Is popular organic infant formula too sweet?
We’d all love to believe that the label “organic” is synonymous with “healthy.”
But that may not be the case when it comes to Similac’s Organic Formula.
An article in the New York Times suggests Similac’s Organic Formula, which costs about five bucks more than non-organic Similac formulas, is the sweetest formula around. It uses cane sugar, which is sucrose and has been falling out of favor in infant formula since the 1950s.
Read the article here. (Thanks to a savvy SouthernMamas reader for alerting us to it).
“No health problems in babies have been associated with Similac Organic,” the article states. “But to pediatricians, there are risks in giving babies cane sugar.”
Concerns about sucrose include harming tooth enamel faster than other sugars and contributing to obesity, which is why the European Union plans to ban it in infant formula by the end of 2009. In a New York Times taste test, the Similac Organic formula tasted the sweetest, with “the sweetness of grape juice or Country Time lemonade.”
“All infant formulas contain added sugars, which babies need to digest the proteins in cow’s milk or soy,” the article states. “Other organic formulas, like Earth’s Best and Parent’s Choice, use organic lactose as the added sugar.”
Whether sucrose turns out to be a health risk or not, a too-sweet formula certainly isn’t what parents have in mind when we buy organic.
July 25th, 2008 at 12:24 pm
In response, I did find an organic formula that does not use added lactose, instead they use organic brown rice syrup, which is gentle and does not contain chemicals. I wanted to find the most natural product out there and did a great deal of research before choosing Babys Only Organic Formula. Since I couldn’t breastfeed my baby, I take comfort in giving her this formula. The website for this formula provides alot of great nutritional information. The website is NaturesOne.com
August 15th, 2008 at 1:25 pm
Has anyone here ever tasted infant formula?? It’s horrible! Maybe a little sugar would help the taste!
May 8th, 2009 at 4:17 pm
With all do respect, Aimee, if you did research this topic you would know that lactose, not brown rice syrup is the preferred carbohydrate.
Lactose is found in all mammals, including mother’s milk. Not brown rice syrup.
Also, only about 2% of babies are born lactose intolerant as babies need this sugar for their basic body functions. Lactose intolerance is something that is usually develops later on in life, after your body quits manufacturing lactase, an enzyme.