Sweet Deception: The Hidden Dangers in Your Baby's Formula
Dr. Joseph Mercola - Take Control of Your Health
Briana Mercola
4.6 • 1.5K Ratings
🗓️ 15 April 2025
⏱️ 11 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Story at-a-glance
- Most infant formulas in the U.S. contain added sugars instead of natural lactose, with formula-fed infants consuming up to 60 grams of added sugars daily (equivalent to two soft drinks)
- Out of 73 formulas examined in 2022, researchers found only five contained mainly naturally occurring lactose, and those are no longer available in the U.S. market
- Added sugars in formula may increase risks of obesity, Type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and preference for sweet foods, while lacking the health benefits of lactose found in breast milk
- Unlike adult food products, U.S. regulations don't require added sugars to be reported on infant formula nutrition labels, leaving parents unaware of sugar content
- Researchers recommend requiring formula companies to produce products containing only naturally occurring lactose and removing societal barriers to breastfeeding
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome to Dr. Mercola's Cellular Wisdom. Stay informed with quick, easy-to-listen |
| 0:06.1 | summaries of our latest articles, perfect for when you're on the go. No reading required. Subscribe |
| 0:11.2 | for free at Mercola.com for the latest health insights. |
| 0:14.2 | Hello and welcome to Dr. Mercola's Cellular Wisdom. I'm Ethan Foster, and today we're |
| 0:20.3 | covering an important |
| 0:21.3 | report about the sugars found in most infant formulas in the U.S. The data comes from a new study |
| 0:27.5 | published in the Journal of Food Composition and Analysis, and it highlights how these added |
| 0:32.3 | sugars could undermine healthy development for infants. We'll walk through the core findings, |
| 0:37.2 | discuss the potential |
| 0:38.2 | health effects, and explore possible solutions. Thank you, Ethan. It's an eye-opening study |
| 0:44.0 | that reveals most infant formulas on the market don't rely on naturally occurring lactose. |
| 0:49.4 | Instead, they primarily use added sugars like corn syrup solids, fructose, or glucose. According to the research, |
| 0:57.6 | infants who rely solely on formula may consume up to 60 grams of added sugars daily. That's roughly |
| 1:04.2 | the sugar equivalent of two soft drinks in a single day. It's startling to consider that |
| 1:09.0 | 73 formulas were examined and only five had naturally |
| 1:12.7 | occurring lactose as their main carbohydrate source. |
| 1:16.5 | Based on this study, those five are no longer available in the U.S. |
| 1:20.6 | This means that most parents who rely on formula might have no choice but to purchase products |
| 1:25.4 | that contain a large amount of added sugars. |
| 1:28.6 | Let's talk about why that matters for an infant's health. |
| 1:32.0 | The researchers point out multiple risks associated with excessive added sugar and formula. |
| 1:37.3 | First, there's a concern about rapid weight gain, which can lead to obesity, type 2 diabetes, |
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