Similac Pro Sensitive is a sensitive formula designed for babies who have fussiness and gas caused by lactose sensitivity made from milk protein isolate and 1% lactose so the immune system won’t elicit negative responses. Moreover, it has an HMO’s prebiotic (2′-FL) to help develop the immune system and digestive health properly. Also, it has a blend of DHA, lutein, and vitamin E called OptiGro to promote brain, cell, and eye development.
According to moms’ reviews, it helps with fussiness and reflux and has good taste. However, it’s too foamy and may cause gas for some babies.
In this article, we will see a full comparison between Similac Pro Sensitive and all Gerber Good Start Formulas in terms of ingredients, nutrition, mom’s reviews, and price to choose the best alternative.
“When you buy something using my links, I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. This is a kind of support to me. This website doesn’t accept money for reviews. “
Similac Pro Sensitive vs Gerber Good Start GentlePro:
Similac Pro Sensitive and Gerber Good Start GentlePro are lactose-reduced formulas but with different percentages; the latter is made of 70% lactose and 30% corn maltodextrin whereas Pro Sensitive has only 1% lactose, sugar, and corn syrup as carbohydrate sources.
On the other hand, Gerber Good Start GentlePro uses a partially hydrolyzed whey protein to be gentle on babies’ tummies. In contrast, Pro Sensitive uses intact cow’s milk (milk protein isolate) with a whey-to-casein ratio of 18:82.
Related: Best 7 Generic Brands of Similac Sensitive and Pro Sensitive
Furthermore, both formulas have the 2′-FL (Fucosyl Lactose) prebiotic that resembles the major one in breast milk (Human Milk Oligosaccharides, or HMOs) more than other prebiotics that exists in baby formulas. This Prebiotic is food for probiotics (good bacteria), a happy probiotic will support digestive health.
However, Good Start GentlePro has a probiotic called Bifidobacterium Lactis or B. Lactis (healthy bacteria) whereas Pro Sensitive doesn’t have. On the opposite side, the latter has the OptiGro Feature which is a blend of DHA, lutein, and vitamin E for the brain, cell, and eye development.
Mom’s Reviews Comparison:
Nutrition Comparison:
In terms of nutrients, Pro Sensitive is enriched with minerals more than GentlePro. In contrast, the latter has more vitamins than Pro Sensitive.
Pro Sensitive has a high inositol level compared to GentlePro whereas in breastmilk the average level is from 22 to 48mg /100kcal.
Inositol is an essential nutrient required by human cells in culture for growth and survival. Inositol promotes maturation of several components of surfactant and may play a critical role in fetal and early neonatal life.
Says National Library of Medicine
Price Comparison:
Gerber Good Start GentlePro is cheaper (1.14 $/oz) than Pro Sensitive (1.24 $/oz) as the table below shows:
| Similac Pro Sensitive | Gerber Good Start GentlePro |
|---|---|
| 29.8 oz 36.96 $ 1.24 /oz 32 fl oz 8.12$ 25.4 ¢/fl oz | 20 oz 29.24 $ 1.46 /oz 32 oz 36.48 $ 1.14 /oz 33.8 fl oz 8.74$ 25.9 ¢/fl oz |
| 4.3 of 5.0 895 reviews | 4.8 of 5.0 2519 reviews |
| Buy 29.8 oz HERE Buy Ready-to-feed | Buy 20 oz HERE Buy 32 oz HERE Buy RTF HERE |
Similac Pro Sensitive vs Gerber Good Start SoothePro:
The difference between Similac Pro Sensitive and Gerber Good Start SoothePro is that the latter contains a gentle whey protein partially hydrolyzed and contains 70% of lactose whereas Similac Pro Sensitive is lactose-reduced by 99% and has an intact cow’s milk as a protein source to help reduce fussiness and gas caused by lactose sensitivity.
Furthermore, SoothePRO is sugar-free and has a probiotic called Lactobacillus Reuteri (L. Reuteri) to help the digestive system. In contrast, Pro Sensitive is palm oil-free and has a blend of DHA, lutein, and vitamin E called OptiGro.
Mom’s Reviews Comparison:
Ingredients Comparison:
There are big differences between these two formulas in terms of ingredients. First of all, Pro Sensitive has a milk protein isolate as a protein source whereas Soothepro hydrolyzes whey protein concentrate to be gentle on babies’ tummies.
The milk protein isolate is different from regular milk, it’s a protein product extracted from skim milk powder. it has been filtered to remove all or most of the minerals and the lactose in it.
Also, they have a different whey-to-casein ratio as the table shows whereas the average ratio in breast milk is 70% to 30% and 80% to 20% in early lactation and 50% to 50% in late lactation. The difference between them is that whey protein is digested quickly contrary to casein.
As carbohydrate sources, Similac Pro Sensitive has 99% of its carbs sourced from corn syrup and sugar, the 1% is from lactose which makes it good for babies with lactose sensitivity. In contrast, Soothepro has 70% lactose + 30% corn maltodextrin as fat sources.
Price Comparison:
In terms of price, Gerber Good Start SoothePro is cheaper (1.19 $/oz) than Pro Sensitive (1.24 $/oz) but it doesn’t have an RTF form. However, the latter is enriched with minerals more than SoothePRO.
| Similac Pro Sensitive | Gerber Good Start SoothePro |
|---|---|
| 29.8 oz 36.96 $ 1.24 /oz 32 fl oz 8.12$ 25.4 ¢/fl oz | 12.4 oz 18.78 $ 1.52 /oz 19.4 oz 29.53$ 1.52 /oz 30.6 oz 36.48 $ 1.19 /oz |
| 4.3 of 5.0 895 reviews | 4.5 of 5.0 259 reviews |
| Has RTF | No RTF |
| Buy 29.8 oz HERE Buy Ready-to-feed | Buy 12.4 oz HERE Buy 19.4 oz HERE Buy 30.6 oz HERE |
Similac Pro Sensitive vs Gerber Good Start Gentle:
There is a big difference between Similac Pro Sensitive and Gerber Good Start Gentle because they have different purposes; the latter is a regular milk-based formula designed for babies with no sensitivity or allergy issues made from nonfat milk plus whey protein concentrate and 100% lactose whereas Similac Pro Sensitive is a lactose-reduced formula by 99% designed to reduce fussiness and gas caused by lactose sensitivity.
Mom’s reviews Comparison:
Ingredients Comparison:
In terms of ingredients, Gerber Good Start Gentle uses nonfat milk + whey protein concentrate and 100% lactose as all standard milk-based formulas do whereas Similac Pro Sensitive is lactose-reduced by 99% to not elicit negative responses for babies with lactose sensitivity issues, and has milk protein isolate as a protein source.
Furthermore, Pro Sensitive adds sugar to carbs sources as a sweetener which is not good while Good Start Gentle doesn’t.
Gerber Good Start Gentle has 9 generic brands to choose from in case you didn’t find it, I wrote a whole article about the best 9 generic brands of Good Start Gentle if you want to check.
Nutrition Comparison:
Price Comparison:
| Similac Pro Sensitive | Gerber Good Start Gentle |
|---|---|
| 29.8 oz 36.96 $ 1.24 /oz 32 fl oz 8.12$ 25.4 ¢/fl oz | 12.7 oz 18.78 $ 1.48 /oz 27 oz 34.98 $ 1.30 /oz |
| 4.3 of 5.0 895 reviews | 4.6 of 5.0 1155 reviews |
| Has RTF | No RTF |
| Buy 29.8 oz HERE Buy Ready-to-feed | Buy 12.7oz HERE Buy 27 oz HERE |
Can you switch between Similac Pro Sensitive and Gerber Good Start Gentle?
In case your baby is on Gerber Good Start Gentle and shows bad reactions due to lactose sensitivity, then it’s recommended to switch to lactose-reduced or lactose-free formula. Hypoallergenic formulas are expensive so the first thing to do is switch to a lactose-reduced formula like Similac Sensitive, Pro Sensitive, Total Comfort, or Pro Total Comfort… give it some time and see his reactions.
There are a lot of alternatives to Similac Pro Sensitive to try, check these articles where I did a full comparison between Similac Pro Sensitive and all Enfamil Formulas, and also between Similac Pro Sensitive and all Similac Formulas to help choose the right alternatives.
Final Thoughts:
The best alternative to Similac Pro Sensitive in the Gerber brand is Gerber Good Start GentlePRO and SoothePRO because they are of the same type (lactose-reduced formulas) and have the same nutrient value, although these late have more lactose than Pro Sensitive. But, they have a partially hydrolyzed whey protein to ease digestion for your baby.
Image Credit:
