Anti-Vaxxer Kristin Cavallari Shares Her DIY Baby Formula Recipe
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Kristin Cavallari appears to have finally completed her process of transformation from “Poor Man’s Lauren Conrad” into “Off-Brand Jenny McCarthy,” because the anti-vaxxer and former reality TV star just appeared in People magazine to promote her book and share her recipe for DIY baby formula, and it seems like an astoundingly bad idea for feeding babies.
People has since taken down the post, but according to RawStory, Cavallari said she developed the recipe herself with the help of a pediatrician and her husband, Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler. The recipe includes cod liver oil, goat’s milk powder, and organic maple syrup, and Cavallari said she makes her own formula because she thinks it’s better ”than a heavily processed store-bought formula that contains ”˜glucose syrup solids,’ which is another name for corn syrup solids, maltrodextrin, carrageenan and palm oil.”
Cavallari’s book also contains her DIY formula recipe, along with advice to check with a pediatrician before feeding it to a baby. That’s a pretty good idea, but your pediatrician will probably just tell you to use real formula.
Formula is great! Formula is science milk that keeps alive many babies who otherwise might not be. It is developed by scientists and doctors and is very heavily regulated to make sure it is safe for babies. Bypassing all those safeguards in favor of the “expertise” of a football player and a woman perhaps best known for being the person you call when you can’t get Lauren Conrad to be on your reality TV show anymore is a terrible, terrible, no-good, very bad idea.
Goat’s milk, maple syrup, and cod liver oil sounds pretty tasty. I mean, I’d drink it, especially if you added some rum or cardamom. But I would never, ever feed it to an infant, because goat milk is not recommended for infants.
Cavallari says she uses goat’s milk because her kids have sensitivities to cow’s milk, but there are many different varieties of science milk on the market that are very good for babies with hosts of different requirements, allergies, and sensitivities. Whatever your baby’s needs, there is probably a product out there that is a better idea than a homemade goat milk and maple syrup concoction designed by Kristin Cavallari. Kristin Cavallari is not even very good at designing shoes.
People even seemed to know that Cavallari’s advice was garbage, and included a bewildered voice of reason from Dr. Mark Corkins, a pediatric gastroenterologist and member of the American Academy of Pediatrics, who told People:
”Why would you want to use an alternative formula when there are well tested and tried formulas widely available? These cocktail formulas do not have the fortification of the vitamins and minerals that the standard formulas have. Commercial formulas are some of the most highly regulated foods with strict nutritional standards that the companies have to meet for the FDA.”
As long as Corkins is here to be the voice of science and reason, I’m just going to respond to this foolishness with all the seriousness that it deserves: reaction GIFs of Lauren Conrad. Here are the four stages of my face upon reading Kristin Cavallari’s recipe for DIY baby formula:
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Formula is good. Babies are great. Reality TV is OK too. But don’t feed babies spurious formula recipes developed by reality TV stars, unless that reality TV star happens also to be a scientist and medical professional.
