Pediatric nutritionist Marina Chaparro describes the dangers of malnutrition in infants.
Five years ago, she witnessed a baby being admitted to a children’s hospital in Miami with what is known as ketoacidosis, a sign of starvation, from being fed almond milk.
Dilution of infant formula can also lead to lethargy and life-threatening seizures, doctors say.
Pediatric nutritionist Marina Chaparro was working at a children’s hospital in Miami about five years ago when an infant was admitted with symptoms including weight loss and vomiting. The baby suffered from ketoacidosis, a potentially fatal condition that occurs when the body begins to break down fatty acids for energy. In the process, ketones are released and the blood becomes dangerously acidic.
Initially, Chaparro and her pediatric endocrinology colleagues assumed the baby had type 1 diabetes, a common trigger of ketoacidosis. However, after a series of tests, according to Chaparro, doctors found that the baby’s condition had not been caused by diabetes but by starvation: his mother had fed the infant almond milk. In the belief that you are doing something good for the child. Probably because she had read a lot of good things about it on the internet.
Looking back, Chaparro, who now runs her own bilingual child and family nutrition practice, remembered that story over the years because it illustrated the dangers of medical misinformation. A fact that has become increasingly widespread in recent years.
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Almond milk is not a safe substitute for baby formula
While almond milk can be incorporated into the diet of most infants, it does not have the right nutrients to replace breast milk or formula in babies under one year old, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. This also applies to cow’s milk or other non-dairy milk substitutes.
Baby food is really difficult to make. “It’s really hard to get the balance that food scientists have been researching for years,” Chaparro said during a webinar hosted by the California Strawberry Commission. “Not to mention the risk of cross-contamination and infection” when you make your own formula.
The baby’s mother did her best, Chaparro said. She probably thought that because almond milk worked for her, it would also be good for her baby. According to the pediatrician, the baby eventually recovered and was discharged from the hospital after a few days of being fed an appropriate formula.
But the experience made it clear to Chaparro “how deeply these nutritional wisdoms are sometimes anchored in our culture. So much so that sometimes we transfer them to our children and our families,” she says. This case shows how dangerous it can be.
Doctors say diluting baby food can also be dangerous
Other parents have recently resorted to online homemade baby food recipes in response to the baby food shortage. Owais Durrani, a doctor who works at an emergency room in East Texas, spoke to Business Insider about the possible consequences, which include lethargy and seizures. He has seen children with such symptoms first-hand.
In some cases, parents dilute baby milk to bulk it up, but this can unbalance the baby’s body’s electrolyte balance and lead to low sodium levels, Durrani said. This, in turn, can cause infants’ blood volume to shrink, leading to low blood pressure and life-threatening low oxygen levels in the bloodstream.
“The ingredients in an infant formula are just as tightly controlled as those in a prescribed drug to make sure the kidneys, liver, electrolytes and everything else are in balance,” explains the doctor. “Every electrolyte, every ingredient, every mineral in this food is very important.”
Given the sometimes scarce supply of infant formula, Durrani recommends that parents switch to other brands available if possible, or ask the pediatrician or local hospital for formula. “We are here to help. We won’t turn away a hungry baby in the ER. And we make sure there is a plan in place when the baby is released,” says Durrani. “But please do not use any of the other options, as this can lead to life-threatening problems.”
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This text was translated from English by Lisa Dittrich. You can find the original here.
