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 as to its enormous benefits. And we still don't know them all.
A review of studies 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 found, for example, in mouse or cow's milk.
This "superfood" is unrivaled from the point of view of its biological composition. Neither artificial milks nor milks of other mammals match it.
In addition, the role of each of these oligosaccharides (natural sugars) has a different function in the baby's organism and varies during the period of breastfeeding to build, as if we lay bricks, baby's immune system.
In Babies and more The composition of breast milk at each stage of growth: this adapts to the needs of the baby Babies are born free of intestinal bacteria, which will serve to protect them from disease, but millions of people have already been colonized and, by the week, billions. Breast milk promotes the proliferation of good bacteria in the baby's intestine.
The first days 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 inmonoglobulin A (IgA) and oligosaccharides protect from gastrointestinal infections and favor the development of the microbiota.
After birth it is rich in antibodies and molecules that slow 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 by itself, the amount of maternal antibodies present in the milk and also the diversity of sugars decreases considerably and, instead, the amount of fats and other nutrients is increased that contribute to child growth.
In Babies and more Breast milk is "smart"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.
