New research revealed that the majority of the infant formulas on the market contain higher sugar and carbohydrates than breast milk. Most of the nutrition labels were also found to be unclear, making it consumers hard to make a decision.  

High Sugar Poses Negative Health Impacts 

The research done across 11 countries disclosed that infant formulas are higher in sugar, lactose, and carbohydrates. Carbohydrates are responsible for providing energy, sugar and lactose are also carbohydrates. 

Breast milk sugar, lactose changes according to your baby’s need, but formulas could not achieve the same. When the baby drinks a formula that is too high in sugar, in the long run, it can increase the risk of obesity, tooth decay, diabetes and more. 

Sweet Tooth?!

Baby loves sweet things too, there is no surprise if your baby prefers sweeter formula milk brands. Parents might be happy to see the baby gaining weight and ignore the fact that high sugar poses negative impacts to their infants. 

If you don’t want your baby to develop a sweet tooth, select the food/ milk you give wisely. 

Read the Nutrition Labels 

Always read the label before you purchase it. Look at the nutrition labels, age restriction, and expiry date. 

The labels should tell you 

  • Total carbohydrate 
  • Carbohydrates of which sugars 
  • Carbohydrates of which lactose 

Compare different formulas, then make a decision. 

Yet, many brands do not have complete nutrition labels, with such limited information, the fault is not yours if you’re stuck with decision-making. 

 

Source: 
A cross-country exploratory study to investigate the labelling, energy, carbohydrate and sugar content of formula milk products marketed for infants. 
By Gemma Bridge, Marta Lomazzi, and Raman Bedi.

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