Discomfort from artificial milk

1998/01/01 Txakartegi, Xabier Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Osasuna

Since the bottle began replacing breast milk, we have had a “new” disease in childhood: allergy to cow’s milk protein or unsustainability. This disease, in addition to causing many patients, has caused many deaths. At present, while natural lactation is recovering among mothers of high or medium cultural level, in those of low level tends to descend; as an example, now begins to see, in the Consultations and Hospitals of Pediatrics, the effort that is being made to replace the natural lactation to children of groups that usually not the mentioned problem, like the gypsies.

It should not be forgotten that the poor preparation of artificial milk, in addition to dehydration and renal failure, caused for years a series of malignant consequences when the bottle became fashionable. Today's artificial milks are better than 15-20 years, but they still do not contain all the ingredients contained in breast milk: nucleotides, taurine, long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, etc. The latter, apparently, are essential for the development of brain and bladder membranes, but only in the last 5 years have artificial milk with these fatty acids been supplied, since until then nothing has been known.

So, do children who were bottle-fed 10 years ago have any shortcomings with respect to those who were breastfed? It is not entirely clear, but there are studies that show it. All these points should lead us to a deep reflection that leads us to rethink not only the infant's diet, but also that of all childhood. What we have to take into account is that in this century begins the substitution of the breast milk that fed us for centuries, and that this substitution has been the most dangerous and absurd trial that human beings have performed at the food and food level, when we are more aware of the age with which it has occurred.