New Study On the Components of Breastmilk

The August 2, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences includes an article where researchers from the University of California, Davis have studied some of the components of human breast milk. What intrigued the researchers was that there is such a large portion of human milk that can not be digested by babies – and in something so finely perfected by nature and evolution, this was unexpected to them. They have found that a large part of this indigestible part of human milk is used for regulating the composition of the baby’s gut – instead of for nutrition.

A complete review of this research can be found in the NY Times . The researchers discovered that these indigestible sugars which can make up up 21% of breast milk actually coat the baby’s gut and provide a protective layer against other harmful bacterial and viruses.

The NY Times article summarizes this as:

Dr. German sees milk as “an astonishing product of evolution,” one which has been vigorously shaped by natural selection because it is so critical to the survival of both mother and child. “Everything in milk costs the mother — she is literally dissolving her own tissues to make it,” he said. From the infant’s perspective, it is born into a world full of hostile microbes, with an untrained immune system and lacking the caustic stomach acid which in adults kills most bacteria. Any element in milk that protects the infant will be heavily favored by natural selection.

“We were astonished that milk had so much material that the infant couldn’t digest,” Dr. German said. “Finding that it selectively stimulates the growth of specific bacteria, which are in turn protective of the infant, let us see the genius of the strategy — mothers are recruiting another life-form to baby-sit their baby.”

and

Such findings have made the three researchers keenly aware that every component of milk probably has a special role. “It’s all there for a purpose, though we’re still figuring out what that purpose is,” Dr. Mills said. “So for God’s sake, please breast-feed.” (emphasis added)

This study is fantastic because it shows the way that evolution has perfected human milk to provide protection for human babies – not just in terms of perfect nutrition, but protection from infection and even cancer.

If you haven’t read this article, you can read the full version here.

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