Lactose-free formulas are niche products, created by formula makers to capture
more of the $8 billion dollar formula market. Typically these types of formula
are given to babies who are gassy or fussy. Gas has been turned into a major
health problem with a whole industry growing around it. You would think that
gas was a disease and infant formula the therapy.

The functions of lactose are thought to include:
1. establishment of favorable gut flora which compete with and exclude many
potential pathogens. Lactose-free formula contributes to an increase in gut
flora of disease-causing bacteria
2. ensures a supply of galactose so that the brain can use this to synthesize
galactocerebrosides to help with myelination and optimal brain development.
Arbitrarily removing lactose from the diet because the baby has gas can affect
the child's brain development. Here come those pesky IQ points again! I wonder
how many parents have ever been told that human milk is designed to grow the
brain, that providing an artificial diet interferes with this, that gas is not
a disease, and that the brain will substitute other nutrients for what it
cannot obtain, thus changing the nature of the brain's composition.

Jensen RG: Handbook of milk composition.San Diego, CA: Academic Press, 1995

Marsha Walker, RN, IBCLC
Weston, Massachusetts