Article details
2 min read
By Similac®
Fact Checked by Similac®
Highlights the unique nutritional benefits of breast milk, which contains all the essential vitamins and minerals necessary for infant development.
Discusses how breastfeeding contributes to a stronger immune system in babies and lower health risks for mothers.
Emphasizes the emotional and psychological benefits of breastfeeding, strengthening the bond between mother and child.
What are the main breastfeeding benefits?
You have probably discussed breastfeeding benefits with your doctor and friends. You may have heard that breastfeeding is the best way to nourish your newborn. Breast milk is nature’s perfect food. It is comprised of hundreds of individual components that work together in a way that is unique and extremely difficult to replicate. As a result, it is widely known that babies who receive breast milk have strong immune systems.
How can breastfeeding benefits positively impact baby’s immune system?
The microbiome, and especially the gut, is where 70% of our immune system resides, making it ground zero for your baby’s current and future immune health. Scientists have spent many years working to better understand the role that individual nutrients play in a baby’s developing immune system. It has been shown that milk oligosaccharides, unique immune-nourishing prebiotics found naturally in breast milk, play a fundamental role for supporting a healthy immune system and gut microbiome.
What is 2’-FL (2’-fucosyllactose) and what effects does it have on the immune system?
Milk oligosaccharides make breastfeeding benefits clear for researchers. 2’-FL (2’-fucosyllactose) is the most abundant milk oligosaccharide in most mothers’ milk. It increases good bacteria and boosts favourable bacterial colonisation in the gut. This discovery of the role of 2’-FL represents one of the biggest scientific discoveries in paediatric nutrition of the last decade. New understanding and scientific developments now mean we are able to harness the power of 2’-FL by adding it to our milk formula. Its presence has been linked to an increase in the production of healthy substances such as short chain fatty acids and a reduction in the release of less desirable molecules such as ammonium. The unique molecule also makes it difficult for unfavourable bacteria to bind to the intestinal lining, which may reduce the risk of gastrointestinal infections.
This exciting discovery is just the beginning of our understanding of how to help support a lifetime of good nutrition and health.
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