Shop to make breast milk ice cream

LONDON (Reuters) – A specialist ice cream parlor plans to serve up breast milk ice cream and says people should think of it as an organic, free-range treat.
The breast milk concoction, called the "Baby Gaga," will be available from Friday at the Icecreamists restaurant in London's Covent Garden.
Icecreamists founder Matt O'Connor was confident his take on the "miracle of motherhood" and priced at a hefty 14 pounds ($23) a serving will go down a treat with the paying public.
The breast milk was provided by mothers who answered an advertisement on online mothers' forum Mumsnet.
Victoria Hiley, 35, from London was one of 15 women who donated milk to the restaurant after seeing the advert.
Hiley works with women who have problems breast-feeding their babies. She said she believes that if adults realized how tasty breast milk actually is, then new mothers would be more willing to breast-feed their own newborns.
"What could be more natural than fresh, free-range mother's milk in an ice cream? And for me it's a recession beater too -- what's the harm in using my assets for a bit of extra cash," Hiley said in a statement.
"I tried the product for the first time today -- it's very nice, it really melts in the mouth."
The Baby Gaga recipe blends breast milk with Madagascan vanilla pods and lemon zest, which is then churned into ice cream.
O'Connor said the Baby Gaga was just one of a dozen radical new flavors at the shop.
"Some people will hear about it and go, 'yuck' but actually it's pure, organic, free-range and totally natural," he said. "I had a Baby Gaga just this morning and I feel great."

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Just thought I'd add my two cents considering that I have nursed all four of my children and am nursing my youngest still. I absolutely love it and believe it to be the healthiest and best food that I can give to my baby. I agree that is is pure, organic and free range. Breast-milk ice-cream sounds interesting. Now, I probably would not be too quick to drink just anyone's milk considering that a lot of people have such horrible diets and even smoke, drink, and do drugs while breastfeeding. It is healthy and there are so many benefits for those who consume it. If in doubt about the benefits do your research and if you are having trouble breastfeeding do not give up. If all else fails consider a wet nurse.

Eleny

Breast Milk: A Perfect Food

In humans as well as other mammals, a newborn’s very first meal of colostrum is of great significance to its health and well-being for the rest of its life. The immune system of the newborn is not fully developed, making it highly susceptible to numerous pathogens, antigens and allergens. Colostrum provided in breast milk contains all the needed immune factors that are essential to activate, regulate and balance the immune system. This is of great significance as the newborn’s own system develops.

Mother’s milk provides the perfectly assigned, individualized nutritional food to promote passive immunity and proper growth and development. As mammals grow, essential glycoproteins in breast milk keep the immune system functional.

Nutritional Support + Immunity

Mother’s milk provides both immunity (passive and active) and nutritional benefits. The lipids, carbohydrates, amino acids and other nutrients provide the baby with ideal nutrition and, therefore, enhance the overall health of the baby. Colostrum provides rich immune factors to sensitive newborns that cannot yet fend for themselves. Peyer’s patches, found throughout the intestinal tract, and groups of immunoactive cells in the bronchial mucosa that destroy allergens, antigens and pathogens, are not yet operative in the newborn.

Colostrum contains antibodies against E. coli, Salmonells, Shigells v. cholera, Bacteriodes fragilis, Streptococcus pneumonia, Bordtella pertussis, Clostridium diphtheria, Streptococcus mutans, clostridium tetani and Candida albicans. Breast feeding was also found to be effective against the hepatitis C virus (HCV). Research shows that both anti-HCV antibody and HCV-ribonucleic acid are present in colostrum.

Babies deprived of breast milk are simply not as healthy as those who are breast-fed. Non-breast fed babies develop eczema, food and upper respiratory allergies and gastrointestinal problems at a much higher rate than breast-fed babies do. Acquired maternal antibodies are also transferred through breast feeding and will protect the baby. If the mother has contracted a disease such as measles, pertussis, or mumps, sometime prior to pregnancy, she has developed antibodies against them making her immune to re-infection. These antibodies are passed on in her breast milk to protect the baby from contracting these conditions while breast feeding. This is a most critical time of growth and development. Breast-fed babies who do contract these conditions later will experience a milder condition with far fewer complications compared to non-breast-fed babies.

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