LivingBreast milk contains more than 200 different natural sugar...
Living

Breast milk contains more than 200 different natural sugar molecules

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If we believed that there was nothing else that could surprise us about this “smart substance” that is breast milk, research on its composition continues to amaze us in terms of its enormous benefits. And that we still do not know all of them.

A review of studies carried out by experts from the Institute of Physiology of the University of Zurich (Switzerland) has found that it contains more than 200 different sugar molecules, being the most complex milk in the animal world , well above the 30-50 that are found, for example, in mouse or cow’s milk.

This “superfood” is unrivaled from the point of view of its biological composition. Neither artificial milk nor milk from other mammals match it.

In addition, the role of each of these oligosaccharides (natural sugars) has a different function in the baby’s body and varies during the lactation period to build, as if we were laying bricks, the baby’s immune system .

Babies are born free of intestinal bacteria, which will serve to protect them from diseases, but within a few years of life they have already been colonized by millions and, a week, billions. Breast milk promotes the growth of good bacteria in the baby’s intestine.

The first days it is full of sugars, proteins, vitamins and cells with immune function, a cocktail adapted to the needs of the newborn . As time passes, molecules such as immunoglobulin A (IgA) and oligosaccharides protect against gastrointestinal infections and promote the development of the microbiota.

After birth, it is rich in antibodies and molecules that stop the proliferation of harmful bacteria and coordinate the activity of white blood cells. A month later, when the baby begins to develop an adaptive immune system on its own, the amount of maternal antibodies present in milk decreases considerably and also the diversity of sugars and, instead, the amount of fats and other nutrients increases. that contribute to child growth.

We know more about the composition of breast milk studied in recent years. Among other things, it contains biomolecules that fight inflammation, as well as natural components that increase memory and a key hormone to regulate the baby’s metabolism.

More information | Cell Press
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