Surprising Infant Formula Ingredients

Added sugar is one of the biggest problems not only in kids’ diets but in the American diet overall. Added sugar is fueling the childhood obesity epidemic. But our childhood obesity problems start well before school age. In fact, it starts before most babies are even walking. By 9 months old, 30% of American babies are overweight — not just chubby, but they have too many fat cells and sugar in infant formula is one of the reasons.

What is sugar even doing in infant formula? Great question.

The sugars naturally found in foods can be beneficial. It may surprise you to find that one of the places sugars are found is breast milk.

Breast milk is a complex formulation with three big macronutrients – fats, proteins, and carbohydrates. The carbohydrates are made with a very easy-to-digest energy source for growing babies who are putting on weight like no other time in life. The carbohydrates in breast milk are sugar. But all infant formula ingredients are not created equal — especially sugar.

For parents who use infant formula for all or part of their baby’s nutritional needs, selecting a formula that will give baby the best start possible is important. Which carbohydrate source a formula uses is one of the keys to selecting infant formula.

Find out about infant formula ingredients, including which sugars are good for baby and which sugars should be avoided,  in this interview of Dr. Greene by Laura Modi from Instagram Live.