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Too sweet? Organic baby formula
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Organic, by definition, means "not likely to harm our babies with pesticides or food additives." Ok, that's not the technical definition, but when many parents choose an organic product, they usually do so with their family's health and well-being in mind.
So when families choose Similac Organic formula to feed their babies, they know they're getting a product that's been created using all organic ingredients. What they might not realize, however, is that Similac Organic is made with cane sugar, or sucrose. Though other organic infant formula manufacturers use lactose, Similac has gone with the sweeter, and much more controversial sucrose.
The potential problem with cane sugar is exactly what makes it taste so good...its sweetness. Some experts worry that eating such a sweet formula early on can lead to tooth decay, overfeeding, or rapid weight gain, as well as a lifelong craving for sweeter foods. Others, including Similac and the FDA, say that sucrose is proven safe and that Similac Organic doesn't contain any more sweetener than other brands.
Whether or not you buy into the "sweet foods beget a sweet tooth" theory or not, stories like this one are a good reminder that reading the labels on the front of a product aren't enough anymore. When choosing a formula or other foods that you eat regularly, it's always a good idea to turn the package around and read the ingredient list. Then there are no surprises.
Have you used Similac Organic? Does the cane sugar issue concern you?
So when families choose Similac Organic formula to feed their babies, they know they're getting a product that's been created using all organic ingredients. What they might not realize, however, is that Similac Organic is made with cane sugar, or sucrose. Though other organic infant formula manufacturers use lactose, Similac has gone with the sweeter, and much more controversial sucrose.
The potential problem with cane sugar is exactly what makes it taste so good...its sweetness. Some experts worry that eating such a sweet formula early on can lead to tooth decay, overfeeding, or rapid weight gain, as well as a lifelong craving for sweeter foods. Others, including Similac and the FDA, say that sucrose is proven safe and that Similac Organic doesn't contain any more sweetener than other brands.
Whether or not you buy into the "sweet foods beget a sweet tooth" theory or not, stories like this one are a good reminder that reading the labels on the front of a product aren't enough anymore. When choosing a formula or other foods that you eat regularly, it's always a good idea to turn the package around and read the ingredient list. Then there are no surprises.
Have you used Similac Organic? Does the cane sugar issue concern you?
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ReaderComments (Page 1 of 1)
5-24-2008 @ 12:54PM
sg said...Thank you for bringing this issue to my attention and shame on me for not reading the Similac label and realizing what ingredients they were using. When my daughter rejected a couple different kinds of organic formula after having been exclusively breastfed for six months, I tried the Similac--which she willingly took. That is what we used for her on an occassional basis when pumped breastmilk was not available or convenient.
She is a bit older now and eats solid food, not formula; however, I have a baby boy due in June and had saved the Similac, with the intention of using the rest for him. I had always been so careful not to give my daughter foods with cane sugar in them. Now that I know about Similac, it's going straight into the garbage.
Reply
5-24-2008 @ 3:40PM
Jenn said...Yep, another case where people fail to realize (and companies willingly capitalize on!) that "organic" does not necessarily equal "healthier."
However, while I don't think that cane sugar (or any other kind of sweetener, really) belongs in baby formula, cane sugar is arguably more natural than other alternatives, and is definitely more readily available in an organic version.
When looking at sweet options (for older kids & adults, of course!), cane sugar is actually a plus -- it's corn syrup, particularly high fructose corn syrup, you want to avoid. Although to be completely healthy, just avoid anything with ANY kind of sweetener in it!
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5-24-2008 @ 4:12PM
kpilker said...People in the middle ages ate organic foods. Their life spans would be in the 50s. Everyone is afraid of the food we make now a days but we are living twice as long.
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5-24-2008 @ 5:09PM
Amy said...kpilker, I don't even know where to begin in how absurd your statement is. You are seriously overlooking a huge amount of information about health, medical care, sanitation, pollution, etc...
The article about this in the NYTimes amazed me because it totally failed to mention any comparison between the sweetness of this formula and the breastmilk it is trying to emulate. I've never had formula in my home, so I can't say I've tasted it, but breastmilk is very sweet. The fact that people are expressing concern about the sweetness of formula is laughable. Human babies are intended to drink their mother's sweet milk.
Also laughable is that people are concerned about an organic, naturally made sweetener. I'd be much more concerned about putting Cyanocobalamin, Potassium Hydroxide (and), Nucleotides (Cytidine 5- Monophosphate, Disodium Guanosine 5'-Monophosphate, Disodium Uridine 5'-Monophosphate, and Adenosine 5 - Monophosphate into my baby's body than a natural sugar. Babies are meant to drink breastmilk. Any substitution, no matter if it has sucrose or lactose or whatever else, is inferior.
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5-24-2008 @ 6:17PM
Michelle said...Babies were MADE to eat whatever their parents CHOOSE for them to eat.
Don't make this into one of THOSE posts where gloves are off and stones are cast.
Bethany, Thank you for the info. I'm sure it will reiterate that we all need to be better label readers, even if the label shouts "organic".
5-25-2008 @ 3:41AM
Gabby said...Haha, your post, too, is laughable. Concerned to give your baby cyanocobalamin? That's vitamin B12, which I'm pretty sure is more important to a baby's health than sucrose.
5-24-2008 @ 10:04PM
Sherry said...Yes, this post and the New York Times article it is linked to are about formula and the kinds of sugars used. It is not an article or post about breastmilk vs formula, but some people can't resist any chance they get to jump up on their soapbox and preach at people.
Honesly, is there any person in the developed world that doesn't know "breast is best." If so, what rock have they been hiding under? I would just once like to see a discussion about formula where someone doesn't jump in screaming that formula is poison or whatever it is they just HAVE to say. Like it or not, people do use formula and they have just as much right to talk about it and be informed about it as the breast feeders do.
Back to the point of the post, I never used Similac Organic, but if I had I am not sure I would be overly concerned about the sweetner used.
Reply
6-03-2008 @ 9:10PM
Julianne said...I have been using Similac Organic for a few months. My little guy has been eating well, sleeping well, & pooping well (as we all know, these are the big three). After the article came out, I slowly switched him to Earth's Best (which uses lactose to sweeten) & he not only didn't like it, but stopped sleeping well, & was constipated. So I'm back to the S.O. We're both pretty happy with it.
FYI: I breastfed for 2 months but after sitting in an empty office spending an hour pumping & only getting an ounce and a half, I stopped. Guilt? Yes, a little. But I remind myself of a few things:
1) The choices you make in your child's life after breastfeeding are equally important to his overall quality of life & health veggies, exercise, etc).
2) Just saying, my IQ is 135 & I never get sick, & I have no allergies. Um, I was formula fed, thank you very much....Genes also have a lot to contribute to the mix. So let's just stop the madness, ok?
5-25-2008 @ 11:37AM
Uly said...This is the first time I've read the comment "Gee, breastmilk is sweet" interpreted as "OMG! YER KILLIN YUR BABEEEEEEEEEEZ!!!!!!!"
Get a grip, you guys.
(And "babies are made to eat whatever their parents choose to feed them"? Seriously? So if you wanted to feed your six week old baby, say, soy milk and apple juice (http://www.jacksonville.com/apnews/stories/050207/D8OSG0281.shtml) that'd be a'ok? Is that really what you want to say here?)
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5-25-2008 @ 1:59PM
Michelle said...Sigh. . . We are going to take Bethany's PSA and go there after all?
No Uly, but what Amy and others like her continually do when they come on sites like this one spouting off that "Babies are MEANT to eat breast milk only" is a complete disservice to Mothers everywhere. We all know that in a perfect world, breast milk is the absolute best thing we can do for our babies. There is no need to beat new Mother's over the head with this information.
The fact remains, there is formula out there for those who cannot or choose not to breast feed. Or for those who have to or who choose to supplement. (which not that it's any of your business, was me, both times) The information needs to be out there for parents to be informed and to provide a safe feeding environment for their children, whichever format they choose.
And really, Uly, I think you are the one who needs to get a grip. No where did I see anyone jump on a comment about sweet breast milk= dead babies. Maybe you are thinking of a post from a couple months ago that was covered here, where we all discussed how sweet breast milk was in comparison with soy milk? Even then I can't recall anyone equating that with the destruction of infants.
So, once again, thank you, Bethany for keeping us informed.
5-25-2008 @ 2:56PM
Uly said...Michelle, did you read Sherry's comment, number seven? Because what I see is somebody flipping out because she doesn't like being told that formula is poison... and yet, I don't see anybody here telling anybody else that formula is poison.
And while we're already here - breast isn't best. Breastmilk, say it with me, is normal. It's what we evolved to eat as infants.
We're lucky that we do have substitutes, but the substitutes are inferior. Breastmilk doesn't raise intelligence - formula reduces it. Breastmilk doesn't make your child less likely to get allergies and/or asthma - formula increases the risk. Breastmilk isn't cheap - formula is expensive. That's not a judgment call. That's the facts. I can't change them any more than you can.