Daily exposure to chemicals used in the manufacture of plastic food containers and many cosmetics may be tied to nearly 56,600 preterm births in the U.S. in 2018, a new study shows. The resulting medical costs, the authors of the report say, were estimated to reach a minimum of $1.6 billion and as much as […]
Billions of nanoplastics released when microwaving baby food containers
The fastest way to heat food and drink might also rank as the fastest route to ingesting massive quantities of minuscule plastic particles, says new research from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Experiments have shown that microwaving plastic baby food containers available on the shelves of U.S. stores can release huge numbers of plastic particles — […]
Arsenic, Lead and Other Toxic Contaminants in 95% of Baby Foods Tested
In a new investigation released today, Healthy Babies Bright Futures (HBBF) and its partner organizations report that 95% of baby foods tested contain one or more toxic chemicals, including lead, arsenic, mercury and cadmium. One-quarter of foods tested contain all four toxic chemicals tested by the lab, all of which are heavy metals that can […]
Fast food diet before pregnancy can impact breast milk and baby’s health
A diet high in sugar and fat such as burgers, fries and fizzy drinks can negatively affect a new mother’s breast milk and baby’s health even before the child is conceived. The new study using lab mice has found that even relatively short-term consumption of a fast food diet impacts women’s health, reducing their ability […]
A single course of antibiotics affects the gut microbiota of infants
A study recently completed at the University of Helsinki revealed that the fungal microbiota in the gut is more abundant and diverse in children treated with antibiotics compared with the control group even six weeks following the start of the antibiotic course. In light of the findings, a reduction in the number of gut bacteria […]
Baby formula improved by ingredient often removed during homogenization
Results from a clinical trial published today in the Journal of Pediatrics show infants who consume formula containing milk fat globule membrane (MFGM) — a complex layer that normally surrounds fat in milk — score higher in tests of cognitive, language and motor development by their first birthdays than infants consuming a milk-based formula that didn’t contain […]
FDA Reminds Parents Not To Feed Honey To Children Younger Than 1 Year
The FDA is reminding parents and caregivers not to give honey to infants or children younger than one year of age. This includes pacifiers filled with or dipped in honey. The FDA has received reports from the state of Texas that four infants have been hospitalized with botulism. All four infants had used pacifiers containing honey. These pacifiers were […]
Breast milk promotes a different gut flora growth than infant formulas
The benefits of breast milk have long been appreciated, but now scientists at Duke University Medical Center have described a unique property that makes mother’s milk better than infant formula in protecting infants from infections and illnesses. The finding, published in the August issue of the journal Current Nutrition & Food Science, explains how breast milk, […]
Direct Evidence Of Exposure Of Pregnant Women To Herbicide Ingredient
The first birth cohort study of its kind has found more than 90 percent of a group of pregnant women in Central Indiana had detectable levels of glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup, the most heavily used herbicide worldwide. Researchers from Indiana University and University of California San Francisco reported that the glyphosate levels correlated […]
Babies Fed Soy-Based Formula Have Changes In Reproductive System Tissues
Infants who consumed soy-based formula as newborns had differences in some reproductive-system cells and tissues, compared to those who used cow-milk formula or were breastfed, according to a new study. The researchers say the differences, measured in the months after birth, were subtle and not a cause for alarm, but reflect a need to further […]