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Karo syrup is a highly processed sweetener that is toxic and best avoided in all culinary situations. This is especially the case for well-meaning but misinformed parents seeking to make a safe and nourishing homemade baby formula.
Karo Syrup’s Sticky History
Karo syrup is a mild, sticky sweetener made from commercial cornstarch.
The Corn Products Refining Company of New York and Chicago originally developed it in the early 1900s for use as livestock feed. (1)
Karo syrup paved the way for high fructose corn syrup, one of the most popular and yet unhealthy, inflammation-producing sweeteners in processed foods today.
The fact that Karo has been around for over a century does not mean it is safe or healthy, especially for babies and children!
Karo for Formula?
By the mid-1900s, Karo syrup had evolved from animal feed into light and dark syrups for human consumption.
It even became a favored primary ingredient for baby formula!
Shockingly, doctors would direct mothers to blend Karo with water and canned evaporated milk to feed baby on demand.
As if that wasn’t bad enough, dark Karo used to be a recommended constipation remedy for children as well.
My own mother can attest to this foolishness. Her seven children were born during this era.
The doctor’s note below is from 1960. It shows that mothers were to feed their newborns every 3-4 hours with formula made from:
- 13 ounces evaporated milk
- 10 ounces water
- 2 tablespoons (dark) Karo syrup
GMOs, Glyphosate and Preservatives
With commercial baby formula shortages growing around the world, desperate parents seeking to make their own are reviving the use of this unhealthy mixture not realizing the dangers to their baby.
Karo syrup of decades ago was bad enough.
Today, manufacturers use genetically modified corn to make Karo syrup.
This GMO crop is heavily sprayed with glyphosate (Roundup).
This herbicide is known to disrupt normal gut function, contributing to the development of autoimmune diseases according to Dr. Stephanie Seneff of MIT. (2, 3)
In addition, the toxin sodium benzoate is used as a preservative. Among other concerns, The Lancet published a study that found sodium benzoate to be a potential trigger for ADHD regardless of the child’s mental health history or age. (4)
Under no conceivable circumstances should babies be consuming Karo syrup!
This PhD nutritionist baby formula recipe using grassfed milk (or whole milk yogurt) is a much smarter and safer choice that mimics breastmilk most closely.
Note to self…Karo is not safe for adults either!
For dessert recipes such as pecan pie that misguidedly call for this toxic sweetener, organic brown rice syrup is a better alternative to consider (though not perfect).
(1) An Overview of Syrup in America: A History of Karo, Maple, and Other Syrups
(2) Glyphosate. The Silent Killer
(3) Glyphosate, pathways to modern diseases II: Celiac sprue and gluten intolerance
(4) The Poison Squad
Your article is very nice,but my opinion it is very wrong. If we talk about a few years ago, parents were not so educated, they used to accept what the doctor used to say as correct. Because of him Today one of my friend is not able to walk properly. It has been years since he face this disease 30 years and we also do Gynecomastia treatment.
Thank you for listening me carefully.
Thank you very much for your article, it is very interesting information! When I was a kid, my mom boiled this syrup into gummies with a special recipe for supposedly better appetite for me and my sisters. But my opinion is different .. I think that it is very harmful and not desirable for use by either children or adults.
I have one of those recipe cards given my mother when she left the hospital after I was born. I believe my mom breastfed some of my other siblings, she did not breastfeed me. She said her mother asked her why she didn’t breastfeed. She replied that she thought the doctor knew best. She overcame that erroneous idea later but I’m the product of karo syrup milk and antibiotics from constant ear infections. It took me years to realize milk and I do not get along well, I wished my mother knew that when I was a baby, it would have saved me a lot of grief that I still am dealing with 60 years later.
I am so sorry to hear this story Terri. You are brave to be speaking out about it … hopefully a parent considering using this stuff for their baby will decide not to based on you sharing your experience.