Perhaps you have heard about the benefits of goat milk, and how it is more easily digested than cow milk. Perhaps you have also been online and seen many people who are attempting to make homemade goat milk formula. These convenient recipes look tempting; but don’t be fooled, homemade infant formulas come with risks.
Animal Milks vs. Formula
Any doctor will tell you that an infant should wait until his first year to be introduced to regular milk. This is because infants have trouble breaking down the proteins in unprocessed cow and goat milks (this includes powdered milks). Breastmilk is specifically designed by a woman’s body to nourish her infant properly. Whereas, the proteins in unprocessed cow and goat milks can easily overwhelm a baby’s system.
Too much protein can cause an infant’s kidneys to become stressed and even damaged. This results is a condition known as metabolic acidosis. Infants under one month are particularly susceptible to metabolic acidosis. If this condition goes untreated, kidney failure will follow. Unprocessed cow or goat milks can do serious damage to your baby. Infant formulas are specifically processed with babies in mind, so that their systems can handle the proteins without becoming overwhelmed.
Nutritional Deficiencies
Another concern with making your own goat milk formula, is causing possibly life threatening nutritional deficiencies in your baby. Babies need a very specific set of nutrients to be healthy. Though breastmilk naturally contains all of these nutrients, there are no animal milks, including goat milk, which contain the right nutrients to sustain a baby under the age of 1 year.
To make goat milk formula suitable for the nutritional needs of an infant, manufacturers must add iron, folate, vitamin C, vitamin D, thiamin, niacin, vitamin B6, pantothenic acid, and vitamin B12. Without these nutrients an infant can develop anemia, malnutrition and failure to thrive. Both conditions, if untreated can cause significant damage to your baby’s body and even death.
Between the risk of kidney failure and creating a nutritional deficiency, it is not worth the health of your baby it to try to make your own goat milk formula. Thankfully there are some very good, natural goat milk formulas on the market.
Perhaps one of the best goat milk formulas is by Holle. This formula is manufactured in Germany and Switzerland, where standards for animal husbandry and food manufacturing are high. Holle’s grass fed goats are treated with respect, and nurtured to produce the best goat milk products possible. The Holle company has a commitment to bringing you an infant formula that meets the European Union’s high standards for organic products. They are also committed to not using any type of chemical processing or preservatives. They do not add harmful sugars to their formula, but use lactose instead. If you choose to use a goat milk formula, you can rest assured that Holle will meet all of your baby’s needs naturally, so he can grow up strong and healthy.