The "Fad " Era !

People who jump aboard the latest "Fad " have always been with us.   Miracle weight loss diets are common but sometimes the subject becomes more serious.    We are seeing over protective parents withdrawing their children from NAPLAN testing because they fear that sitting a simple test will cause harm by increasing anxiety.  Even more worrying, an ever growing cult is refusing to have children vaccinated against childhood diseases, allowing once vanquished scourges to regain
 a foothold.

This latest Fad has some self opinionated  mothers refusing baby formulae and replacing it with a formulae of their own construction - known simply as "bone broth ".  It seems to have the approval of a few trend setting Naturopaths and of course it is fast becoming a talk topic on the Internet.

A vast number of recipes are going the rounds and many include boiling up a broth that includes bones, chicken feet, chicken necks, apple cider, vinegar and filtered water.  Pseudo intellectuals make amazing claims and we are hearing from Mums who declare that they "would not think of giving their child that artificial commercial product ".

Long suffering dieticians who work for the commercial formulae companies know that human infants are less prepared for the world that their animal kingdom counterparts.  Human breast milk is engineered by the human body to provide just the right balance to develop blood and brain tissue and develop kidneys that are under strength at birth.  Balancing the formulae for newborns is an exacting task that is a constant subject of research.

Commercial greed in China saw cow's milk adulterated with Melamin to improve profits and this filtered through into Chinese manufactured formulae - with fatal results for some babies.  This brought a demand rush for Australian and New Zealand formulae and quickly emptied supermarket shelves.   Rationing was introduced and limits applied at airport customs to prevent overseas visitors using infant formulae as contraband - to sell for profit back home in China.

It seems that Australian and New Zealand baby formulae remains the most trusted product in the most populated world country and all our manufacturers have increased production to meet that demand.  It seems that all it takes to tear down that enviable reputation is for the emergence of a few "visionaries " to extoll a theory of their own - and denigrate a product that has been tested and recommended by the world of science and has a proven track record.

It also seems that these emerging visionaries are short on academic qualifications, and long on what some call "the gift of the gab "  - the ability to sound convincing.   Their spiel is attractive to conspiracy theorists, those who distrust governments and all forms of industry and rely on folklore more than scientific fact.   These same folk often claim to have the knowledge to cure diseases such as cancer and claim that commercial powers are keeping such discoveries from becoming known to suit their own interests.

Those who uphold the principle of free speech usually impose limitations.  Someone who shouts "fire "in a crowded theatre and starts a deadly stampede could not rely on that as a defence, and surely there must be limits on claims made on health grounds that deliver known risks.