I am not sure reader’s are aware the comment section is in the sidebar. Robin Gentry McGee, founder of Functional Formularies and their dietician Tori Holthaus answered Suzanne’s comment. I thought I would post here so you would be sure to see it.
Suzanne, thank you for generating such interesting discussion and providing us the opportunity to learn!
Krisi
From Robin:
Suzanne~Thank you for your feedback .
There are many reasons that Functional Formularies has only one formula compared to Real Foods Blends three. Liquid Hope is 100% sole source nutrition unlike the five or so ingredients that Real Food Blends offers. And, Liquid Hope also has NO added sugar unlike every other formula on the market including Real Food Blends who use sugar in some form (fruit juice and fruit juice concentrates in this case) to gain their caloric profile. This one little detail alone took 8 year of research and development to achieve.
Our company believes and stands behind the integrity and purity of our ingredients including knowing many of the growers and organic farmers personally. You cannot cook GMO’s pesticides and any other toxin out of food it is impossible and the toxic burden that these foods are putting on the body of little ones, aka body burden is astounding so what you are alluding to that the benefits of organics would be “lost in the process” is simply not true because RFB products are processed the same way as ours.
In a study spearheaded by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) in collaboration with Commonweal, researchers at two major laboratories found an average of 200 industrial chemicals and pollutants in umbilical cord blood from 10 babies born in August and September of 2004 in U.S. hospitals. Tests revealed a total of 287 chemicals in the group. The umbilical cord blood of these 10 children, collected by Red Cross after the cord was cut, harbored pesticides, consumer product ingredients, and wastes from burning coal, gasoline, and garbage. This study was in 2004 long before GMOs were widely used so I cannot even begin to imagine what this study would show today. These little ones and everyone who is on a feeding tube is already greatly compromised so we believe if your are not consuming the purist diet possible when dealing with any health condition, you are simply contributing to the problem. That said, our product is more expensive and with 17 organic whole food ingredients, of course it would be. We have a vast number of people who receive insurance coverage for Liquid Hope and offer a free insurance advocacy service that will help these folks. But at the end of the day, outcome after outcome from our customers are proving our theory as are first phase clinical studies. We have numerous formulas in the pipeline but with the detail and vast amount of ingredients to source and challenge of sourcing large scale manufacturing supply in the exploding organic market, it adds even more complexity to the process.
I have ask one of our RDs to speak to your other points but when I read your post, I felt the need to respond. Also, I see that you co-authored a book with Marsha Dunn who is on the board of Real Food Blends so it is understandable that you have a lot of understanding of that companies products but I would invite you to have a call with Dr John Bagnulo our Nutrition Director who can give you an in-depth download on why we do what we do and the benefits it offers our wonderful customers.
-Robin Gentry McGee Founder and CEO Functional Formularies.
From Tori
Functional Formularies believes in the power of real, whole, organic foods and because of that we also support home-blending when it offers quality, complete nutrition. When we hear that our customers create their own blends with whole, organic foods under the guidance of their Registered Dietitian, we can’t help but smile! But we know that it’s not always easy for patients or caregivers to blend – especially in times of emergency, when they’re traveling, or when they just want a break! That’s part of why people love Liquid Hope…it’s commercially available and shelf stable to help them stress less about quality nutrition care.
In terms of cost, Liquid Hope runs middle of the road for all enteral formula at $7.99/pouch retail. In many cases, Liquid Hope is covered by a patient’s insurance.
Customers love Liquid Hope for a variety of other reasons as well. First, contrary to popular belief, you cannot “cook” the pesticides out of foods, so even through a high-heat process, those pesticides would still exist and potentially interfere with health. Second, Liquid Hope is a nutritionally complete choice, with 1500 mL of the formula meeting 100% of the adult DRIs for 21 essential vitamins and minerals. And third, added sugars — in the form of corn syrup solids and even fruit juice concentrates which are high in fructose — can also lead to multiple health concerns. Please see the references noted below.
Dietary diversity has long been a prominent public health messages. However, we believe it’s not necessarily necessary to eat a large variety of foods to get what your body needs. Hundreds of cultures and indigenous people have consumed very basic diets consisting of the same or similar foods…and think about an infant who thrives solely on mother’s breast-milk for quite some time. In fact, Oliveira Otto et al. in their 2015 research article in PLOS One stated that, “our findings do not support the prevailing notion of diet diversity leading to a healthier diet or lower metabolic risk.”
If a patient does feel the need to include other foods into the diet, they can blend Liquid Hope and those foods together in a blender and strain or dilute as necessary to get to desired consistency for use through a feeding tube. This fills their desire for dietary diversity as well as nutritional completeness.
In the coming years, Functional Formularies has plans to continue to launch new whole-foods, organic, and nutritionally complete formulas for other patient populations including those who may have food allergies, intolerances, or sensitivities. In fact, our newest formula Nourish will be launching in the next 90 days! It has been designed with the nutrition needs in mind for children and unlike Liquid Hope will be free of almond butter so applicable to those who may have tree nut allergies.
Please let me know if you have any other questions!
Dogan, S. “High fructose consumption can induce endotoxemia.” Gastroenterology. 2012 Sept;143(3):e29
Kavanagh, K. et al. “Dietary fructose induces endotoxemia and hepatic injury in calorically controlled primates.” American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 2013 Aug;98(2):349-57.
Oliveira Otto, M.C. et al. “Everything in moderation – dietary diversity and quality, central obesity, and risk of diabetes.” PLOS One. 2015 Oct 15; 1-13.
Payne, A.N., Chassard, C. and C. Lacroix. “Gut microbial adaptation to dietary consumption of fructose, artificial sweeteners and sugar alcohols: implications for host–microbe interactions contributing to obesity.” Obesity. 2012;13:799-809.
-Tori
Tori Holthaus, MS, RDN, LD
Nutritional Medicinals, LLC
Nutrition & Communications Specialist
937.433.0684
Hi Krisi! Have you tasted this? Have your little ones? I have some very picky eaters trying to come off the bottle, but not chewing well enough yet. Would you recommend this to try as a way to increase nutrition and calories?