Toddler

What it is
Cristine Bradley, director of regulatory affairs for Mead Johnson Nutritionals in Ottawa, stresses that while Enfagrow seems like the next stage of baby formula, that’s not what it is. “We don’t use the word formula with respect to Enfagrow,” she says. “We refer to it as a nutrition supplement for toddlers.” Certainly the marketing is different. While infant formula ads often tout their products’ similarities to breastmilk, Enfagrow is pitched as a sort of nutritional insurance policy, much like a vitamin. The message is: If you’re not sure your child is getting all the proper nutrients, maybe you should offer this just in case.

In several way Enfagrow is similar to infant formula, but there are differences. For one thing it’s designed to play a different role in a child’s diet. Infant formulas are substitutes for breastmilk, which in the first six months of life, should be a sole source of nutrition. Even after six months, when babies start eating solid foods, breastmilk or formula is still the primary food source. Once children get to be a year old, most eat a variety of foods. It’s also the age when experts say it’s OK to introduce homogenized cow’s milk. However, milk of any kind is a smaller part of their diets.

This toddler nutritional supplement is made differently from infant formula. To oversimplify, while infant formula tries to mimic breastmilk, Enfagrow aims to be a sort of enhanced cow’s milk with extra vitamins and minerals. In infant formula, the amount of protein is reduced overall, and extra whey protein is added to better resemble the balance of whey to casein protein in breastmilk. The protein content in Enfagrow is more like that of cow’s milk.

Is it a substitute for milk then? No, says Bradley. “Enfagrow is not meant to replace any one particular food. It’s a supplement. An appropriate use of this product would be one or two servings a day.”

So would that be in addition to the recommended amount of milk, plus a variety of fruits, vegetables, protein sources and grains — all necessary parts of a healthy, balanced toddler diet? It seems unlikely a toddler’s belly would have the room. Realistically, if this product came into widespread use, it would inevitably substitute for milk to some extent. So how do the two compare?

A group of public health dietitians in British Columbia produced a table in 2004 comparing the nutrient levels of Enfagrow and whole (homo) milk (see above). The table shows that Enfagrow is a sort of expensive, souped-up milk. Enfagrow and milk have a similar amount of fat, protein and calcium. Enfagrow has a few more calories (which come from lactose and corn-syrup solids, both sugars), more vitamin A, vitamin C, zinc and iron than milk, but less vitamin D, folic acid and vitamin B12. The real kicker is the difference in cost. Prices will vary slightly from store to store, but based on the price checks done by the BC group, the cost of powdered Enfagrow, the least expensive version, is three times greater than whole milk.

Originally published in Today's Parent, September 2005