Feeding Infants Fructose

August 8, 2008 at 3:37 pm 17 comments

Discussion: Consuming fructose during suckling may result in lifelong changes in body weight, insulin secretion, and fatty acid transport involving CD36 in muscle and ultimately promote insulin resistance.

That was the conclusion reached by researchers who published Dietary Fructose During the Suckling Period Increases Body Weight and Fatty Acid Uptake Into Skeletal Muscle in Adult Rats, in the journal Obesity.

While the study was on rats, it’s interesting to look at the ingredients in baby formula sold in the United States (all of the below are the first few ingredients listed from peapod.com and do not include the brand name):

INGREDIENTS: Nonfat Milk, Whey Protein Concentrate, Corn Syrup Solids…

INGREDIENTS: Corn Syrup Solids, Partially Hydrolyzed Nonfat Milk and Whey Protein Concentrate Solids, Vegetable Oil…

INGREDIENTS: Corn Syrup Solids, Vegetable Oil (Palm Olein, Soy, Coconut, and High Oleic Sunflower Oils), Casein Hydrolysate …

INGREDIENTS: Corn Syrup Solids (43.2%), Soy Protein Isolate (11.5%), High-Oleic Safflower Oil (10.3%), Sugar (Sucrose) (8.4%), Soy Oil (7.7%), Coconut Oil (7.7%)….

Is there a connection with rising prevalence of childhood obesity and feeding infants corn syrup solids? Things that make you go ‘hmmmm’

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17 Comments Add your own

1. Dan (AKA Renegadediabetic) | August 8, 2008 at 4:14 pm

Ah, the euphemisms for sugar. You really have to read labels closely and know the clever disguises.
2. lctcathy | August 11, 2008 at 5:02 am

Regina, to say that this information is horrifying to me is actually an understatement.

What the hell are we doing to our children?! 😦
3. Mandra | August 11, 2008 at 5:50 pm

I wonder if it was this bad 40 years ago. I was adopted at birth, so of course I was raised on formula. But I didn’t start to get fat until I hit my teens, and didn’t get really fat until my late 20s
4. Martha | August 11, 2008 at 8:27 pm

Is there any evidence linking fructose consumed by nursing mothers to fructose available to the nursing infant? Or does the body (human, preferably) alter the sugars to the kind normally found in breast milk? Or does anyone even have a best guess?
5. seamus | August 11, 2008 at 9:20 pm

“Corn syrup solids” is mostly glucose (dextrose) unlike high-fructose corn syrup.
6. calianna | August 12, 2008 at 12:19 am

My mom tells me that back when I was a baby, they made their own infant formula using a “formula” (recipe) provided by the doctor.

It consisted primarily of canned milk and corn syrup.

If the baby was constipated, the mother was instructed to add MORE corn syrup to the formula. If the baby had diarrhea, they were to add banana to the formula, which of course provided more fructose too.

Ok, so maybe it wasn’t specifically high fructose corn syrup, but it had plenty of fructose in it anyway, just not as much as there is in the high fructose variety.

If there is any causation between corn syrup consumption and blood sugar problems or adult obesity, I’m a perfect example of it, especially since I’ve had hypoglycemic/hyperinsulinemic issues since I was a newborn, and have been obese for most of my adult life.
7. Sherrie | August 12, 2008 at 8:12 am

Soy probably doesn’t help either!

I remember looking through a bunch of formula powders once and just couldn’t bring myself to buy any. Another ingredient that concerns me in processed food is omega 3s, with omega 3s being as fragile as they are, how do we know the omega 3s in processed foods (particularly cooked ones like bread) are not rancid?
8. cam | August 12, 2008 at 12:05 pm

you misspelled “Nina” Planck
9. Amy Dungan | August 12, 2008 at 1:53 pm

And they add corn syrup solids to formula because…. why? It’s nutritionally bankrupt. Unbelievable.
10. Cindy Moore | August 12, 2008 at 10:10 pm

Really scary that 3 of the 4 have corn syrup solids as the first ingredient!
11. Beth | August 13, 2008 at 2:28 am

I remember reading in an old copy of Dr. Spock’s baby and child care book how to make formula. I think it involved sweetened condensed milk and karo syrup. There may have been more than one recipe too. My mother had to supplement with cereal and homemade formula, she told me for my brother and sister but that she had enough milk for me, the youngest. I didn’t make much milk for my two daughters either, I pumped an ounce at a time and my first was diagnosed with failure to thrive but improved immediately upon getting some store bought formula in her. I’m glad it exists, in the old days I probably wouldn’t have had two living children. I wondered with my second daughter, about 10 years after the first one that the new and improved formula had DHA and RHA in the powder. I thought essential fatty acids should be in liquid form.
12. Debs | August 14, 2008 at 4:02 pm

I’ve been trying unsuccessfully to dig up ingredient lists for formula in the 1970s and 1980s. Anyone know of a source?

Debs
Food Is Love
13. Meredith Curry | August 17, 2008 at 5:43 pm

This just makes me happier with my decision to breastfeed once the twins get here.

I have a lot of women who just can’t seem to fathom breastfeeding. Why wouldn’t you? Not only does it benefit the child, but helps create that bond with your child(ren).
14. Kate | August 19, 2008 at 11:10 pm

I found this information incredibly upsetting and have been reading about this issue since. It seems that in Europe there is some action on the way. Corn syrup ihas never been used in formula anyway, and sucrose will be banned from the end of 2009, and in fact has already been removed by most manufacturers.

The decision as I understand it was based on recommendations by the scientific advisory committee whose report stated that sucrose has no nutritional value. Seems about right.
15. Lisa | August 27, 2008 at 1:33 am

I was unable to breastfeed my son as my milk dried up, and I was devastated as I knew that formula wasn’t that healthy. So I did my research and found that the DHA and the ARA in the formulas aren’t good quality and the way they are extracted to be put in formulas isn’t very safe. I decided on “Nature’s One Baby’s Only Organic Formula”. It states on the can that it is “toddler formula”, but the nutrients are at the same levels as infant formula, so I called the company and asked about this, and they said that because they are a company that highly recommends breastfeeding, they don’t want to do anything that might persuade a mother to choose formula instead, so they label their formula as “toddler formula”, but it is actually infant formula. They sell the DHA/ARA separately because it is made with egg phospholids; a better source than the stuff in other formulas. It is pretty complicated to explain all this, but if you have the time, and you have no choice but to formula feed, I’d highly recommend going to Nature’s One’s website and reading the information they have posted about today’s formulas. They have comparison charts and everything. And Nature’s One Baby’s Only Organic Dairy Formula does NOT contain corn syrup of any kind. Nature’s One also carries a formula that is lactose free, but that is NOT made of soy either. I think that’s awesome because many parents steer clear of giving their children soy formula, but their children may not be able to tolerate dairy formula, so their lactose free soy free formula is certainly an option.

Instead of buying the DHA/ARA separately that Nature’s One sells to go with the formula, I give my son 1/8 tsp. Carlson’s Cod liver oil of Fish Oil for every 6 pounds of body weight spread throughout the day, 1 tsp. expeller pressed organic extra virgin coconut oil once a day, and 1/4 to 1/2 tsp. Udo’s Choice Infant Blend Probiotics once a day. He’s 9 months old now and has NEVER been sick. That may also be because his vaccinations are being delayed until age 2 as he will be staying home until he starts school at age 5 or 6. The vaccines lower the immune system and the more given at one time, the worse. Also, the younger the age, the worse because the baby’s immune system is so immature and the neurological system is so delicate. I know most people feel vaccines are very safe, but I’m in a position, fortunately, to where I am able to “be on the safe side” and wait until later when his immune system and neurological systems are stronger and less likely to be affected by vaccine side affects (autism, ADHD, bipolar, autoimmune disorders, leukemia, crohn’s disease, multiple sclerosis, chronic ear infections, and the list goes on and on!)

http://www.naturesone.com
16. shrila | November 4, 2008 at 6:19 am

Dear Sir,
Please forward me information wheather fructose is recomended in infant food dietary suppliment or not as per FDA and other regulatorys.
17. Tom Greenfield | November 15, 2008 at 7:10 am

Here’s the link to Obesity for those who haven’t got a subscription: http://www.nature.com/oby/journal/vaop/ncurrent/abs/oby2008268a.html