April 2011

I am sure that you have all heard of Lady Gaga but have you heard of Baby Gaga? Baby Gaga is a radical new, naturally blended ice cream being sold at Icecreamist in London. Baby Gaga ice cream is radical not because it costs $24 for a single scoop. It is radical because it is a creamy blend of pasteurized breast milk, Madagascan vanilla pods and lemon zest. Yes, that would be human breast milk. Matt O’Connor, founder of Icecreamist, wants to “liberate the world one lick at a time” and if nothing else he is creating a buzz around his Covent Garden boutique ice cream shop. The idea of using breast milk to make ice cream was born out of O’Connor’s desire not to waste an abundance of frozen breast milk he and his wife had stored in their freezer.

Most cultures of the world consider the consumption of breast milk as a dairy food bizarre. But believe it or not, breast milk ice cream is just one of an interesting new niche of natural products that include cheese, yogurt, bread and soap all made with human breast milk. It is universally recognized that there is no commercial formula on the market today that is superior to breast milk for the nutritional needs of a newborn baby. It sounds weird and wrong for adults to consume breast milk. But is it? Some in the medical community are convinced that breast milk can induce the destruction of some types of cancer cells. And it is used in home remedies for conjunctivitis, insect bites/stings, contact dermatitis and burns. I’ll admit it – this formula feed baby sampled her own breast milk. Like most of you, I tried a little of everything before feeding it to my own babies (even those nasty iron drops). I really can’t remember much about how breast milk tasted but Colby & Brady seemed to enjoy it. However, at this point in time I don’t think the Bolin men are willing to give up their Breyers All Natural Vanilla Ice Cream. And the thought that one day we may see signs in the grocery store that say “Product of a Free-Range Lactating Woman” is way beyond my comprehension.

Make the time to be good to you – treat yourself to a scoop of your favorite ice cream, enjoy the warmer temperatures and take advantage of the extra hours of sunlight.

Happy Spring, Happy Easter and Good Health!

Terry

“If you can spend a perfectly useless afternoon in a perfectly useless manner, you have learned how to live”
– Lin Yutang