Anmum PediaPro3 Toddler Milk: No added sugars

To give you some background – dietary sugars naturally occur in foods such as fruit and milk that also contain good sources of vitamins and minerals. Some foods may contain sugar that is added to provide sweetness or in some cases provide functional purposes.

Toddler Milks are designed for toddlers (12 – 36 months). What they can do is supplement a toddler’s healthy eating plan with essential nutrients to uniquely support the growth and development of your child in situations where they may have additional nutrient requirements.

How to check for added sugars

Simply put, added sugars are incorporated into food and drink products by the manufacturer, a cook during food preparation, or the person who is about to consume them.

The truth is that looking up the “total sugar” content of a toddler milk isn’t always a reliable indicator for how much sugar was added. This is because ‘total sugar' also includes the sugars that are naturally present in a food or drink – such as lactose in milk.

Our tip? Check the ingredients list. Food manufacturers use a range of ingredients to incorporate sugars into their products. This means that added sugars are present under a variety of names – some you might be familiar with, some you might not be. But don’t worry – here’s a list of terms that specify added sugars and refined carbohydrate ingredients (which are added sugar ingredients) on labels:

  • Words ending in "ose" such as glucose, dextrose, fructose, maltose, hexose, lactose and sucrose
  • Sugar, white sugar, brown sugar, icing sugar, castor sugar, coffee sugar, invert sugar, raw sugar
  • “Syrup” such as corn syrup (corn syrup solids), glucose syrup (glucose syrup solids), high fructose corn syrup, malt syrup, and fruit sugar syrup
  • Maltodextrin and starch hydrolysate (refined carbohydrate ingredients which provide a source of added sugars)
  • Corn sweetener, malt and malt extract
  • Maple syrup, honey and molasses
  • All fruit juice, fruit juice concentrates and deionised fruit juice

Why ‘no added sugars’?

There’s nothing wrong with adding a small amount of sugar to nutritious foods. When used responsibly a little bit of added sugar can encourage healthy eating by making healthy foods more palatable, and in doing so it can help to improve the overall quality of diets. But generally speaking we’ve been overdoing it and so dietary guidance from authorities all over the world recommend limiting added sugar intake. Excessive intake of added sugars is not healthy – this is because the excessive intake of added sugars can contribute to the development of dental caries and are a potential source of excess calories. Intake of excessive calories is linked to the development of obesity, which can increase the risk of chronic disease such as diabetes and coronary heart disease.

That’s why we decided against putting added sugars in our Toddler Milks. Not only are we helping your child minimise their intake of them, we’re also encouraging them not to develop a “sweet tooth”.  This works wonders in the long run, by helping to decrease their preference for sugary foods.

The only source of sugar in our Anmum PediaPro3 Toddler Milk is the natural lactose from milk. This provides a naturally sweet and appealing flavour that we are sure toddlers will love!