Nature's One Supports GAIN's Efforts to Improve Nutrition

NEW YORK, NY, August 23, 2012

Launched in 2002, during the Special Session of the United Nations General Assembly on Children, the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) was formed "with the commitment to saving lives and improving health in developing countries through the elimination of nutritional deficiencies," according to The Huffington Post. Nature's One, a pioneer in organic pediatric nutrition, supports the work of GAIN, citing the need to protect against the sometimes irreversible damage that malnutrition can cause to a child's health.

The Huffington Post reports that malnutrition has caused nearly 11 percent of disease around the world. Additionally, it accounts for around 35 percent of child mortality in kids under the age of five--which translates into 3.5 million deaths per year. An additional 2 million children are also affected by malnutrition through physical and mental handicaps that stem from vitamin insufficiencies and the improper intake of minerals, proteins, and fats.

In 2008, reports the article, GAIN decided to take a proactive stance against malnutrition by "addressing the 1,000-day window critical for human development, from conception through the first two years." To do so, it partnered with community members and organizations to improve the nutrition of pregnant and lactating women, as the organization understands that breastfeeding is critical to the proper nutrition of children.

"[...] with the exception of promotion of early initiation and exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months and continued breastfeeding through 24 months, little was being done to enhance the nutrition of pregnant and lactating women, and children 6-25 months," reports the article. "GAIN began working with the community [...] to develop and promote the use of home fortificants--small sachets of essential nutrients that can be added to food already being eaten by young

children six to 24 months and pregnant and lactating women, to provide added nutritional value to the diets to those whose nutritional requirements could not be met through their diet, even those that included fortified foods, alone."

Nature's One applauds the efforts of GAIN to promote breastfeeding, as it recognizes that breastfeeding provides the best nutrition for infants.

"Once again, we are learning more about the long term benefits of breastfeeding. Moreover, parents of all socioeconomic levels need to be educated as to the importance of proper nutrition the first three years of life, when breast milk is the perfect food. Some early age nutritional deficits may create irreversible and negative development issues, such as compromised problem-solving and spatial reasoning skills," says Nature's One CEO Jay Highman.

ABOUT:

Nature's One was founded in 1997. A pioneer of organic pediatric nutrition, Nature's One is highly regarded for its Baby's Only Organic Formulas, Baby's Only Essentials, PediaSmart Organic Complete Nutrition Beverage, and PediaVance Electrolyte Solution brands. Over the last decade and a half, Nature's One has dedicated is resources to researching, developing, and manufacturing high quality nutritional solutions.