Goodness of MilK

Taken from Dutchlady.com.my


I am worried about the sugar level in my child’s Growing Up Milk

1. I didn't know that Growing Up Milk need to have sugars. Why?

First of all, we need to understand that children of growing up age needs some source of energy to help them grow. Main sources of energy are carbohydrates and fats. Carbohydrates are important, because it is the main source of energy which is needed for good growth and development of the body and the brain, especially for growing up children.

Sugars are a type of carbohydrates. Milk which is a natural product in itself also contains sugars known as lactose. It is this sugar (lactose) in milk which helps your child to grow. Therefore, all Growing Up Milk will contain some form of sugars.

2. Tell me about the sugars in Dutch Lady's Growing Up Milk.

First of all, at Dutch Lady Malaysia we have developed a well balanced formula which is optimal for growing up children in Malaysia. All Dutch Lady's Growing Up Milk products are fully in compliance with Malaysia's draft standard of Formulated Milk Powder for Children, Malaysia's Recommended Nutrient Intake (RNI) 2005 and World Health Organisation (WHO) 2003 recommendation.

There are two types of sugars most commonly found in Growing Up Milk powder. First, the naturally occuring sugars in milk which are called lactose. Second, there are added sugars which are natural plant sugars.

Dutch Lady's Growing Up Milk has a combination of lactose and added plant sugars. This is because, at Dutch Lady Malaysia we always strive to develop Growing Up Milk products which can help bridge the nutritional gap of the children. By providing an optimally and nutritionally balanced Growing Up Milk coupled with a healthy daily meal, it will help your child to achieve a nutritionally balanced diet which is important for his/her growth.

3. So, why does Dutch Lady need to have 'added sugar' in their Growing Up Milk powder ?

Dutch Lady's growing up milk is nutritionally designed using a combination of naturally occurring sugars in milk i.e. lactose and also added natural plant sugars in order to maintain the natural ratio of lactose in milk. Based on years of research, we found that it is important that our Growing Up Milk is optimally formulated. Our research reveals that products which are not optimally formulated, for example those with high lactose are not well tolerated by Malaysian children. Some children who consume high lactose milk may develop the following complications such as diarrhea, bloating (due to too much gas) as a result of the inability of their body to metabolise the excess lactose.

4. I am concerned about my child's sugar intake from his Growing Up Milk powder. How does the sugar content in Dutch Lady's Growing Up Milk compare with the other brands who claims 'no added sugar'?

Dutch Lady's Growing Up Milk has approximately 15% to 32% less total sugars (per 100g milk powder) versus brands who claims 'no added sugar'. In fact, the sugar levels in Dutch Lady's Growing Up Milk is well within the recommended Malaysian Recommended Nutrient Intake (RNI) 2005 level as well as within the World Health Organisation (WHO) 2003 recommendation.


Lactose and 'added sugar' which is the natural form of plant sugar, are all sugars.

Total sugar of Dutch Lady's Growing Up Milk product is approximately 15% to 32% less (per 100gm of milk powder) than brands who claim they have 'no added sugar'.



5. I read some brands that 'have no added sugar' implied that other brands like Dutch Lady have a lot of 'added sugar' in their Growing Up Milk and this is unhealthy for my child. Is this true?

Growing Up Milk brands that claim 'no added sugar' only talk about 'added sugar' (which we explained are plant sugars). However, they do not talk about the overall total sugar content in their milk. Parents should look at the total sugar content in their child's Growing Up Milk.

Total sugar includes both the naturally occurring sugar in milk which is lactose and the added natural plant sugars. Even though Dutch Lady's Growing Up Milk products has added natural plant sugars in our Growing Up Milk, our Growing Up Milk powder has a much lower total sugar content compared to brands who claim that they have ‘no added sugar’.

6. Is my child getting too much sugar from DL growing up milk?

Rest assured that your child is not getting too much sugar from our Dutch Lady's Growing Up Milk as all our Growing Up Milk products are made in full compliance with Malaysia’s draft standard of Formulated Milk Powder for Children, Malaysia RNI 2005 and World Health Organisation (WHO) 2003 recommendations.

7. In terms of sugar intake, what should I really be concerned about?

We understand that parents are worried about the effect of excessive sugar consumption in your child's diet which could lead to tooth decay, childhood obesity as well as diabetes.

If you are worried about this, apart from ensuring that your child minimise the intake of high in sugar food or snacks such as that occasional bar of chocolate, you will also will need to look at total sugar level in your child's Growing Up Milk and not the added sugar level.

There is no difference in terms of calorific value between lactose and other added natural sugars.

8. I came across a website in Malaysia where it provides a model to calculate sugar by looking at Carbohydrate content of Growing Up Milk's nutritional information. When I key in Dutch Lady's Growing Up Milk's carbohydrate content, your product would have 7-10 teaspoons of added sugar. Please explain.

We are not at liberty to explain how the website makes its calculation. We believe that possibly the calculation method is factually misleading.

In terms of total sugar content, Dutch Lady’s Growing Up Milk has approximately 15% to 32% less total sugars (per 100g milk powder) versus brands who claims 'no added sugar'.

9. Is Dutch Lady planning to reduce its added sugar in its Growing Up Milk products?
We firmly believe that the added natural plant sugars in our Growing Up Milk is necessary to ensure optimally balanced formulation so that it provides adequate carbohydrate (energy source) for a growing child. The level of the total sugars in our Growing Up Milk are not excessive. It is well within the recommended Malaysia Recommended Nutritional Intake (RNI) 2005 and World Health Organisation (WHO) 2003 recommendations.