I’ve talked in my blogs before about the various reasons why breast milk is superior to formula. However, I want to take a minute and review the reasons why breast milk is the best possible food for your baby:
Nutrients that Promote Brain Development
1. DHA. DHA (docasahexaenoic acid) has been proven to be an important nutrient for growth and development of brain tissue. DHA is present in higher concentrations in breast fed infants and it is thought that this is one way in which breast milk promotes brain development.
2. The Right Cholesterol. Cholesterol is not so great in adult diets, but baby diets need cholesterol and similar fats to help build brain tissue. Formulas currently contain know cholesterol. Cholesterol is a key ingredient in the myelin sheath, the fatty layer that wraps around nerve tissue in the brain. In fact, if mother’s diet does not provide enough of these fatty substances, the breasts can make it on the spot so that baby gets enough.
3. Sugar. Lactose is the main sugar that’s present in breast milk. Interestingly, anthropologists have noted that smarter species of mammals contain higher concentrations of lactose in their milk and that human milk contains the highest concentration of lactose of any other species. It seems there is a direct correlation between breast milk and intelligence. Some formulas do contain some lactose. Lactose-free and soy formulas contain table sugar and/or corn syrup.
On average Breatfed Infants are. . .
1. Smarter. The average IQ for children who were breastfed as infants is 7-10 points higher than their formula fed counter parts.
2. Less likely to need glasses.
3. Less likely to get an ear infection
4. Less likely to get tonsillitis.
5. Less likely to suffer from chronic respiratory infections, influenza and pneumonia.
6. Less at risk for a heart attack as an adult.
7. Less likely to suffer from diarrhea or have gastrointestinal ailments.
8. Less likely to suffer from food allergies if exclusively breastfed for the first 6 months.
9. Less likely to suffer from childhood cancer.
10. More likely to respond well to immunizations.
11. Less likely to get diabetes or other serious illnesses both as children and later as adults.
12. Less likely to be colicky.
Other Nutrients that Babies Need
1. Protein–This is one case were less is more. Human milk contains less protein than cow’s milk but the type of protein it contains (taurine) is significant to brain and eye development. It is so significant that some formula companies have begun adding taurine to their formulas. Also, protein in human milk is digested much more easily than the protein in cow’s milk.
2. Intelligent Fats–Fats in breast milk change by design, according to your baby’s needs. Mothers of premature baby’s for example, produce a milk that is quite high in fat. Not only that, but fat content in breast milk actually changes during a feeding. At the beginning of a feeding, the milk is lower in fat content (foremilk) but at the end of a feeding is much higher in fat content (hind milk). A baby who is in a growth spurt and nurses soon after his last feeding then, will get more hind milk thus getting more calories to meet his the demands of his growing body.
3. Vitamins and Minerals–Breastmilk is designed to not only provide the right combination of vitamins and minerals but these substances, when found in breast milk, are absorbed more easily in the baby. For example, a baby can absorb approximately 80% of the iron in breast milk but only 4% of the iron from formula is absorbed.
Breast milk: the Living Substance
Breast milk also contains enzymes and antibodies that simply cannot be replicated in formulas. It is a living substance that changes based on the needs of your baby. For example, in households where there is a “bug” going around, the breast fed baby often does not get sick because he is receiving mom’s antibodies.
So there you have it, a whole slew of reasons why breast milk is better for your baby.
Information for this article was compiled from: Ask Dr. Sears
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