Product Review

Colief® Infant Drops are the result of a desperate mother, Mary Buckley, trying to find a solution to her baby’s constant crying. Mary turned to her GP for help and would visit him two or three times a week with her baby Rebecca. Mary's GP felt that the cause of Rebecca's problems was linked to lactase enzyme deficiency and remembered seeing a product containing lactase enzyme on sale in the USA which, when added to milk, allowed people with lactase deficiency to consume milk or dairy products without unpleasant side effects. It occurred to Mary that this lactase enzyme product could be specially formulated for babies with transient lactase deficiency. Initial hospital trials in Cork showed that the product also had a pronounced effect on babies with colic. The trial was small but the results were significant and were published in the professional ‘Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics’ in September 1998. It showed that, by breaking down most of the lactose in baby’s feed by adding lactase enzyme drops to the milk a number of hours before feeding, the hours of crying were significantly reduced. These results were confirmed by a subsequent, larger trial at Guys Hospital in London, which was published in October 2001.