Chocolate Baby Formula: From Cradle to Grave?

HealthyChanges2010
HealthyChanges2010 Posts: 5,831 Member
edited September 20 in Food and Nutrition
Chocolate Baby Formula: From Cradle to Grave?


Mead-Johnson, the company that prides itself on its "decades-long patterning of infant formulas after breast milk," now goes one better. It sells chocolate- and vanilla-flavored formulas for toddlers, fortified with nutrients, omega-3s, and antioxidants.

The company's philosophy: Your toddler won't drink milk? Try chocolate milk!

The unflavored version of the product, from Enfagrow, has been around for a while. In 2005, nutritionists complained about the company's formula because it so evidently competed with milk as a weaning food. Mead-Johnson representatives explained that Enfagrow is not meant as an infant formula, but as a dietary supplement for toddlers aged 12 to 36 months.

Really? Then how come it is labeled "Toddler Formula"? And how come it has a Nutrition Facts label, not a Supplement Facts label?

Here's the list of ingredients for everything present at a level of 2 percent or more:

• Whole milk
• Nonfat milk
• Sugar
• Cocoa
• Galactooligosaccharides (prebiotic fiber)
• High oleic sunflower oil
• Maltodextrin

I bought this product at Babies-R-Us in Manhattan. It's not cheap: $18.99 for 29 ounces. The can is supposed to make 22 servings (one-quarter cup of powder mixed with six ounces of water). At that price, you pay 86 cents for only six ounces of unnecessarily fortified milk plus unnecessary sugar and chocolate. No wonder Jamie Oliver encountered so much grief about trying to get sweetened, flavored milks out of schools.

But really, aren't you worried that your baby might be suffering from a chocolate deficit problem? Don't you love the idea of year-old infants drinking sugar-sweetened chocolate milk? And laced with "omega-3s for brain development, 25 nutrients for healthy growth, and prebiotics to support the immune system"? What's next, genetically modifying moms to produce chocolate breast milk?

For the FDA: this package has front-of-package health claims clearly aimed at babies under the age of two. Uh oh. Shouldn't you be sending out one of those package label warning letters to Mead-Johnson on this one?

Comments: http://www.theatlantic.com/food/archive/2010/04/chocolate-baby-formula-from-cradle-to-grave/39626/

Replies

  • Pariah
    Pariah Posts: 97 Member
    i don't use that brand per say, but gerber makes a similar one called smart sips. it comes in plain, strawberry, vanilla, and chocolate. and yes, i use it. i try and buy the plain but if it's not available i'll get something else. the gerber and enfagrow brands are basically the same thing as pediasure. they aren't an all the time thing, they aren't supposed to drink those and only those, it's just supposed to give them extra vitamins during times that they need them. like my son. he's thirteen months, he's tiny. at his 12 month check up he was nearly the same size he was at 9 months. so i give him 1 bottle of smart sips in the morning, just to give him a boost in vitamins.

    children's nutrition is the same as adult's in the sense that everything is okay in moderation. it's not the baby food companies fault that parents aren't educated. just like it's not the video games fault that your child is over weight, it's the parents fault.
  • Johnnyswife
    Johnnyswife Posts: 1,447 Member
    I didn't think babies could have chocolate until a certain age? If so, it doesn't seem to responsible to buy something like that.
  • HealthyChanges2010
    HealthyChanges2010 Posts: 5,831 Member
    Pariah, no offense intended if you feed your baby that, it's simply an article I saw on the Jamie Oliver website that caught my eye so I posted it.

    I completely agree, the parents play a huge part in what goes into a child's mouth, but I do think TV, schools etc also play apart
  • aesoprok
    aesoprok Posts: 70
    Babies older than one year can eat chocolate, and ice cream, and anything else they're not allergic to as long as it's in moderation. I very rarely give my daughter straight up sugar like that, but fruit, yogurt, and juice is very sugary and of course she has that stuff in her diet. She's 15 months old, and enjoys pickles and olives way more than ice cream (i swear!)

    I'm more worried about what's in the meat and dairy i feed her. I don't want to alienate anyone, but some of the stuff we feed our kids is downright scary when you educate yourself, and sugar should be the least of your concern. I'm doing my best to learn about the food i give my baby girl, because she trusts me to know and protect her.

    I switched her from cows milk to soy milk today. My Dr. was ecstatic about it BTW. She had the vanilla silk, and man does she love it!:heart: I do too, it really does taste better than cow milk.
  • aesoprok
    aesoprok Posts: 70
    And one more thing - keep in mind that we are born with a preferece for sweet and fatty foods. Breast milk is mostly fat and tastes sweet, that's why babies love it. Doesn't make it bad. And if this chocalate flavored milk supplement is full of nutrients and is meant to replenish during times of illness, then it's no worse than pedialyte. Or flinstones vitamins, or grape flavored infant tylenol.... think about it.
  • Barneystinson
    Barneystinson Posts: 1,357 Member
    Breastmilk is naturally sweet from its lactose content, not added sugars. And not to start the debate about fat being bad, but the milk is similar in composure to full fat cow's milk. That fat is essential for proper growth and brain development.

    We have a natural sweet tooth because evolutionally speaking...berries and "goodies" in the wild which were sweet were typically non-poisonous and safe for consumption.

    That being said, our sweet tooth in modern times has escalated out of control. Our modern fruits are modified and grown to be MUCH sweeter than their natural ancestors. So, we wonder why many of us have a sweet tooth that's out of control? Much of our food supply has added sugars or is basically "sweeter by design" to appeal to our tastebuds. Then we wonder as adults why we have diabetes and other maladies running rampant.

    So...yeah, please pardon my sarcasm, but...added sugars in infant and toddler formulas. Guess that really 'starts 'em off right' eh?

    Edit: meant to say here that this wasn't meant as an offensive or abrasive post, because that's not my goal. But more of an informative one. As I've seen in so many health publications, news pieces, etc...Added sugar, especially at a young age is not a positive thing. I think Dr. Lustig says it much better than I - and I know a lot of people like to parrot his YouTube presentation of "Sugar: The Bitter Truth" in regards to sugar consumption, but it's fantastic and it explains much better than I why added sugars and excessive sugar consumption from a young age is problematic.
  • arewethereyet
    arewethereyet Posts: 18,702 Member
    Breastmilk is naturally sweet from its lactose content, not added sugars. And not to start the debate about fat being bad, but the milk is similar in composure to full fat cow's milk. That fat is essential for proper growth and brain development.

    We have a natural sweet tooth because evolutionally speaking...berries and "goodies" in the wild which were sweet were typically non-poisonous and safe for consumption.

    That being said, our sweet tooth in modern times has escalated out of control. Our modern fruits are modified and grown to be MUCH sweeter than their natural ancestors. So, we wonder why many of us have a sweet tooth that's out of control? Much of our food supply has added sugars or is basically "sweeter by design" to appeal to our tastebuds. Then we wonder as adults why we have diabetes and other maladies running rampant.

    So...yeah, please pardon my sarcasm, but...added sugars in infant and toddler formulas. Guess that really 'starts 'em off right' eh?

    Edit: meant to say here that this wasn't meant as an offensive or abrasive post, because that's not my goal. But more of an informative one. As I've seen in so many health publications, news pieces, etc...Added sugar, especially at a young age is not a positive thing. I think Dr. Lustig says it much better than I - and I know a lot of people like to parrot his YouTube presentation of "Sugar: The Bitter Truth" in regards to sugar consumption, but it's fantastic and it explains much better than I why added sugars and excessive sugar consumption from a young age is problematic.

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  • aesoprok
    aesoprok Posts: 70
    I'm not at all offended, i mostly agree with you. Like i said, the sugar i give my daughter is mostly natural from fruit. She only gets the other sugar abround once a month, and then it's a small taste. I like to make her happy and let her experience all the worlds taste sensations. But i don't have unhealthy foods in my house (i have no sugar, only honey) and i plan on controlling her diet completely throughout her childhood. I don't understand parents who fill thier cubbords with doritos and little debbie snacks, and claim that's "all thier kids will eat".

    About breast milk - i fed my daughter that way until she wouldn't anymore - around 12 months. I'm all about it. Yes, i agree that breast milk similar to cows' milk. Except it's specifically taylored to perfectly fit a human babies' needs, and cows' is not. Yes, fat is crucial for a toddlers growth. But it does NOT need to come from animals. Neither does protein, or iron. All can be found elsewhere.
  • Barneystinson
    Barneystinson Posts: 1,357 Member
    Most nutrients can be found in plants, yes. Except for B12 and long chain fatty acid Omega 3's (fish source) which are crucial to [brain] development. Hence why you find vegans still require supplementation to have a proper intake of necessary nutrients.
  • HealthyChanges2010
    HealthyChanges2010 Posts: 5,831 Member
    Our modern fruits are modified and grown to be MUCH sweeter than their natural ancestors.

    I think Dr. Lustig says it much better than I - and I know a lot of people like to parrot his YouTube presentation of "Sugar: The Bitter Truth" in regards to sugar consumption, but it's fantastic and it explains much better than I why added sugars and excessive sugar consumption from a young age is problematic.

    Thanks so much for the info to watch on Dr. Lustig, I've actually never watched it before, just watched a bit of it and I'll finish it up tomorrow, even the first 5 minutes caught me up in it!

    The part you shared about fruit up above, what more can you tell me about that? Any link or any more info where I can learn more? I know plants and such are crossbred but didn't realize they were grown to be far sweeter than in years past. All I can say is WOW...this world is crazy!

    Would love to read more on this!

    Appreciate you passing along anything you might think of that might peak my interest either here in the thread or via a PM.

    Thanks:drinker:
    Becca:flowerforyou:
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