As parents, we all go to the greatest lengths to ensure that our children get the best care that they need. And when it comes to nutrition, you really don’t want to leave any stone unturned when looking for the best formula for your newborn baby.
While most people are sold on the mainstream baby formula market, many parents are unaware of the natural and organic alternatives that are also available on the market today. And you’d probably be surprised by the choices that you come across.
Though you’ll always want to consult with your child’s pediatrician about anything related to health, wellness, and nutrition, you should still familiarize yourself with the options you have at your disposal.
Popular formula ingredients often include cow’s milk or other dairy products. But the fact is, some children simply can’t handle this type of formula.
If you’re looking for natural and healthy alternatives for your baby’s formula, the following will explore a few natural and organic options for you to consider.
Why Parents Look for Natural Alternatives
Natural and organic baby formulas are becoming much more popular than the common formula choices that often include cow’s milk or other dairy products. And this is because of several determining factors.
First, cow’s milk can actually cause a life-threatening condition known as necrotizing enterocolitis or NEC. And babies who have endured premature births are at much higher risk for developing this dangerous condition by drinking formula made from cow’s milk, specifically formula produced by Enfamil.
As such, if your child has developed NEC due to drinking cow’s milk Enfamil formula, you should contact the personal injury attorneys at Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers to begin the process of filing a lawsuit.
In addition, cow’s milk and other dairy-based formulas may also cause allergic reactions that can range from moderate to severe. And this is yet another reason why parents should familiarize themselves with natural alternatives to formula.
Coconut Milk
They say that coconuts have million-and-one use and baby formula is yet another great use of coconuts. But what many parents have never considered is that coconut formula is actually a great solution, especially for those who prefer to raise their children on plant-based diets.
Coconut milk contains a high content of fatty acid known as lauric acid. And this is the predominant fatty acid found in a mother’s breast milk. In fact, lauric acid is what makes a mother’s milk digestible. Additionally, this acid also protects against many infections that newborns are prone to.
A few infections that lauric acid protects against are as follows:
- Bacterial and microbial infections
- Fungal infections
- Viral infections
- Enveloped bacteria
As you can see, coconut milk does work wonders for your baby’s nutrition and protection against infection. However, coconut milk does lack key ingredients that a baby needs to grow properly such as calcium and other vitamins.
To compensate for the lack of calcium in coconut milk, many parents choose to add liquid calcium to their coconut milk formula along with other vitamin supplements.
Hemp Milk
Another natural product with many uses is Hemp. And humans have been using hemp for millennia as researchers have learned through ancient archaeological data. But this type of hemp milk isn’t the sort that can produce the “high” that one receives due to THC content. In fact, hemp milk is completely free of THC altogether.
Hemp milk is actually full of vital nutrients that your baby needs to grow and stay healthy, and it’s also soy and gluten-free. Hemp milk also offers many important ingredients such as calcium, potassium, iron, zinc, as well as Omega 3,6, and 9s among several others.
You should note that because hemp milk is a relatively new development in the baby formula market, there isn’t as much research or case studies to be found. As such, you should thoroughly research the use of hemp milk as an alternative to other baby formulas.
It’s also good to note that many parents also pair hemp milk with other substitutes such as organic formulas, or with coconut milk in order to create a more complex formula with plenty of vitamins and nutrients that all newborn babies need for adequate nutrition.
All babies need to have a solid nutritional base to develop properly. And as a parent, it’s your job to seek out the best sources of nutrition for your newborn child. But as mentioned, many parents are simply unaware of the alternatives available. Now that you’ve learned about a few, consult your child’s pediatrician to see about using these solutions.
