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Good and safe nutrition is essential for babies’ development and long-term health. Ingredients for baby food are therefore highly controlled and regulated to ensure that it is of highest quality and safe.
Besides being extra careful about baby food, parents are also drawn to additional health benefits which can be gained through sugar reduction and soft claims towards digestive health. Chicory inulin fibres and isomaltulose are safe ingredients from natural sources and well suited for reducing the sugar content in baby food.
Babies have an innate preference for sweetness and a diet too high in sugar can reduce the diversity of food that the child would be interested in eating, and in the longer run, the child could be in risk of serious health issues such as developing obesity.
Orafti®Inulin fibres are excellent for reducing the sugar content in baby food products. The inulin fibres are suitable in baby food formula from the early infancy, 0 months and older, and are derived from chicory roots, providing a pleasant creamy texture and taste to the products. Inulin fibres help reduce sugar levels up to 30% and are easily applicable. The chicory root fibres are an excellent mean to reduce the sugar content not only because of their bulking or texturizing properties, but also due to their relative sweetness compared to that of sucrose. However, also very important, the fibres can give the baby a healthy start with good digestive function, thanks to prebiotic fibres from the chicory root.
Establishing a healthy microbiota early in life is crucial for health later in life. Orafti® inulin fibres support the selective growth of Bifidobacteria in the large intestine, which are also the dominant bacteria in breast feeding. The reason for this is that breast milk naturally contains a high amount of prebiotic non-digestible carbohydrates called HMOs (human milk oligosaccharides). These HMOs make the stool of babies very soft to liquid in its structure. Adding prebiotic non-digestible carbohydrates to infant formulae, allows to come closer to the microbiota composition of breastfed babies (by increasing Bifibobacteria). Research has shown that using formula with Orafti®fibres until 12 months of age may help the inner defense and well-being.
Dosage: Age 0-12 months: Up to approx. 5-8 g/L depending on the type of Orafti®fibres
Inulin/Chicory root fibre
Blood sugar management matters for all age groups including babies, toddlers, and infants. It is a fact that low blood glucose and low variation in levels are better for you whatever your age.
Palatinose™ (isomaltulose) is perfect for replacement of sugar in food products for infants and is safe for 4 months infants and older. Palatinose™ is made purely of sucrose from sugar beet and is composed of glucose and fructose units. However, contrary to sucrose, the links between glucose and fructose are more stable. This makes Palatinose™ a slower, but fully digestible carbohydrate. Thus, it can help to reduce the blood glucose and insulin response of baby food formulas and infant food products when comparing with other commonly used carbohydrates (fig. 1).
Palatinose™ is well-tolerated and tooth friendly. It offers a mild sweetness, which also helps avoid that the child gets used to overly sweet foods. An interesting fact is that glucose is the only energy for the brain. Supply of glucose especially in a balanced and prolonged way, which is a characteristic of isomaltulose, may enhance cognitive performance and improve mood. In addition, Palatinose™ is a plant-based low glycaemic alternative to lactose, making it the best carbohydrate alternative for milk formulas with reference to lactose milk sugar.
Isomaltulose
Figure 1: Palatinose™ glycaemic index and rise in blood glucose compared to other commonly used carbohydrates.
Michael Telsing
Area Sales Manager
+45 40 73 84 41
mt@alsiano.com
