Which Baby Formula Has The Least Amount Of Sugar?

As a parent who has a hungry baby to formula-feed, the quantity of sugar that comes with formulas probably gives you worry. You may be asking which formula has the least amount of sugar because come to think of it, excessive intake of sugar causes tooth decay, leads to unhealthy eating habits, and diverse chronic conditions such as obesity, diabetes, and cardiac diseases.

If you have been looking for that formula with a minimal amount of sugar, so you can get your baby feeding on the proper diet, then this is your article.

3 Formulas With The Least Amount Of Sugar

1. Gerber Good Start

Gerber is one of the most reputable brands for baby products today. They are known for producing healthy baby formulas, and the Gerber Good Start is definitely not an exception. Not only does it contain easy-to-digest proteins, it also comes with all vitamins and minerals necessary for your baby’s development. There’s also an addition of DHA and AA, which promotes your baby’s brain development.

Gerber Good Start is a pediatrician-recommended formula because it contains a minimal amount of sugar and hence will not prove fatal for your baby’s system.

2. Similac Advance Complete

Similac Advance is a milk-based and iron-fortified baby formula and is complete in nutrition to nourish your baby throughout their first year of life. It boasts an exclusive blend of ingredients (DHA and ARA) that prove helpful for your baby’s mental and sight development.

It is free of palm olein and enhances calcium absorption for your baby’s strong bones. Similac Advance Complete comes with zero artificial growth hormones and is both kosher and halal. Although Similac Advance Complete has negligible sugar content, it is not advisable for babies with galactosemia.

3. Enfamil Pro-Sobee

Enfamil ProSobee Infant Formula is a great non-dairy substitute for milk-based formulas. Since it doesn’t come with lactose, digestion for your baby has never been easier. When your baby is consistently fussy, it is possible that your pediatrician recommends a soy-based formula, in case of dairy sensitivity. This is where Enfamil Pro-Sobee comes into play; a plant-based infant formula, with zero lactose!

Enfamil ProSobee is rich in iron to enhance growth, like breast milk, and contains DHA and ARA to promote cognitive and eye development. Besides being free of lactose, it also excludes gluten and kosher. And you have two options to pick from; powder and liquid.

Why Is There Sugar In Baby Formula?

It may sound strange, but sugar is not a misplaced ingredient in baby formula. As a matter of fact, the reverse is the case. Every baby requires carbohydrates for adequate growth, and sugar just so happens to be that carbohydrate source.

But of course, too much of everything will not achieve anything it is targeted at. While excessive sugar is not ideal for babies, it also matters what type of sugar is utilized. The ideal carbohydrate for most full-term babies is lactose, which also happens to be the chief sugar in breast milk.

Is Sugar In Baby Formula For Constipation?

Babies get constipated on formula, especially if it doesn’t settle with their tummies. Infrequent bowel movement, that is. And who would have thought sugar had a role to play in remedying it? Yes, it does! Sugar functions in correcting constipation, because it attracts additional fluid into your baby’s bowels to soften a hard stool.

How do you do this? First off, prepare a minimum of 7 oz of water in a bottle with whatever a proper quantity of formula means to you. Then put a formula scoop of brown sugar in the bottle (preferably warm) and shake it till it dissolves. This should get constipation out of the way.

Sugar In Formula vs Breast Milk

Sugar is a constant in both breast milk and baby formula. The reason is this; babies, like every other human, need the energy to thrive, and that exactly is what carbohydrates do, only that sugar is the source. Breast milk, for one, packs almost half the total calories in sugar level alone, and only a few baby formulas come close.

As earlier stated, the issue isn’t as much about the sugar content (although that’s still important), as it is about what type of sugar we are talking about. Most baby formulas come in one of eight types of sugar which include;

• Lactose
• Corn syrup
• Corn syrup solids
• Glucose syrup
• Glucose syrup solids
• Maltodextrin
• Sucrose or table sugar

The normal carbohydrate source for full-term infants with no dietary preventions is lactose, which is also the prominent sugar in breast milk. Relative to the other types of sugars, lactose is less sweet and proceeds at a slow metabolic rate. Maintenance of stable blood sugar is what that means.

Unless you are a mother given regular consumption of sugary products, there should be no cause to worry about the blood sugar of your breastfed baby. As for infant formulas, lactose, which is also present in breast milk, is the safest sugar, provided your baby is not intolerant to it. Save for sucrose which has a milder glycemic effect, and is sweet (so your baby may get obsessed), other sugars have a very high glycemic index and are thus not advisable for babies.

Similac vs Enfamil Sugar Content

Similac and Enfamil share a number of important features in that, they are both top brands that pediatricians recommend. They both come with similar levels of milk-based ingredients such as lactose, whey protein, and non-fat milk. And for the sugar content, Enfamil and Similac flagship formulas (Enfamil Infant and Similac Advance) come with zero added sugar.

They both have sugars higher than that present in regular milk, which help to ease babies with fussy tummies.

While Similac contains two different sugars, Enfamil has only one. 

Conclusion

Sometimes, sugar is overrated, and other times, it is underrated. While sugar in excess can get dangerous for your baby, you should know that they also need it for adequate development, which is why you may want to hop on formulas with the least sugar. We hope this article helps you.