Breast milk is one of the least studied body fluids by science so far. Half a century ago, scientists revealed basic information about its composition, but today, thanks to technological advances, we can learn more and more about this substance that is much more than just a baby food. Breast milk is a “living and intelligent” food.
It holds the title of being nothing less than “nature’s first functional food.” Under that title, an interesting study published in the journal Science has been developed that delves into the composition of breast milk and the benefits it brings to the baby.
Breast milk, the best for the baby
We know a lot about breast milk. That it is a “live” food that adapts to the needs of the baby as it grows. That even changes its consistency and color in the same shot. Containing all the nutrients that the baby needs to feed exclusively up to six months, and supplemented with solid food for at least the first two years of life. That protects the bacterial flora of the baby’s stomach and that provides immunity against allergies, infections and diseases … And so we could continue naming benefits of all kinds, and not a single one against.
At first glance, breast milk is a mixture of fats, proteins and sugars capable of feeding the newborn, but there is much more. Cells of the immune system to the mother that protect the baby, regenerative stem cells and thousands of bioactive molecules also circulate through it.
These bioactive molecules protect against infections, control inflammation, stimulate the immune system and organ development, and in the case of oligosaccharides, shape the microbiome of the newborn .
Microbiome is a relatively new concept that is used to define the colony of microorganisms present in a part of the body, in this case in the baby’s intestine.
Powerful bacteria
Recent studies revealed that breast milk contains more than 700 bacteria, a striking number that even the researchers themselves did not expect to find. However, the function that each one fulfills is a mystery. There is still much to investigate about this “liquid gold”.
What has been known is that breast milk carries complex carbohydrates called oligosaccharides (exclusive of breast milk), proteins and inactive enzymes.
When the baby takes it and reaches the stomach, these enzymes are activated and the beneficial peptides are divided (molecules formed by the union of several amino acids), which help the immune system, of proteins.
Once in the intestine, the oligosaccharides promote the growth of the good bacteria present in it, called bifidobacteria. In addition, together with the peptides, they help to cleanse the intestine of “bad” bacteria that could make the baby sick.
This is the case of neonatal necrotizing enterocolitis (ENN), a disease that mainly affects premature babies with a mortality of 25%, whose risk of suffering from it is reduced three times in babies who drink breast milk .
Research on breast milk
The study of breast milk has been ignored for years as “not modern”, but now science is looking at it again with interest as an object of study.
In the 1950s, the Nobel Prize-winning physicist Richard Kuhn and the famous pediatrician Paul György found that the key to breast milk was found in oligosaccharides , capable of promoting the growth of microbes called bifidobacteria .
But the investigations were stopped. Meanwhile, scientists continued to work on techniques capable of deciphering the complexity of oligosaccharides.
Half a century later, in 2006 a UC Davis team led by food chemist Bruce German refocused on the connection between breast milk and the microbiome.
They began to work on the identification of bacteria in milk and managed to isolate and sequence Bifidobacterium longum biovar infantis , which would contain the genes necessary for the oligosaccharides in milk to be digested.
Oligosaccharides appear to be the key ingredient in breast milk. In fact, UC San Diego nutritionist Lars Bode says that “the first company to get an oligosaccharide into their product will make a difference.”
Still, no artificial milk will be able to have the “intelligence” of breast milk . It is a natural substance, a living food that mutates, transforms and adapts to what the baby needs at all times. That, there will be nothing that can overcome it.
Via | Science Magazine
Photos | Thinkstock
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