Almond Milk Increases Risk of Scurvy in Babies

An almond milk-based diet made a baby develop scurvy

(Mirror Daily, United States) – After an 11-month-old baby was diagnosed with scurvy because of an almond milk-only diet, scientists believe almond milk increases risk of scurvy in babies.

The diet of a baby is very important and parents have to be very careful about what it consists of. Although it is recommended that infants should be breastfed as long as possible, many women seek alternatives soon after birth. Most people replace breast milk with the traditional formula that is closest to what the baby’s organism needs to intake.

However, probably trying to make sure the baby eats only natural and bio-products, with no chemicals added, some parents make wrong choices about their babies diet. For example, the baby in Spain who developed scurvy was fed only with almond milk which led to a Vitamin C deficiency.

It seems that the baby had been fed wrong since the beginning. At 2 months old he developed skin rashes because he was fed only with a cow milk-based formula. After that, parents started feeding him with almond milk. This made him better but he refused to eat anything else. Although by the time he reached 11 months he seemed healthy, the doctors found the baby had a very low level of Vitamin C as well as femur fractures.

It is recommended that an infant’s diet is slowly changed after they reach 6 months of age. Therefore, besides breast milk, which is the best, or formula, the baby should start eating vegetables and fruits as well as meat. Of course the food will mostly be pureed but it will surely contain all the substances needed by the baby’s organism in order to be healthy.

Nowadays, scurvy happens very rarely in developed countries. The disease was very spread in the 18^th century, usually among people who travelled a lot such as explorers or pirates. Among children, the ones who are the most at risk are those who have a restrictive diet.

It is clear that the reason this baby developed scurvy was the restricted diet, which was plant-based only. Since the infant did not have any intake of other substances needed in his body, his organism started failing. It is not yet sure if the almond milk per say had anything to do with it, except being ingested in large quantities.

All in all, it is recommended that you feed you babies properly, trying to offer them a balanced diet, which includes all of the substances and vitamins they need.

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Tara Hamilton

Tara has graduated from the University of Oregon, with bachelors degree in Spanish Literature in 2010. She lived in Miami for one year and travelled extensively before settling down in El Paso.