Researchers warned in a new study that formula baby milk contains forty times more aluminium than mother’s breast milk which can cause more health problem in later life. Traces of metal in milk were found in much higher quantity than is allowed legally.
Aluminium has been linked to neurological diseases and defects of bones in later years of life and there are even connected with dementia. Everybody has aluminium in their bodies but babies are particularly prone to absorbing it and are not so good at getting rid of it, explained Chemist Dr Chris Exley, who led the study at Keele University, Staffordshire.
They do not add aluminium to their products, said producers but many formulas are frequently packaged in aluminium foil. Aluminium also occurs naturally in soya plants because of the acidic soil in which they are grown. So specialists recommend soya milk formulas should be used only on the advice of a GP.
The team of researchers led by Dr. Chris Exley tested sixteen formula milk brands for infants up to age of one. It is concerning particularly when the produce with the highest level of aluminium they found was intended for premature babies, who are prone to be the most susceptible of all. It is really shocking.
He added that millions of parents have no option but to nourish their infants with that milk. He advised if the parents are using readymade milk to switch to powder because it contains lower levels of trace of metal. The Food Standards Agency does not provide a safe limit for aluminium in formula milk, but Dr Exley wants manufacturers to lower the level dramatically.