In my second romance novel, Dancing with a Cowboy, (Winged Publications, 2019, available on Amazon.com.) the main character, attorney Lauren Gonzalez, was consulted by a family whose son had developmental delays. At the age of two he wasn’t talking, crawling or walking. Since his mother could not provide breast milk for him, his pediatrician recommended a cow’s milk formula for her to use. When he became allergic to that formula, the pediatrician put him on a soy formula. But the baby still failed to gain weight. His family wondered if the delays their toddler experienced were caused by the soy formula.
Although the characters in the above scenario are fictional, it is based on truth. I worked on a couple of cases about this formula. Hundreds of children in the United States were affected by the “Neo Mull Soy” formula manufactured by Syntex Corporation in the eighties.
The formula was changed by the so called “nutritional scientist,” who had no training in nutrition and very little in science. Without doing any testing, he took all sodium chloride (salt) out of the formula. Why? His testimony was that if salt is bad for adults, it must be bad for babies. However, this deletion reduced the overall chloride levels and chloride is an essential nutrient for brain growth in babies. Ingestion of the formula caused developmental delays, learning disabilities, kidney damage and brain damage in hundreds of children in our country. If you want to read more about it, search “Neo Mull Soy Syndrome.”
What does this incident teach us? It is wise to do your own research regarding the food and drink you give your children. Although the FDA is a preliminary source of information about a product, they do not have the funding, staff or resources to investigate changes in products like the change in the formula mentioned above.
If your child at any age is diagnosed with a failure to gain weight, get them to a pediatrician as soon as possible. Deficiencies in the diets of babies and toddlers can and often do impact their brain development. The developmental delays need immediate investigation, diagnoses and treatment. Don’t depend upon the company’s information on the label or the internet about the safety of their product!
Intelligent and shy, Elaine “Lainey” MacDonald escaped an abusive relationship and is starting a new life as a paralegal, working in her dream law firm in Florida. When she is invited to a ballroom dance class, she meets ranch foreman and former rodeo star, Allan Whitfield. He wants to go out with Lainey, but can she conquer the secret fear that still haunts her?
Persistent and charming, Allan thinks he has overcome his past failures. But would Lainey want to be with him if his own family doesn’t?
Buy Dancing with a Cowboy, Book 2, or Susan’s other romances, Her Next Dance, Book 1, or Save the Last Dance, Book 3.
Susan Fischer is an author, Christian Mediator, and a speaker with several ministries. She leads a worship service at a local retirement center and is active in the Peacemaking Ministry, Inner Healing Prayer Ministry, leads a Bible Study group, and is a member of the Order of the Daughters of the King. She has a Juris Doctor degree from Detroit College of Law and has practiced Personal Injury Law in Michigan and Florida for over 30 years. She has a son and daughter in law, and lives in Bradenton, Florida, near a dance studio and her favorite beach.
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