Carnation Good Start/Baby Formula

...this product is known as Carnation Good Start in other parts of the world.

Before I go on to reviewing this product, I have to address the controversial issue of the Nestle boycott. I first became aware of this boycott against Nestle when I researched the NAN HA formula on the Internet. There's very little information available about this baby milk, but the search engine kept bringing up a website called www.babymilkaction.org. They ...
...UK. They seem to be on a crusade of some sort to stop Nestle from marketing their baby products, not only in developing countries but here in the UK as well. In their own words: "Our work protects all mothers and infants from irresponsbile marketing." Well, they've done an excellent job here in the UK. Mothers are so protected against Nestle's marketing that they don't even know their baby products exist. Products, that could potentially ... more

This product review is about Nestle's NAN HA 1 baby milk formula. As far as I'm aware, this product is known as Carnation Good Start in other parts of the world.

Before I go on to reviewing this product, I have to address the controversial issue of the Nestle boycott. I first became aware of this boycott against Nestle when I researched the NAN HA formula on the Internet. There's very little information available about this baby milk, but the search engine kept bringing up a website called www.babymilkaction.org. They are a non-profit organisation spearheading the Nestle boycott in the UK. They seem to be on a crusade of some sort to stop Nestle from marketing their baby products, not only in developing countries but here in the UK as well. In their own words: "Our work protects all mothers and infants from irresponsbile marketing." Well, they've done an excellent job here in the UK. Mothers are so protected against Nestle's marketing that they don't even know their baby products exist. Products, that could potentially save their babies from various allergic conditions like eczema, colic and acid reflux.

And before anyone would have a chance to criticise mothers for not breastfeeding, please be aware that breastfeeding is not always an option. There are many reasons why a mother would have to choose a formula over breastfeeding, and Nestle's NAN HA formula could be the best option when the baby is at risk of developing allergies.

Sensitivity to Milk Proteins
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Two years ago, when my son was just a couple of months old, he developed quite severe eczema, which our health visitor and GP were trying to treat with various greasy ointments, ignoring the fact that the cause of the problem was sensitivity to milk proteins in his regular formula. He was on SMA Gold at the time. His skin became hardened, inflamed, and itchy all over his little body and he was obviously in constant discomfort. It stopped him from sleeping at night, which made life quite difficult for both of us. This went on for months and the creams our GP had prescribed did little to relieve his sufferring. In a rather desperate attempt to help my son I ended up doing my own research on the Internet. The end result of my research was Nestle's NAN HA formula, based mainly on recommendations from other mothers. I've also found a few medical references from non-UK sources that this formula can potentially help babies with eczema, colic and acid reflux, all of which are connected to the inability to digest milk proteins properly. Luckily, most babies will outgrow these conditions by the time they're 12-18 months old, but if left untreated, this sensitivity can lead to more serious complications like asthma. I was not going to let that happen!

Availability and Price
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This milk is not available in any shop, supermarket or drugstore, where you would normally find other formulas, due to the boycott. My local pharmacy ordered it in for me especially. It is quite expensive at around £8.50 a can, costing about £3.00 more than other regular formulas, but by no means unaffordable. Considering the money we saved by not having to bulk buy special creams and bath additives any more, it was more than worth the price for us.

Packaging
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The milk powder comes in regular 900g metal cans, which are recyclable. Like many other formulas, the can is sealed with a metal lid, which easily peels away. On top of that, there's a plastic lid. Detailed instructions on how to prepare the formula are printed on the can, along with the list of ingredients and nutritional value, which compared to regular formulas, look very much the same. At first glance, this looks just like any other formula on the market.

Preparation
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This formula milk is prepared in exactly the same way as any other formula. Make sure all utensils are sterile or at least very clean, and measure one level scoop of powder for each ounce of cooled, boiled water. Shake the bottle, check the temperature and feed. I've found that the NAN HA 1 powder disolves very well. It also tastes and smells quite pleasant. Well, I wouldn't put it on my cornflakes or into my tea, but my son loved it.

Allergy Warning
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Nestle's been criticised for calling this formula hypoallergenic, and I suspect it could be one of the reasons it is being kept off the market. Compared to extensively hydrolysed formulas like Nutramigen, which is only available on prescription, NAN HA contains only partially hydrolysed proteins. This means that babies with an extreme milk allergy, which I must stress is very-very rare, could have an anaphylactic shock consuming NAN HA milk as it is not fully hypoallergenic. For this reason, the formula carries a label warning parents not to give this milk to babies with a proven milk allergy.

However, this formula is suitable for babies who are only sensitive to milk proteins and it can protect them from developing allergies. I've found this abstract of an independent medical study, which supports this claim: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=9404092&dopt=Abstract

Comfort proteins
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So what makes this formula (partially) hypoallergenic? The milk protein in this formula is broken down into smaller bits. Essentially, the protein is pre-digested so the baby's delicate digestive system doesn't have to go into overdrive. The technical term "hydrolysed" sounds like a horrible chemical job, but it really just refers to the process of breaking down the protein. Because of these gentle proteins, babies are less likely to develop allergic reactions like eczema.

My personal experience with NAN HA
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I gave this formula to my son between the ages of 5-12 months. I noticed a remarkable improvement of his skin condition within just 2 weeks and his eczema was practically gone after 4 weeks of use. Finally, he had beautiful, soft baby skin again and I was incredibly relieved. I used the NAN HA 1 starter formula, and although there's a follow-on formula called NAN HA 2 from 6 months onwards, I found it to be unsuitable for us. The follow-on formula contains some kind of potato starch which turns the milk into a thick, gluey liquid and my son didn't like it, so we went back to using the starter formula. He truely thrived on this milk and he's always been a big, healthy boy with a very strong immune system, despite not being breastfed.

I switched him to HIPP Organic Follow-on milk at 12 months, hoping that he had outgrown his milk sensitivity by then. Theoretically, babies can drink cow's milk from 12 months onwards but given his track record, I thought we'd better stick to a formula until he's at least two years old. His eczema came back, but it was much milder than before. After a few weeks, we changed to SMA Progress instead and he was fine with that until about 20 months when he suddenly decided that he was not going to drink milk any more. To this day, he doesn't drink milk and he just about tolerates it on his cereals. Luckily, he eats lots of cheese and yoghurt instead. His skin is fine, and apart from a few occassional flare-ups, he's been eczema free.

Recommendation and Conclusion
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I'm 100% convinced that this formula works and I'd recommend it to anyone who's having problems with their regular baby milk.

Having lost faith in my health professionals, I made my own decision to give this formula to my son and I paid for it myself. However, if you talk to your HV or GP, you may be able to get it on prescription. The problem is, they probably won't know anything about this product.

I don't pretend to understand the legalities behind the Nestle boycott, but my personal opinion is that the Baby Milk Action group have done a terrible disservice to mothers in the UK with regard to this formula. While Nestle's chocolate bars and coffees remain widely available, and consumers can make their own choice whether to buy them or not, this formula is unavailable to mothers in the UK who would desperately need it. If brands like SMA and Cow&Gate are allowed to market their baby products, why can't Nestle do the same? NAN HA should be on the market, with information available about its benefits. By all means, let consumers know about the reasons for the boycott, but also let them make their own buying decisions. Keeping this product off the UK market will not hurt Nestle significantly, but it can have a negative impact on the well-being of many babies who are sensitive to regular formulas.

Note: I couldn't find any photos of the starter formula, but I 've posted one of the follow-on formula NAN HA 2, which looks very similar.

If you would like to find out more about the boycott against Nestle, here's a link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nestl%C3%A9_boycott 

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