[Infant feeding, how to choose an infant milk?].

Infant feeding, how to choose an infant milk? The infant's nutrition is of particular concern, not only to assume a good nutritional status, an adequate growth and development, but also, to some extent, for his future health. Breast feeding remains the best choice but needs to be counseled in practice and in order to avoid deficiencies as well as chemical or in¬fectious contaminations. As a substitute to breast milk, none non modified mammalian milk fits the infant's nutritional needs. Similarly, no non-modified vegetal juice fits these needs, being able to provoke severe nutritional deficiencies. Out of the numerous available formulas, a choice criterion should be the presence of arachidonic acid in infant and follow-up formulae. No other ingredient can yet be counseled as inescapable for every healthy infant. Anti-reflux substitutes are useful for the spitting infants. The lac¬tose-free formulas should be used only in protracted or severe acute diarrheas. Extended hydrolysates of cow's milk proteins, or hydrolyzed rice formulas are prescribed in cow's milk allergy. In rare cases of allergy to these formulas, an amino-acid mixture-based formula is an alternative.