associations between Intakes of Fluoride from Beverages during Infancy and Dental Fluorosis of Primary Teeth,” in the Journal of American Clinical Nutrition. (b)
In 2000, researcher A K Mascarenhas evaluating only well-conducted studies from the 1980s through the 1990s concluded in Pediatric Dentistry that infant formula was a major risk factor for dental fluorosis. (8)
As part of the on-going Iowa Fluoride Study, Levy and his team measured the fluoride content of infant formula and found from 0.15 to 0.30 ppm in ready-to-feed infant formula. (9)
Common household water filters (e.g. carbon filters) do not remove fluoride and unlike chlorine, which dissipates upon boiling, fluoride becomes more concentrated when water is boiled.
USDA: Fluoride-content of common foods: http://www.ars.usda.gov/Services/docs.htm?docid=6312
Pictures of fluorosis
http://www.fluoridealert.org/health/teeth/fluorosis/moderate-severe.html
Contact: Paul Beeber, Esq 516-433-8882 nyscof@aol.com
SOURCE: New York State Coalition Opposed to Fluoridation, Inc.
http://www.orgsites.com/ny/nyscof
http://www.FluorideAction.Net
References:
1) “Assessing a potential risk factor for enamel fluorosis: a
preliminary evaluation of fluoride content in infant formulas,”
Journal of the American Dental Association October 2009
2) http://fluoridation.webs.com/intakefromformula.htm
3) http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/figures/s403a1t23.gif
4) http://www.cdc.gov/fluoridation/safety/infant_formula.htm
5) http://www.ada.org/prof/resources/pubs/adanews/adanewsarticle.asp?art…
6) “Infant Formula and Enamel Fluorosis: A Systematic Review,”
Journal of the American Dental Association by Hujoel, et al, July 2009
6a) “National Academy Calls for Lowering Fluoride Limits in Tap
Water,” EWG News Release, March 2006 http://www.ewg.org/node/21000
7) “Too Much Fluoride May Harm Babies’ Teeth,” Reuters Health, May 5,
2004
http://www.fluoridealert.org/media/2004c.html
Pediatric Dentistry. July-August 2000. “Risk factors for dental
fluorosis: a review of the recent literature,” by Mascarenhas AK
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10969430?dopt=Abstract
9) Dental Clinics of North America 47(2003), “Current and future role
of fluoride in nutrition,” by Warren & Levy, 225-243
More evidence that infant formula is linked to dental fluorosis:
http://tinyurl.com/AllFormulaContainsFluoride
More: Carrie’s Interview with Bill Osmunson DDS, MPH, and Fluoride Action Network Spokesperson on the risks of fluoride.
Recyling and Pest Control
August 20, 2009 | 3 Comments
Ugh.
The all natural creepy crawly critters are loving my efforts to have a more eco-friendly home.
The cans, bottles (even when well rinsed), cardboard boxes and plastic containers provide everything they need: tiny bits of food provide endless nourishment (especially for roaches who only have to eat once every few weeks!), moisture for their hydration, and dark nooks and crannies are perfect hiding places.
When my kitchen started being taken over by bugs again, I had to throw out all the recycling… with the trash.
Overnight the bug population dwindled.
Major eco-guilt. 
How do you keep your recycling area from being the ideal home for unwanted guests?
Do share.
Helping Kids Learn to Tidy Up
August 11, 2009 | Leave a Comment
The following is a guest article from Danielle at TidyKidz, a site with resources to help parents teach kids to clean up without nagging! The tools are also helpful in establishing good routines for kids and personal hygiene. (I don’t know about you, but my 11 year old son is stinky and somewhat resistant to the idea that daily bathing is important at his age!)
I’ve been digging around the site for a few days and have printed out some of the helpful charts and intend on showing the videos to my kids.
Now that the school year has begun, it’s even more important to establish quick, easy and fun routines for everyone in the household so that things can be organized and the day flow more smoothly. This article encourages us as parents to set the example (a familiar refrain!) by keeping OUR rooms clean. Enjoy the article and be sure to check out TidyKidz if you need some help!
Tidy Me, Tidy You, Tidy See, Tidy Do
OK, let’s get down to brass tacks here everyone. Some things just never change and this particular issue is no different. You CANNOT expect your little people to keep there rooms picked up if your room looks like a set for the show Clean House (prior to the clean part). You may get lucky a time or two but ultimately our kids do what we do, not what we say. Go ahead, argue with yourself… we’ll wait :-O :-# :-! ;-] :-{)
Great! So glad you are back and hopefully you have reached your senses and understand that “monkey see, monkey do” is more than just a quaint phrase. We have all watched our kids emulate grown-up behavior and it’s no accident that children of all ages, socio-economic backgrounds, ethnicities, religions and on – all do it! It’s UNIVERSAL!
They will emulate the good AND the bad no matter how much we try to tell them what to do and how to do it – they are WATCHING! 
photo credit: a4gpa
Let’s have a little therapy session, shall we? (Purple is a nice soothing color, right?)
So ask yourself this question, “Am I doing the things I am asking of my kids?”
I know, that was not nice was it?!
Depending on your answer, you are feeling somewhere between the June Cleaver type and the Tazmanian Devil. If you are June Cleaver you may be thinking all is well with the world.
I’m not really concerned about offending any Junes out there because Junes are doing all the work themselves and probably aren’t reading this blog anyway. As for the Taz’s, you know who you are (admit it) and chances are you already feel bad enough about the state of your stuff, so let me approach this from somewhere around the “Malcolm in the Middle” area.
You GOTTA do it! Here are a few tips to get you started.
* Start with making your bed, it’s big and just that alone makes a noticeable difference.
* Then pick up everything off of the floor and pile it on your bed. Set your timer for 7 minutes and don’t stop moving until it’s all put away, PROPERLY! Yes you do only have 7 minutes so MOVE IT. Don’t turn of the timer until you’re done.
* Next comes the dresser – what in the world is all that stuff doing up there? Get a trash bag – half of it can be thrown away anyway. If you are a pocket paper collector, get a colorful jar and use it to store your 80 million tiny pieces of paper that pile up on the dresser once you’ve purged your pockets – go through it once a month and purge old receipts, notes to self, etc.
* One way to keep the bedroom from going bonkers is to Not Not Not bring anything in that is not bedroomy. There is no reason for your gardening shoes to be in your closet or for the weeks mail to be on top of the 80 million little pieces of paper on your dresser. If it doesn’t come in… it won’t have to be taken out. Make it a rule, then follow it!
Make a chart, or get in touch with your inner child and use one of ours (major points with the kids). Use it to make sure you pay at least 5 minutes of attention to your room everyday. I can say from experience, 5 minutes a day is all you really need to keep your room from becoming the very thing your sweet little person uses against you when you ask them to clean theirs!
Furious About Breastfeeding?
March 23, 2009 | 7 Comments
“Being stuck at home breast-feeding as he walked out the door for work just made me unreasonably furious, at him and everyone else.”
Really?
I might as well join the chorus of voices blogging this week about “The Case Against Breastfeeding“.
But instead of picking apart the author’s arguments (among them: the research doesn’t really show a strong benefit of breastfeeding, it takes too much time and makes meaningful work impossible, it shackles women and keeps them down, etc), I am just going to focus on the one quote mentioned above.
If breastfeeding your baby makes you “stuck at home” and “furious” at the world, then you probably shouldn’t do it.
That doesn’t mean it’s not best. It just means you have a major attitude problem.
Grocery Shopping and Dinner Planning Printables
March 19, 2009 | Leave a Comment
I just got back from the grocery store, where I purchased the ingredients for banana splits. And the reason I purchased the ingredients for banana splits?
I’m celebrating an accomplishment of my oldest son. Now, in the past I may have taken him out for an ice cream.
But it’s cheaper (and healthier) to make food at home.
Including the occasional banana split (hey – the ice cream and whipped cream are organic – and nuts are healthy!).
When finances are tight, it’s not all bad. In fact there are some benefits.
By being more frugal and careful with our grocery money, we may spend more time around the dinner table together, and more time in the kitchen preparing food together (and cleaning up together if you’re in my house!).
Banana splits are one thing, but when it comes to getting dinner on the table, it takes a little simple meal-planning. It helps to know EXACTLY what your family is going to eat each day, having the ingredient on hand and quickly putting together delicious meals.
Meal planning became a part of my weekly routine after my 4th child was born. It was the only way we got a hot meal on the table!
All it takes is 15-20 minutes with pencil, paper, and your favorite cookbooks. (And sales circulars from your local stores.)
- First, you take a quick look at what you already have in your freezer, pantry and fridge. Getting an idea of what’s already on hand means you can create meals around those ingredients and save a bit of money (and fewer things will end up going to waste).
- Then, take a look at what’s on sale at the store(s) you shop at.
- Using your cookbooks (or your head if you’re that kind of cook!), create your weekly menu.
To make things easier, here are some free dinner planning & grocery shopping sheets you can download and print:
Free Dinner Planning & Grocery Shopping Printables
Natural Moms Podcast #115
February 24, 2009 | 1 Comment
I apologize for this week’s “lo fi” show. I’m sick and also have a vomiting 6 year old, so we’re couching out for a few days. I didn’t want this week’s show to be any later so I decided to publish the interview as is. 
My guest this week is Lafe Larson of Lafe’s Natural Bodycare.
While some skin care companies are concerned about BPA in their products, Lafe has gone a step further.
His company recently released the first-of-its-kind organic certified baby line packaged in “baby-safe” plastic, free of estrogenic chemicals.
Listen to find out what Carrie’s favorite product was and how she put it to the ultimate test!
In addition to safe skin care for babies and mothers, Lafe’s offers deodorants and intimate products, free of questionable ingredients such as parabens, glycol, PEGs, and sodium laureth.
Lafe also helps clear up some of the confusion around plastics and their affects on the body. You can also read more information at EAFREE.com
Selma Hayek, Cross Nursing and Carrie
February 13, 2009 | 14 Comments
A couple of days ago a reporter from ABC News called me to ask my thoughts on the whole Selma Hayek cross nursing an African baby thing.
Cross/wet nursing is controversial enough, but throw in a pair of award winning celebrity ta-tas and everyone is listening.
You can see some of the things I said to her here: Selma Hayek breastfeeding another woman’s child.
Among other things, I told the reporter that calling Selma “unfaithful” is ridiculous. If any mother saw a toddler fall down on the sidewalk and cut open her knees, and mom wasn’t around, she would pick that child up and offer her comfort.
Is that unfaithful?
Using that kind of language just harkens back to the cultural (and I said cultural on the phone, not culturally – not that I’m complaining) misunderstanding that exists about breastfeeding being somehow sexual.
Breastfeeding is intimate.
Breastfeeding is the end result of being sexual (because it completes the cycle of fertility that starts with ovulation, then copulation, then birth).
Breastfeeding feels good. (Or at least it should.)
But breastfeeding doesn’t have any more to do with sex than hugging does. Hugging my 10, 8 and 6 year old children isn’t sexual.
It’s just mothering.
I don’t hug my kids “for myself” once they get past a certain age.
I’ve talked before on this blog about my thoughts on cross nursing and wet nursing, and also mentioned to the reporter that I was personally cross nursed by the mother of a friend of mine. I was 5 days old and my mom had to go back in the hospital for observation. My Mom called her local La Leche League group and moms sent bottles of expressed milk over.
But, I wouldn’t take the bottles.
I’m sure my Dad was pretty terrified, with this tiny infant and his beloved wife in a hospital bed. Thankfully my mom’s friend was able to come over and breastfeed me during that time. Who knows what might have happened? I might have starved myself for two days in some kind of newborn baby depression and shock.
This morning I told my Mom about the story, and she reminded me that she also cross nursed a baby – a childhood friend of mine.
Apparently her mother’s milk was taking a long time to increase postpartum. (Some moms take a week for their milk to “come in”, there is nothing magical about the 3 days postpartum timeframe, it’s just typical for most women.)
Anyway, little Jennifer seemed to be starving and was screaming her head off, so my mom’s friends asked her to come over and feed her. Jennifer’s mother’s milk finally did come in and they had a happy nursing relationship for a long time. But, I wonder if my mother hadn’t done that, would the stress of the experience caused her mom to just give up and offer bottles?
Cross nursing has its place, even in our modern society.
I also told the reporter that (and she was so cute because she’s never had kids so didn’t know what I was talking about) when a lactating woman hears another baby cry – ANY baby – her body responds accordingly. It’s just a natural thing, like the empathy you might feel if you see an older child fall down at the playground. All the moms come running, especially if the real mom can’t help at that moment.
(Some of the babies at Blissdom had this effect on me. You know who you are.)
I bet that a lot of women, in that situation, would have done the same thing. I certainly would have. We just wouldn’t be the number one video on YouTube. Noone would be the wiser.
When I was still married and had young babies, I had my ex husband swear that he would find a nursing mother to feed my baby if I ever were to land in a hospital and were unable to offer that familiar comfort to my infant. Just knowing that he would have done that made me feel better.
Watch the video and look at the happiness on that baby’s face. Tell me there’s something wrong about that.
Tell me how you feel about this story.
Would you cross nurse another woman’s baby if she asked you? Would you want another woman to nurse your child?
photo credit http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Story?id=6864594&page=1
Breastfeeding Saves Lives
December 4, 2008 | 2 Comments
When we think of how breastfeeding saves lives, we often think of instances where a baby is highly allergic to formula, or has other special needs.
We rarely think about emergency situations, but in these cases, breastfeeding becomes even more important.
For one thing, in times of natural disaster, water supplies are often dangerously polluted. This makes it difficult to obtain clean water to mix up formula.
I read this news report this morning about how moms breastfeeding their babies saved not only the moms and babies, but perhaps other people too.
“… when terrorists stormed the Cama and Albless Hospitals last Wednesday.
“The terrorists were violently banging the locked iron grills and even the slightest noise by the babies could have alerted the terrorists,” said Dr Archana Garud, chief medical officer, who was on duty that night. “The ayah suggested that all mothers breastfeed their babies to hush them up.”
Garud said this brainwave saved the lives of patients as well as hospital staff.
Wow. Another testament to the power of mom’s milk. 
How Fathers Can Support Breastfeeding
November 8, 2008 | 3 Comments
Please take a second to welcome guest blogger Lexi Rodrigo
photo credit: Kelly Sue
August 1 to 8 was World Breastfeeding Week and this year’s theme was all about giving mothers the support they need to breastfeed successfully.
Breastfeeding advocates have long known that mothers need support in breastfeeding. Now there’s proof. According to a recent Cochrane Review of 34 studies in 14 countries, support from both lay persons and professionals help increase the duration of breastfeeding, especially exclusive breastfeeding.
Husbands or partners, in particular, have a big role to play to ensure that women breastfeed and continue breastfeeding.
Here are seven ways that fathers can support the breastfeeding mother and child:
1. Support the woman’s decision to have a natural childbirth.
Babies who are born without drugs tend to have a better start with breastfeeding. Mother and baby are both fully conscious and alert after birth. Babies who aren’t groggy from drugs have a natural instinct to nurse immediately after birth. Mommy should also be alert and strong enough to bring baby to the breast within the first hour of birth.
2. Allow the mother to room in with baby.
When mother and baby are together, they have unlimited opportunities to breastfeed. On the other hand, if baby is in the nursery, the mother will usually have to breastfeed according to the hospital’s feeding schedules. Meantime, baby gets infant formula or glucose water and a pacifier.
3. Take over most of the household responsibilities.
It takes time for a mother and her baby to settle into a good breastfeeding routine. A new mother also needs plenty of time to rest and recover from birth. Her husband or partner should take over the cooking and cleaning and give her plenty of time to bond with the new baby.
4. Wake up in the middle of the night, too.
Many fathers of breastfed babies are spoiled; they don’t need to get up in the middle of the night to prepare a bottle of formula! But do empathize with the nursing Mommy who has to feed a newborn around the clock. At least get up to burp and change the baby. If baby still has the days and nights mixed up, be the one to stay up with him or her. Learn how to soothe your own baby to sleep and let the new mother sleep.
5. Be proud when your wife/partner breastfeeds in public.
Women need support to breastfeed in public. Some women are so embarrassed they’d rather give a bottle of expressed breastmilk or formula than nurse when outside! Others give up breastfeeding altogether because they cannot overcome the embarrassment. If the baby’s father is proud to show off his child nursing in public, the mother will become more comfortable. Dads can help provide more privacy to the breastfeeding Mom, too, by shielding her from prying eyes while she gets settled into a discreet position.
6. Never question the purchase of breastfeeding supplies and gadgets.
Breastfeeding is free, but certain paraphernalia help to make breastfeeding more pleasant and more convenient. These include a breastfeeding pillow, breastfeeding clothes, a rocking chair or glider, a breastpump and breastmilk storage containers, breastfeeding blankets, and baby slings. And don’t forget the books about breastfeeding. Fathers should support this sudden obsession with anything related breastfeeding — within your family’s means, of course. Remember that anything that will keep a woman breastfeeding is well worth its price.
7. Promote breastfeeding to everyone you know.
Brag about your breastfed child; you have good reason to do so. Children who are not breastfed get sick more often and have lower IQ than breastfed children. Encourage pregnant women you know to breastfeed. Tell other fathers to encourage their wives to breastfeed, too.
Fathers have a crucial role in breastfeeding. Fathers also benefit when mothers successfully breastfeed their children breastfeed successfully. They have a happier, healthier family, and the economic benefits are significant.
Lexi Rodrigo is a stay at home Mom to 3 children, a freelance writer and Internet entrepreneur. Get more information on breastfeeding benefits and other natural parenting tips by visiting http://www.natural-moms.com.
Tidbits: Breastfeeding research, raw milk video
October 29, 2008 | 2 Comments
A recently published study shows that breastfeeding does not make your breasts sag. (An excuse that aristocrats have used for centuries to justify hiring wet nurses.) It’s factors like multiple pregnancies (and the hormones that go along with the condition), age and weight that are responsible.
Glad to see this research being published, although the information has been circulating in pro breastfeeding circles for years.
Another myth is that breastfeeding makes your breasts smaller. That may be true for some women but the effect is temporary and only lasts for a few cycles after weaning. Women often perceive their breasts to be smaller but that’s because their breasts got bigger during nursing.
Typically after several cycles, a woman’s breasts replace the bulk that was taken up with milk producing glands with fat, as they were before breastfeeding began. So if you’ve just weaned and feel smaller, just hang in there for several months.
Of course, for some women, their breasts stay larger after breastfeeding (like their feet?!).
Another study points to one reason by breastfed babies have less issues with overweight. Because they are better at regulating their caloric intake.
And finally here is a quick video from Australia about a family enjoying the benefits of raw milk, from Nourished magazine.
