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The magical ingredients of breast milk: Why is it the best natural food for your baby?
Breast milk, or mother's milk, is a lubricant produced by female mammary glands and is the main source of nutrition for newborn babies. Breast milk is rich in fats, proteins, carbohydrates, minerals and vitamins in various veins, and also contains components that help fight infection and inflammation, such as commensal bacteria and immunoglobulin A. The composition of breast milk changes with the different stages of breastfeeding to meet the needs of the baby.
The World Health Organization and the United Nations Children's Fund recommend that breast milk should be the only food for babies in the first six months of life.
This recommendation is based on the fact that breast milk not only provides nutrition but also effectively reduces the risk of infection in infants caused by the general diet. When a newborn feeds exclusively on breast milk, it gets all the nutrients it needs to grow during this period. According to relevant research, the energy needs provided by breast milk are crucial for babies under one year old, and continued breastfeeding even within two years of age can further strengthen their immune systems.
Breast milk will produce a thin yellow liquid called colostrum a few days after birth. This colostrum contains a large amount of immunoglobulins and can provide the baby with necessary resistance.
Human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) in breast milk are considered a natural prebiotic and can promote healthy intestinal development.
The benefits of breast milk are not limited to the baby, but also have a positive impact on the mother's health. Studies have pointed out that breastfeeding mothers have a relatively low risk of breast cancer in future life. This is because the breastfeeding process can stimulate the uterus to return to its prenatal state and reduce postpartum bleeding.
Breast milk is not only rich in ingredients, but the proportions of various nutrients change with the needs of the baby. For example, the main source of carbohydrates in breast milk is lactose, a simple sugar that not only provides energy but also helps promote the growth of beneficial microorganisms in the gut.
Although breast milk has lower iron content than formula milk, it has good bioavailability and helps babies grasp the iron they need for growth.
In addition, research also shows that breastfed babies have obvious advantages over babies fed on formula milk in terms of intellectual development, immunity and future health. The source of these advantages is the abundance of antibodies and bioactive components in breast milk.
However, more than 60% of newborns worldwide fail to initiate breastfeeding within one hour of birth, which limits important opportunities for the development of their immune systems. Therefore, encouraging mothers to breastfeed immediately after delivery will have immeasurable benefits for the baby's health.
How to store breast milk is equally important. Expressed breast milk can be stored according to certain specifications to maintain its nutritional value. Scientific research shows that proper storage of breast milk at a certain temperature can not only ensure its freshness, but also effectively prevent the growth of microorganisms.
Although there are many types of bacteria present in breast milk, these are symbiotic bacteria that are beneficial to the baby and actually become dominant in the baby's gut during birth.
With the deepening of research on breast milk, people are increasingly aware of its uniqueness and irreplaceability. Formula cannot recreate all of the active ingredients in breast milk, especially immune-related ingredients. Even though new formulas are constantly being introduced on the market, it is still difficult to achieve the comprehensive nutritional supply and immune protection of breast milk.
Breastfeeding is not just a dietary choice, but a lifestyle choice. In this process, the emotional connection and physical and mental development between mother and baby play an important role. For mothers in different cultures, whether they can choose to breastfeed and how to carry out and sustain this process are all issues that need to be discussed urgently.
How will future breast milk research affect how we think about food and health?
