The Glycemic Response to Infant Formulas: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Adi Anafy,Dror Mandel,Asaf Oren,Laurence Mangel,Ronit Lubetzky,Niva Shapira,Meital Priel,Hadar Moran-Lev

doi:10.3390/nu14051064

Adi Anafy, Dror Mandel + Show 6 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/nu14051064

Copy DOI

Abstract

Background: Commercial infant formulas attempt to imitate human milk’s unique composition. However, lactose-free and milk protein-free formulas are often chosen due to medical reasons or personal preferences. The aim of this study was to determine the glycemic and insulinemic indices of a variety of infant formulas. Methods: We conducted a three-arm, randomized, double-blind, crossover study. Participants were 25–40-year-old healthy adults. Three commercial infant formulas (cow’s milk protein-based [“standard”], soy protein-based, and lactose-free) were randomly given to each participant. Glycemic and insulinemic responses were determined and compared between the three formulas. Results: Twenty subjects were enrolled (11 females/9 males, mean age 32.8 ± 2.9 years). No significant difference was found in the glycemic index between the three formulas (21.5, 29.1, and 21.5 for the standard, soy protein-based, and lactose-free formulas, respectively, p = 0.21). However, maximal glucose levels were significantly higher for the soy protein-based formula compared to both the standard and lactose-free formulas (111.5 compared to 101.8 and 105.8 mg/dL, respectively, p = 0.001). Conclusion: Cow’s milk protein-based, soy protein-based, and lactose-free formulas have a similar glycemic index. However, soy protein-based formula produced a significantly higher increase in postprandial glucose levels. The implication and biological significance of these results have yet to be determined.

Highlights

Human milk (HM) is recommended as the sole source of nutrition for term infants up to the age of 6 months and supplemented with solid foods for up to two years or beyond [1–3]
Both lactose and milk proteins are often replaced in infant formulas by substitutes due to medical reasons, such as metabolic diseases and cow’s milk protein allergy [11,12], as well as due to personal preferences
The present study showed that standard cow’s milk formula, lactose-free formula, and soy protein-based formula had a similar glycemic index despite their different compositions

Summary

Introduction

Human milk (HM) is recommended as the sole source of nutrition for term infants up to the age of 6 months and supplemented with solid foods for up to two years or beyond [1–3]. The two types of HM proteins, whey and casein, differ in their solubility in an acidic environment [5] Both lactose and milk proteins contribute to HM’s low glycemic index (GI) [6,7]. Low-glycemic-index foods are a desirable component of nutrition in the modern era, and epidemiological evidence suggests many benefits of a low-glycemic-index diet [8–10] Both lactose and milk proteins are often replaced in infant formulas by substitutes due to medical reasons, such as metabolic diseases (e.g., galactosemia) and cow’s milk protein allergy [11,12], as well as due to personal preferences (e.g., religion and veganism). Three commercial infant formulas (cow’s milk protein-based [“standard”], soy protein-based, and lactose-free) were randomly given to each participant. No significant difference was found in the glycemic index between the three formulas (21.5, 29.1, and 21.5 for the standard, soy protein-based, and lactose-free formulas, respectively, p = 0.21). The implication and biological significance of these results have yet to be determined

Objectives

Methods

Discussion

Conclusion