On May 21-22, 2021, NUTRICIA held a large-scale virtual congress. The event was dedicated to the 125th anniversary of scientific expertise in nutrition.
“The impact of specialized nutrition on health in a new reality” – a topic that was revealed through various virtual conferences for two days. The listeners had the opportunity to learn from experience and gain knowledge from world experts in the food industry.
The organizers provided simultaneous translation for each lecture, including into Russian.
Of course, SuperFood did not miss this opportunity, and now we will tell you about the lecture on the research of infant formula, led by Professor Anna Novak-Vegshin.
Important Ingredients in Formulating Infant Formulas
Infant formula is food, and breast milk is a food liquid fortified with enzymes, antibodies, hormones and all the compounds necessary and beneficial for a baby’s health.
If you compare the composition of infant formula and the composition of breast milk, it becomes clear why pediatricians recommend breastfeeding. Experts believe that it is advisable to breastfeed a baby until the age of six months.
“According to our statistics,” the speaker says, “41% of mothers only breastfeed their baby for up to six months. We want a target figure of 50%. ”
According to the speaker, there are many mothers who do not want or cannot breastfeed their babies. Of course, in this case, it becomes necessary to replace breast milk – and a detailed study of this issue requires very large investments and scientific research.
The approach to creating infant formula must be serious, and most often it is based on copying the composition of breast milk.
However, “copy” is not easy. There are a number of factors that prevent this: the composition of breast milk contains living cells and components that cannot always be added to infant formula. In addition, some components are not subject to long shelf life, and there are also negative interactions between them.
The very presence of a specific substance in breast milk is not a sufficient reason to add this component to infant formula. The compositional similarities between breast milk and infant formula are an important factor, but not an indicator of safety.
In a little more detail on current research into the development of infant formula:
Several factors affect the implementation of intestinal homeostasis, maintenance of a healthy metabolism and strong immunity of the baby:
● When the baby is born at the normal time;
● Childbirth is carried out naturally;
● Mother feeds the baby with breast milk;
● The environment is conducive to the health of the child;
● The child’s body does not receive antibiotics and PPIs (proton pump inhibitors).
All this helps to strengthen the health and immune system of the child from a very early age.
However, the conditions listed below can lead to dysbiosis of the intestinal microbiota, in other words, to intestinal dysbiosis.
● When a baby is born prematurely;
● Childbirth is carried out using a cesarean section;
● There is no breastfeeding;
● The baby is in the intensive care unit;
● The child receives antibiotics and PPIs.
These factors can lead to the development of many diseases – for example, allergic diseases, autism spectrum diseases, obesity and others.
And, of course, there are different strategies for modulating the gut microbiota. That is, those ways of solving problems that will affect its balance.
The main ways to balance the microbiota in an infant are through the use of biotics and the normalization of the diet. All definitions given in the lecture were established by ISAPP (International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics). A little more detail about each of the biotics in a simpler language.
Probiotics are live microorganisms that improve health when taken in the right amounts. Unlike antibiotics, they have a beneficial effect on the intestinal microflora.
Small statistics given by the lecturer in his speech:
– In Denmark, 23% of children with upper respiratory tract infections receive antibiotics;
– In the United States, 25% of children with medical conditions receive antibiotics that they do not need;
– In New Zealand, at least 82% of children receive at least one course of antibiotics during their first year of life.
More recent studies, from 2021, were conducted in the United States.
More than 70% of 14,000 children received antibiotics during the first two years of life. As a result, the incidence of various diseases, including asthma, obesity, and so on, has increased on average.
These are all apparent reasons for adding probiotics to infant formula.
Prebiotics are indigestible food components that are not absorbed in the upper GI tract. But they stimulate the growth and vital activity of the microflora of the large intestine through fermentation.
Another compound present in infant formula is the so-called 3`-GL (3-galactose). It is structurally identical to those found in breast milk. 3-galactose is safe because it is a by-product of the fermentation.
Another type of biotic that is added to infant formula is synbiotics. It is a mixture of living microorganisms. They are defined as ingredients that are a combination of pro- and prebiotics, and mutually reinforce their effects on metabolic processes.
In early May, ISAPP developed a new, relevant definition of compounds such as postbiotics. They are also found in infant formula.
In simple terms, postbiotics are non-living bacteria or metabolic products of probiotics that are biologically active.
“I like to call postbiotics ‘life after life,’” says Professor Novak-Vegshin. She explains this precisely by the fact that postbiotics are inactivated, but at the same time they continue to act.
Baby food mixtures, which contain postbiotics, have a healing effect on the child’s body. Research results show decreased fecal pH.
Let us bring our “synopsis” of the lecture to its logical conclusion. There are three main things the pediatrician is encouraged to remember:
Breastfeeding is the best way to feed your baby. But, despite this, the need to replace breast milk has always been, is and will be. And this issue needs to be given enough attention;
The less antibiotics, the better for the child’s body;
None of the ingredients will be a “magic pill”, but in combination, they can have a beneficial effect on the baby’s body. There are some studies that have shown that blends of certain ingredients are safe and support healthy gut function and body growth.
Protect the health of your children from the first days of life,
Your SuperFood