[The following is an article which was published for the Valley Co-op Newsletter.] I thought Naturopathic School wouldn’t be too difficult. How hard could it be to learn about plants and food? Five years and a total of 11 years of college later, I have a little more grey hair and have learned that medical school is not a cake walk. I grew up in the 70’s, pre-computer days. Also, the days of milk and bread. At the age of 12, I started having stomach pains and bloating. Mornings were always better, but at night, I often had what appeared to be a ‘pregnant belly’. My gut would swell and then pain and discomfort ensued. My concerned mother scheduled appointments with three Gastroenterologists. Conventional tests revealed a perfectly healthy gastrointestinal system, so I lightly walked away with my air filled, swollen belly. I started Medical School in my late 20’s and learned more about common food sensitivities and health. I took numerous classes in Nutritional Biochemistry and this is where my love for learning about food and health ignited. Among other things, we were taught about goat milk based “Loffler-Wright” home-made infant formula, and the reasons that goat milk was the milk of choice for mothers who could not breast feed: goat milk is the most commonly consumed milk in the world and is most like human breast milk. It is naturally homogenized, contains smaller fat particles, less lactose, and 89% less alpha casein than cow milk. Alpha Casein is a common food allergen in cow milk. But the formula was complicated, and I rarely recommended it as a Doctor. As a Naturopathic Doctor in my 30’s and now 40’s, I was at a loss for what to recommend to new mothers as an alternative infant formula. Over the years, I have seen many people with food sensitivities of all ages, and the benefits after they removed the offending foods. I often test for food sensitivities to avoid the guesswork and time that elimination diets take. So, after speaking candidly to a quality control nurse at a well-known lab in the fall of 2013 regarding an unhealthy infant formula produced there, I decided to look into creating one on my own. Creating an infant formula is expensive and legally complex, so I opted to start with a goat milk toddler formula for ages 1 year and older. My family decided that the name, “Nanny Meal” was fitting.
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