What Does Breast Milk Consist Of?

Breast milk is unique and can not be imitated. It changes composition depending on the child’s age, needs as well as the time of year. Do you know what breast milk consists of?

Nature is very wise. Breast milk has exactly the composition that the baby needs for its development.

According to the World Health Organization, children receive good nutrition from breast milk up to the age of three as long as they also receive a supplementary diet.

Breastfeeding also creates a bond of wonderful opportunities between mother and child – a loving relationship and a channel of dialogue between the two. This is what is known as attachment.

How is breast milk produced?

First, the mother produces colostrum, an aqueous and yellowish substance rich in minerals and vitamins A, E, K and B12. It is very easy to digest and creates a laxative effect that helps to get out the excrement created in the baby’s womb during pregnancy.

This colostrum consists of white blood cells and antibodies that are responsible for defending the baby from intestinal and respiratory infections until its own immune system develops.

A few days after birth, milk production itself increases, a substance that has a low protein but high fat and carbohydrate content.

In the beginning it is very watery and then becomes creamy. It is this change in texture that allows the newborn to first quench his thirst and then satisfy his hunger.

What does breast milk consist of?

Water is the most abundant component of breast milk. It contributes to the newborn’s ability to regulate body temperature.

It has been shown that the needs of infants can be completely satisfied by the water in the breast milk.

Proteins

Many of the properties of human breast milk can be traced back to its unique proteins.

Human milk is predominantly characterized by whey proteins and casein. From a nutritional point of view, casein not only fulfills a function as a protein. Fragments of it are included in the bifidus factor, and others have immunomodulatory properties.

Lactoferrin is another significant serum protein. It helps the newborn to protect himself against microorganisms.

This protein helps to bind iron so that bacteria can not multiply.

Immunoglobulins or antibodies are proteins that are capable of binding and recognizing structures to which they are directed. When they recognize the antigen, they allow the immune system to destroy it. They are very important for their protective effect.

When an immunologically mature infant consumes breast milk, it receives antibodies that defend it against the microorganisms in the environment to which it is exposed.

Carbohydrates

The main carbohydrate in milk is lactose. It is synthesized in the mammary glands.

Their main function is to provide energy, but it seems specific to the growth of the newborn because it has the following beneficial properties:

• It facilitates the absorption of calcium
• It is a source of galactose, which is essential for the production of galactolipids, which in turn are indispensable for the development of the central nervous system.
• It influences the volume control of the milk, regulates the transport of water

• It is part of the bifidus factor.

Lactose levels are fairly constant in each mother’s milk during the day. Even if the mother’s diet is substandard, lactose levels do not vary.

Oils

Fats and oils are important sources of energy and are essential for the development of the nervous system. 

Fat is the most variable component in milk, it increases during the day and during feeding, with low values ​​at the beginning and high values ​​at the end.

During intake, the aqueous phase of the milk is replaced by fat cells in increasing proportion.

Human milk offers fatty acids that are linked to vision. It has been shown that children who are fed with compensation actually have poorer visual acuity than those who are breastfed.

Minerals

A breastfed baby manages its fluid balance better, for example by sweating to manage body temperature.

• Sodium and Potassium: Potassium levels are much higher than those of sodium, similar to the distribution found in cells. Low sodium levels and high potassium levels in breast milk have a positive effect.

• Iron: the absorbable content of iron in breast milk is up to 50%. Children who breastfeed exclusively for the first six months are much less likely to suffer from anemia.
• Calcium: Calcium and phosphorus levels are low in breast milk but are easily absorbed.
• Zinc: breast milk contains bioavailable zinc. Acrodermatitis enteropathica, a congenital change in metabolism does not occur in breast-fed infants.

Vitamins

The water-soluble vitamins are taken in proportions suitable for the baby.

• Vitamin A.  Vitamin A, like all fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E and K), is transported in milk fat. The content is even higher in colostrum and higher in the milk of mothers with premature babies.

• Vitamin D.  The main source of vitamin D is exposure to the sun, not through food. There is no shortage of breastfed babies alone.
• Vitamin E.  Breast milk contains more than enough of vitamin E. Colostrum contains around three times as much as mature milk. This is important because infants have small reserves and need a large amount during the first few days.
• Vitamin K. The concentration of vitamin K is higher in colostrum and transitional milk.

A little curious

• Breast milk is an aqueous solution of nutrients, cells, hormones, growth factors and immunoglobins that exert a complex interrelationship between mother and child.
• The milk varies with the time of day, during breastfeeding, but also during the same intake period. 
• All variations are functional. Breast milk has the ability to adapt to the infant’s individual needs.