Health & Medicine - Posted by Phyllis Picklesimer-Illinois on Tuesday, March 6, 2012 12:50 - 1 Comment 
(No Ratings Yet)
Loading ...
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...Probiotic baby formula boosts immunity
"The beneficial bacteria that live in a baby’s intestine are all-important to an infant’s health, growth, and ability to fight off infections," says Kelly Tappenden, professor of nutrition and gastrointestinal physiology at the University of Illinois. "Breast-fed babies acquire this protection naturally. Formula-fed infants get sick more easily because the bacteria in their gut are always changing." (Credit: University of Illinois)
U. ILLINOIS (US) — Adding prebiotic and probiotic ingredients to infant formula may help newborns fight infections and stay healthy, according to two new studies.
Share this article
Email
Republish this article
The text of this article by Futurity is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivatives License.
Prebiotic ingredients help colonize the newborn’s gut with a stable population of beneficial bacteria, and probiotics enhance immunity in formula-fed infants, the research shows.
“The beneficial bacteria that live in a baby’s intestine are all-important to an infant’s health, growth, and ability to fight off infections,” says Kelly Tappenden, professor of nutrition and gastrointestinal physiology at the University of Illinois. “Breast-fed babies acquire this protection naturally. Formula-fed infants get sick more easily because the bacteria in their gut are always changing.”
The idea is to make formula more like breast milk by promoting the sorts of intestinal bacteria that live in breast-fed babies’ intestines, she says.
Prebiotics are carbohydrates that resist digestion by human enzymes and stimulate the growth and activity of beneficial bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract. Probiotics are actual live bacteria that are beneficial to intestinal health.
Infants have a special need for stimulation of their gut microbiota because they are born with a sterile intestine, Tappenden says. “A strong, robust population of microbes in the gut provides colonization resistance, and pathogens can’t invade and infect an infant who has that resistance as easily.”
As reported in the Journal of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition, researchers compared the effects of feeding pre- and probiotics with infants fed breast milk and control formulas. They also compared the enhanced formulas’ effects in both vaginally and Caesarean-delivered babies.
The probiotic formula significantly enhanced immunity in formula-fed infants,” Tappenden says. Also, babies delivered by C-section had an especially improved immune response, an important finding because C-section babies are a more vulnerable group.
“Babies delivered naturally are exposed to the mother’s bacteria as they travel through the birth canal, and they develop a healthier population of gut bacteria as a result. Babies delivered by C-section enter a sterile environment, and their gut microbiota is quite different,” Tappenden notes.
In the probiotics study, scientists at five sites divided 172 healthy six-week-old infants into two formula-fed groups and a breast-fed group. Beginning at six weeks of age, the formula-fed groups received either a control formula or a formula that contained the beneficial bacteria Bifidobacterium animalis subspecies lactis (Bb12) for a six-week period. The infants receiving the probiotic formula had increased concentrations of secretory, anti-rotavirus, and anti-poliovirus-specific immunoglobulin A (IgA).
Fecal samples from babies receiving the probiotic formula revealed significantly heightened immunity, especially among Caesarian-delivered infants, Tappenden says.
Infants who consumed the formula containing the prebiotic ingredients also benefited.
In the prebiotic study, 139 healthy babies were divided into three groups. Breast-fed infants were compared with babies fed either a control formula or a formula supplemented with galacto- and fructo-oligosaccharides for six weeks. Oligosaccharides, found in breast milk, contribute to the healthy population of bacteria found in the guts of breast-fed infants.
When fecal samples were tested, babies fed the prebiotic formula showed modest improvement in the number of beneficial bacteria and decreases in the types of bacteria that are often associated with illness.
Funding for both studies was provided by Nestlé Infant Nutrition.
More news from University of Illinois: http://www.aces.uiuc.edu/news/
Please wait
Very interesting!
This confirms what naturally seems best to the child, breastfeeding. However, I’ve also seen the importance for a growing child and youth to consume probiotics and prebiotics. Constantly adding beneficial bacteria to your gut has a tremendous impact; it seems that good bacteria are involved in so many processes in your body, even affecting your genes. My family eat cultured vegetables on a daily basis and it seems to keep us from many health problems.
Thanks