
Baby’s Only Organic® Toddler Formulas Do Not Contain life'sDHA™ Fatty Acids.
Baby’s Only Organic® Toddler Formulas do not contain C. cohnii oil (algae) & M. alpina oil (fungus) used in organic infant formulas, which are treated with hexane solvent, acid, and bleach. Parents should be aware of the following:
In 2001, US infant formula manufacturers began adding a novel source of DHA and ARA that is manufactured by Martek Biosciences called life'sDHA™. This DHA is derived from strains of algae; the ARA is manufactured using a non-toxigenic soil fungus. In 2006, organic infant formula companies began promoting their use of this same ingredient. The following is the manufacturing process described by Martek:
“The oil is then separated from the dried biomass by hexane extraction and centrifugation and/or filtration, followed by winterization. The hexane phase undergoes additional centrifugation/filtration to remove solids then the winterized oil is heated and treated with acid. Subsequently, the oil is treated with caustic, centrifuged, bleached and deodorized.” 1 Learn more at Cornucopia Institute
Sam Zeller, Ph.D. - Martek Biosciences Corporation, Food & Drug Administration Agency Response Letter, GRAS Notice No. GRN 000137
Baby’s Only Organic® SOY formula is appropriate for babies with a lactose intolerance, cow milk allergy or when parents prefer a vegetarian diet. A baby with dairy protein or lactose sensitivities may experience unusual fussiness, diarrhea, excessive spit-up, skin rash/eczema, gassiness or frequent ear infections. If your baby exhibits any of these symptoms, discuss using Baby’s Only Organic® SOY Toddler Formula with a health care professional.
Nature's One® designed its organic formulas according to the nutritional requirements as defined in the law called the Infant Formula Act. In addition, our ingredient standards extend beyond “organic,” insuring the highest quality formulas available. For example, Baby’s Only Organic® is the only soy formula that does not contain corn syrup as its source of carbohydrate - instead we use organic brown rice syrup. Baby’s Only Organic® is labeled a toddler formula because Nature’s One® believes breast milk is the best organic choice the first 12-months of life. After breastfeeding, parents can continue providing organic nutrition using Baby’s Only Organic® SOY formula. For a baby less than 12-months, use as directed by a healthcare professional. We recommend that you present our leading brand nutritional comparison chart to your doctor.
After 12-months of age, some pediatricians may recommend rice or soy milk. These beverages fail to provide the complete nutrition and critical fatty acids found in Baby's Only Organic® formulas. It is important for a toddler to consume foods that offer a well-rounded diet consisting of the appropriate amounts of protein foods, breads and cereal products, fruits and vegetables. It is also important for toddlers to receive the proper nutrition in the correct balance. As toddlers are introduced to new foods and experience fussy eating patterns, parents can insure their child is consuming the proper levels of these important nutrients by offering Baby’s Only Organic® as a beverage to compliment table foods until 3-years of age.
Nature’s One® ingredient standards extend beyond “organic,” insuring the highest quality formulas available. The following information will help you compare Baby's Only Organic® ingredients to other formulas: Compare Baby’s Only Organic® Ingredients to Other Brands:
- Carbohydrates
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| Brand |
Carbohydrate Source |
| Baby’s Only Organic® |
Organic Brown Rice Syrup |
| Earth’s Best® |
Organic Corn Syrup |
Baby’s Only Organic® Toddler Formula uses organic brown rice syrup as its carbohydrate source. Rice is one of the first solid foods fed to a baby, so there is no concern over its use as it is easily tolerated. Baby’s Only Organic® SOY is the only organic non-dairy formula available that does not contain corn syrup and should be used by infants as directed by a healthcare professional.
Carbohydrates are one of the crucial dietary sources of energy that supports the brain, enables muscular contractions, and provides the fuel necessary for a baby’s rapid growth through 24-months of age. So it is important for a child to get plenty of carbohydrates from good sources.
Baby’s Only Organic® source of carbohydrate comes from organic brown rice syrup that requires minimal processing and offers the benefits of slower digestion and absorption of complex sugars that provide a steady supply of energy to a baby. Organic brown rice syrup is a more complex carbohydrate compared to lactose or cane juice as used in other organic formulas. Because organic brown rice syrup requires more time for digestion, it provides a slower and steadier absorption of the carbohydrates into the blood stream and a more constant production of insulin.
- Essential Fatty Acids
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| Brand |
Linoleic Acid (per 100 kcal) |
Alpha-Linolenic (per 100 kcal) |
| Baby’s Only Organic® |
1000mg |
128mg |
| Earth’s Best® |
860mg |
Not Stated |
Earth’s Best®Soy formula is lower in the essential fatty acid, Linoleic Acid; the Alpha-Linolenic fatty acid composition is not stated on the formula label. These precursor fats are important for the body to convert to DHA & ARA and are critical to brain and eye retina development. In fact, the makers of Similac supported a study1 comparing breast fed infants to three formulas described below:
- A formula containing no added DHA & ARA, but contained higher levels of linoleic acid and alpha-linolenic acid similar to Baby’s Only Organic® Toddler Formula.
- Two formulas supplemented with synthetic DHA and ARA that contained lower levels of linoleic and alpha-linolenic acid.
The results of this study did NOT support adding synthetic DHA & ARA to formula that contained the higher levels of linoleic acid and alpha-linolenic acid. Baby’s Only Organic® supports the natural conversion of linoleic and alpha-linolenic acid by providing high levels of these fatty acids, similar to Similac® Advance. The synthetic DHA & ARA used to supplement Earth’s Best® Organic infant formula are treated with hexane solvents, acid and bleach during the manufacturing process.
It is best to compare pediatric formulas using a 100-calorie serving, which is approximately 5-ounces of formula. So over the course of a day of feedings totaling 28oz, a baby consuming Baby’s Only Organic® would receive 784mg MORE linoleic acid when compared to Earth's Best® soy formula. We were unable to obtain information about the levels of alpha-linolenic in Earth's Best's soy formula.
1. Austed, N. et al, “Growth and development in term infants fed long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids: A double-masked, randomized, parallel, prospective, multivariate study,” Pediatrics (108); 2:372-381.
- DHA & ARA Fatty Acids
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| Brand |
DHA Fatty Acid |
| Baby’s Only Organic® |
Sold separately as Baby’s Only Essentials® DHA & ARA Supplement |
| Earth’s Best® |
Martek's DHASCO/ARASCO: life'sDHA™ C. cohnii oil (algae) & M. alpina oil (fungus) |
Baby’s Only Essentials® DHA & ARA Fatty Acid Supplement is available for parents who would like to take precautionary measures to help ensure their baby has sufficient levels of DHA and ARA. The DHA and ARA in Baby’s Only Essentials® fatty acid supplement are naturally derived from egg phospholipids (egg yolk) using a gentle aqueous (water) process. Egg phospholipids, like those found in Baby’s Only Essentials® DHA & ARA have been used in clinical studies with infants over the past decade. One recent study showed that egg phospholipids are more efficiently absorbed than other sources (fish oil and fungal oil).1 Egg phospholipids contain Choline, an important nutrient needed for the production of neurotransmitters and development of the memory center in the brain. Egg phospholipids also contain cholesterol, used by the body to manufacture Vitamin D, various needed hormones and bile acid. Cholesterol is also an important component in cell membranes. Baby’s Only Essentials® DHA and ARA Fatty Acid Supplement is a well understood and a safe source of DHA and ARA that can be added to Baby’s Only Organic® Toddler Formulas or to foods as a child grows older.
Earth's Best®, Similac Organic®, and the Wal-Mart® Brand use a novel synthetic source of DHA and ARA for their infant formulas. Our company does not prefer the source or the extraction process for vegetarian fatty acids. The C. cohnii oil (algae) and M. alpina oil (fungus) used in the organic and conventional infant formulas are treated with hexane solvents, acid and bleach during processing.2 This is a common extraction process for conventional oils, but is prohibited for organic vegetable oils. These vegetarian sources, called life'sDHA™, are a relatively new/novel source of fatty acids and there may be much to learn on the efficacy of these fatty acids. For these reasons, Nature's One® developed its DHA & ARA product using egg phospholipid, which has been naturally derived and consumed by humans long before the first "chicken or the egg" riddle was posed.
1. Gil, A., et al, "Role of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids in infant nutrition," European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2003)57, Suppl 1, S31-34.
2. Sam Zeller, Ph.D. - Martek Biosciences Corporation, Food & Drug Administration Agency Response Letter, GRAS Notice No. GRN 000137
- Kosher
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| Brand |
Kosher Status |
| Baby’s Only Organic® SOY |
Kosher Pareve |
| Earth’s Best® |
NOT Kosher |
Baby’s Only Organic® Toddler Formula is certified Kosher by Orthodox Union (O-U). The kosher symbol, O-U, is located on the front portion of the label. A current Kosher Certificate is available upon request.
- Vegetable Oils
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| Brand |
Vegetable Oils |
| Baby’s Only Organic® |
Organic High Oleic Sunflower Oil, Organic Soybean Oil & Organic Coconut Oil |
| Earth’s Best® |
Organic High Oleic Sunflower Oil, Organic Coconut Oil, Organic Soy Oil |
Some formulas, such as Earth's Best® Dairy formula, the Parents Choice® Wal-Mart® brand, and Enfamil® use palm olein oil as part of the fat blend in their formulas. Palm olein oil is made from palm oil. Unfortunately clinical studies have proven the use of palm olein oil as a predominant fat source in infant formulas causes some babies to poorly absorb calcium resulting in lower bone mineralization.1, 2 When palm olein oil is provided in the formula, calcium soaps (calcium in fat) are formed in the gut. These calcium soaps prevent the absorption of fat and calcium in the gut and can also result in harder stool formation3 or constipation.
Almost 90% of all palm oil is produced in Indonesia and Malaysia at oil-palm plantations. This has resulted in widespread deforestation, destruction of rain forests, and putting the survival of some animals at risk. The razing by burning of tropical rain forests to make way for oil-palm plantations also results in the release of large amounts of greenhouse gas into the atmosphere.4
Baby’s Only Organic® Toddler Formulas contain no palm olein oil and no palm oil. Instead, Baby’s Only Organic® formulas contain a blend of organic oils: Organic High Oleic Sunflower Oil, Organic Soybean Oil and Organic Coconut Oil. Baby’s Only Organic® vegetable oils are expeller-pressed, which is a squeezing process to extract the oil from the organic plants. No harsh chemicals are used to produce the vegetable oils.
1. Koo, W.W.K., et al, “Reduced bone mineralization in infants fed palm olein-containing formula: A randomized, double-blinded, prospective trial.” Pediatrics 2003; 111:1007-1023.
2. Kennedy, K. et al, “Double-blinded, randomized trial of a synthetic triacylglycerol in formula-fed term infants: Effects on stool biochemistry, stool characteristics, and bone mineralization.” Am J Clin Nutr 1999; 70:920-927.
3. Nelson, S.E. et al, “Absorption of fat and calcium by infants fed a milk-based formula containing palm olein.” J Am Coll Nutr 17: 327-332.
4. Brown, Ellie and Jacobson, Michael F. Cruel Oil. Washington, D.C.: Center for Science in the Public Interest, May, 2005.
- Taurine, Selenium & Iron
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Baby's Only Organic® formulas do contain taurine, selenium and iron, similar to conventional formulas.
Taurine, an amino acid normally present in breast milk, has been shown to play a role in retinal development, among others. Cow and soy milks do not contain adequate amounts of the amino acid.
Selenium is a mineral important for proper formation of red blood cells, development of skeletal muscle and proper growth. Selenium, too, is normally present in breast milk, but lacking in cow and soy milks. Baby's Only Organic® contains added taurine and selenium.
Iron is added at the level recommended by the Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Nutrition. Inappropriate dietary iron could result in anemia, weakness, muscle fatigue, abnormal gastrointestinal motility, and a reduction of cognitive ability. This reduction in cognition has been shown to be irreversible, even once a normal iron level is retained.
- Raffinose & Stachyose
- Nature’s One® has a production method that naturally breaks down these two sugars so that they are easily digested. Unlike soy protein isolation processes that chemically strip the soybean of many of its naturally occurring benefits, the process used by Nature’s One® retains the balance of the soymilk as nature intended.
- Whole Soybeans vs Soy Isolates
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Baby's Only Organic derives its organic soy protein concentrate from the whole soybean. Other formulas use soy protein isolates which chemically removes all the naturally occurring components of the soybean except the protein, manganese and phytoestrogens. Baby's Only Organic® SOY retains the natural benefits of the whole soybean as nature intended. We believe this provides balance among all the vitamins and minerals naturally found in our SOY formula. In fact, at a recent (May, 2007) conference on Diet and Optimal Health sponsored by the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University, Professor William Helferich stated “when the whole food (referring to the whole soybean) is consumed, you get a very different effect than if you consume the concentrated constituents individually.” He further noted that the whole soybean is healthier than many of its individual components. In other words, the whole soybean provides healthier nutrition than when consuming concentrated components of the soybean, such as phytoestrogens.
“Are soy isoflavones safe? ‘It depends,’ University of Illinois researcher says.” Soyatech eNews, May 17, 2007. Sourced from http://www.soyatech.com/news_story.php?id=2759.
- Nucleotides
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Baby’s Only Organic® Soy Formula does not contain nucleotides. Nutritional science and the medical community have not determined if there are any added benefits for added nucleotides - especially since all are synthetically derived. The American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Nutrition weighs-in on this subject as well commenting that “...additional studies are needed to understand the mechanism of action, confirm clinical endpoints, and monitor the long-term effects of adding nucleotides to infant formula.” 1
Most importantly, nucleotides added to conventional and organic infant formulas are derived by synthetic, non-organic methods. There are presently no organic or natural sources for nucleotides. We are therefore concerned about the harmful effects of the chemicals used to process nucleotides and the synthetic source of nucleotides; especially since the benefits of their addition have not been clearly demonstrated. 1. Reference: Committee on Nutrition, Pediatric Nutrition Handbook, 5th edition, American Academy of Pediatrics, pg 618.
- Is Baby’s Only Organic® USDA Certified Organic?
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Yes, Baby’s Only Organic® Dairy and SOY formula are Certified Organic by OneCert. OneCert is a USDA approved government agency, similar to Quality Assurance International (QAI). For more information about OneCert refer to their website at www.onecert.net. OneCert also complies with the new USDA National Organic Standards Program.
Baby's Only Organic® formula is available in powder form. Each can contains 12.7 oz (360g) of powder and makes a total of 80 fl. oz.
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