Palm oil for babies?

I was surprised that infant formula contains palm oil. I realised this from a book (I didn’t take down its title and author) which also mentioned that the oil often reacted with the added calcium to form hard stools, causing many formula-fed babies to suffer constipation. Studies also suggest that it affects calcium and fat absorption in babies.

I always thought of palm oil as a lower-grade oil and never expect it to be suitable for our precious little ones. But it seems I was wrong. Apparently, its composition of fatty acids is similar to that in breast milk and hence it’s commonly used in infant formula.

I also learned from the book that the formula milk which some infants rely on solely in their first few months is a highly processed product and nothing like cow’s milk (which is not recommended for children below one year old). The fat from cow’s milk is removed and various types of vegetable oils and a family of vitamins & minerals are added during processing.

Doesn’t it seem like our babies are drinking a super multi-vitamin drink? I though so…

To satisfy my curiosity. I did a quick check on the types of vegetable oils used in common formula brands. Here’s what I found from their ingredients list behind their tins:

Abbott (Similac) – High Oleic Sunflower Oil, Coconut Oil, Soy Oil

Mead Johnson (Enfalac) – Palm Olein Oil, Coconut Oil, Soy Oil, Vegetable Oil

Wyeth (S26) – Palm Oil, Coconut Oil, Oleic (Safflower and Sunflower) Oil, Soybean Oil

Nestle (Nan HA and Pro), Dumex (Mamex Gold) and Frieslandfoods (Friso) provided no details of the type of vegetable oils they used in their formula milk.

M had breast milk for close to six months and the first formula we gave her was Enfalac. We expected her stools to get harder as she transitioned from breast to formula milk. But when she was on Enfalac fully, she began to display difficulty passing motion. That’s when we tried Similac and true to its promise, her stools became softer. We’ve now moved on to Gain IQ and still happy with it.