I want to talk about the F word. No, no not THAT one (although let’s be honest who hasn’t uttered that immortal phase during times of peak parenting stress). I mean flaxseed, and specifically flaxseed oil, and why we love it so much at LittleOak.

First, we need to understand a little about how infant formulas are made. It’s often surprising to people when they learn infant formula contains vegetable oils but there’s an important reason why. Human milk contains a collection of essential fatty acids which are required for normal development in infants and critical to the functioning of the nervous system. Infant formulas must use a range of vegetables oils to achieve a similar balance of essential fatty acids found in breast milk.

Manufacturers can decide to use high-quality oils like coconut or flaxseed, or more mass-produced and cheaper oils including canola and palm oil. Here at LittleOak, we use coconut and flaxseed oils to deliver the majority of our fatty acids. Importantly our oils are cold-pressed and do not use any chemicals or solvents, like hexane, to extract the oil from the plant husk.

Flaxseed is one of nature’s richest plant sources of Omega 3 fatty acids and also a great source of protein. Put simply, flaxseed oil is full of natural goodness so we’ll always be a member of its fan club.

With love from one mother to another,

Elke