vegetarian formula is there one???

[Zakliz]

I'm new to this coz desperate with a question. Is there any baby milk on the market that is vegetarian. My son is 10 months old and has decided he doesn't want to breast feed any more. Hipp organic is no longer vegetarian. I've done a quick search on internet but not come up with an answer. Just thought I'd pick your brains.Thanks

Here?

franke - soya formula has risks, and is only recommended for babies who are diagnosed intolerant/allergic to regular formula.

Zakliz - speak to your HV about using ordinary cows milk for your baby. There should be no real risks in giving this now, if your baby has a wide range of solid foods. If you are keen to continue breastfeeding you can call any of the breastfeeding helplines - this could be a 'nursing strike' and there are many ways to overcome it.

Most cows based formulas have extracts of fish oil added so that they contain the omega three fats which are essential for brain development. I know thats not vegeterian but its definately not meat and some vegetarians would be happy to feed DHA fish oils to their young children.

Someone else has pointed the link to a soya formula, which is vegetarian and vegan. Its personal choice but there are suggestions that soya formula is not a good idea unless recommend by a doctor because of the female hormone type things in it. You'd have to do your research and decide for yourself.

It might be a good idea to call the carelines of Aptamil, cow and gate, HIPP, heinz, and SMA to discuss if they have any vegetarian formulas.

What on earth are Hipp putting in formula to make it non-vegetarian?! It's supposed to be MILK fgs!

Most formulas (all?) have animal fats (such as beef tallow, which comes from bovine fatty tissue) in them, and some additives like prebiotics may be processed from fish oils.

I'd guess omega 3 in formula might be a bit of a marketing con. A. is it necessary for babies rather than older children and adults and B. is it in a form that babies will actually use i.e. bioavailable? I know iron in formula is poorly digested so they have to stick loads in as most of it is excreted.

Check out the Food Standards Agency website eatwell.gov.uk (before the government takes it down) to see what 10mo babies actually need.

Btw, it is true that omega 3 is best obtained from oily fish, which is a problem if you are veggie. Some people are not great at converting veggie alternatives such as linseed oil into the form that the body needs to digest and use. But there's no way of knowing how good your body is at this. As a vegetarian, I just trust to luck that my body is OK as I'm certainly not about to start eating oily fish!

wow thanks for response thats great. I am thinking that i may just go straight to cow or goats milk. He eats all solid food so well. will get advice from HV but feel reluctant to use synthetic formulas when we have come so far naturally. I understand that goats milk might be better to start with due to having smaller molecules than cows and therefore being closure in structure to breast milk. Any views on this?

I think that Nanny Goat Milk is vegetarian, though this may no longer be the case as its a few years since I looked into it. They have a freephone 'careline' though so they will be able to tell you.

Tiktok, any formula which is approved as kosher cannot contain animal fats etc (ie anything of animal origin other than milk) - although fish oils (as long as not from shellfish) would be ok.

The Beth Din are very very strict about this. I have checked the kosher listing and most formulas are approved as kosher, including cow & gate, enfamil, heinz, hipp, milupa (aptamil), nanny care, SMA.

This appears to be pretty much all the formulas on the market, so the claim that "most" formulas contain animal fats is simply wrong.

I know for a long time SMA was not kosher (because it contained animal fats) but it has been fine now since around the time DD was born (she's now 6).

Thanks, MuminNWLondon - I guess my info on this is out of date.

my friend found a follow on milk that is veggie but I can't remember which one. not very helpful but just so you know there is one out there! easy for me to say but I woulnd't bother with formula at this stage if he is eating well.

SMA follow on milk is apparently vegetarian

According to the SMA website SMA follow on milk and toddler milk(powder only though) is vegetarian:

SMA follow on

I recently had exactly the same problem but Hipp Organic are still selling the old recipe infant formula and follow on milk through their online shop until stocks are gone. I've been ordering veggie milk from them (delivery is free) and it works out to about £6 a box but you have to buy in quantities of 4 boxes at a time. Also SMA toddler milk powder is veggie but this is for over 1's.

Holle formula is vegetarian - you can order from Amazon. My first box arrived in the post this morning!