Now that the dust has settled, or perhaps the confetti of shredded paper, let’s have another look at the idea of Paleo formula for babies.  Forget the details of the ‘recipe’, consider the logic and the Paleo philosophy.

The Paleo plan is based on the eating patterns of our primal ancestors and a belief in the wise ways of Mother Nature and evolution.  So there would be only one way to feed babies – breast-feeding.  Way back, if there was no breast milk babies died; they died of infections for which their mother’s milk would have provided protection and they died because of the lack of adequate substitutes for breast milk.  The alternative, where a mother died or could not feed her baby, was breast-feeding by a female relative (or sometimes milk directly from a herd animal).  This was possible where women had larger families and lived in close communities – there was generally someone close by who could breast-feed.  This was the case, with an extra option of a paid wet nurse, until around the last 100 years.

THE CHOICE – BREAST MILK OR COMMERCIAL FORMULA

Cave–women mothers would not have had the wherewithal or knowledge to prepare nutritionally adequate feeds for a baby’s vital needs. The Paleo view that adults are not intended to use milk as a food does not apply to babies; it is the food for babies that evolution has perfected.  Breast milk’s complexity is still beyond our full understanding, or ability to replicate, but commercial formula offers a safe alternative.  Formula can be prepared based on ingredients other than another animal’s milk, but all formula relies on a wealth of science and technology to do a reasonable job.  Without that knowledge the Paleo baby without breastmilk would have little hope of survival, let alone growing up without problems.

Funny how ideas come together from different directions; this time fuelled by my recent reading of books about food. In Fuchsia Dunlop’s book ‘Shark’s Fin and Sichuan Pepper’ she talks about the role of fermented foods in Chinese cuisine, from soy and especially the smelly fish variety.

These highly flavoured ingredients are sources of glutamate, related to MSG, and traditionally are said to increase health and improve appetite. Their strong savoury flavours are examples of umami, the fifth taste – along with salt, sour, bitter and sweet. In John Baxter’s ‘The Perfect Meal’ he mentions garum, another source of glutamate, highly valued in Greek and Roman cuisine; prepared from fermented fish it was distilled into an elixir which could ‘cure dysentery, remove freckles and heal dog bites’. Today’s relatives of garum include Worcester Sauce, Vegemite and Vietnamese Nuoc Mam. And now the missing link.

The link between glutamate and breast milk

With our ‘so-scary and over-reported it’s almost boring’ awareness of childhood obesity there is lots of scientific interest in the reasons that breastfeeding lessens the risk of later obesity. There are many ideas and they probably all play a part, but recently there’s a new idea in the mix. Breastmilk is very high in free amino acids (the building blocks of protein) and one of these is glutamate, especially high compared to the levels in cows milk and formula. Early evidence suggests that the high levels of glutamate may be important in teaching babies about appetite regulation, and setting up important pathways for the future. This info may have been added quietly to the ‘science side’ of my brain if I had not recently read those two books, but now I am tuned in to watch for updates.