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Consumption of a Corn‐Sugar Based Infant Formula Is Associated with Higher C‐peptide Secretion Compared to Lactose Based Formula among Exclusively Formula Fed Infants
Author(s) -
Young Bridget E,
Tang Minghua,
Griese Kayla,
Krebs Nancy F
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.30.1_supplement.673.7
Subject(s) - lactose , infant formula , sugar , carbohydrate , food science , chemistry , sucrose , galactose , urine , glucose syrup , medicine , endocrinology , biochemistry
Lactose is the predominant source of the carbohydrate (CHO) in human milk, and provides approximately 40% of infant calories. In contrast, the CHO source provided in infant formula varies widely among types and brands of commercial infant formulas for healthy term infants. Common sources of CHO in US infant formulas include lactose, various formulations of corn sugar (corn syrup, corn syrup solids, maltodextrin, glucose syrup, etc.), sucrose, and starch. Lactose is a disaccharide of glucose and galactose which has a lower glycemic index than the various formulations of corn sugar which are all varying polymer lengths of glucose. The young infants’ pancreatic response to exclusive consumption of these various non‐lactose CHO sources has not been studied. C‐peptide is secreted in equimolar amounts to insulin and provides a stable marker of endogenous insulin secretion. We conducted a cross‐sectional pilot study to compare urinary C‐peptide in exclusively formula fed infants who consumed an infant formula with 100% of CHO from corn‐sugar to infants who habitually consumed a formula with 100% of CHO from lactose. Infant urine samples were collected in a standardized manner. Formula choice had been determined by parents. Urinary C‐peptide to creatinine ratio was measured. Twenty seven infants were studied; 12 from the corn‐sugar and 15 from the lactose‐based group. Infants were on average 5.4 ± 0.5 months of age. The two groups did not differ in terms of infant sex, birth weight, weight gain, or anthropometric z‐scores at the time of study. Mean (± SD) urinary c‐peptide to creatinine ratio was 2.3 ± 4.2 ng/g for the lactose group vs 8.4 ± 11.8 for the corn‐sugar group (p = 0.08). These preliminary results suggest that further research is warranted to determine the short and long‐term effects of non‐lactose based CHO exposure on pancreatic and metabolic function in young infants. Given the prevalence of corn‐sugar based infant formulas on the US market, the long‐term effects of CHO source on infant metabolic function and programming need to be determined. Support or Funding Information University of Colorado CCTSI UL1 RR025780; NIH‐NIDDK K24‐DK083772; National Pork Board; National Cattlemen's Beef Association; American Heart Association; Abbott Nutrition