Breast milk contains over 700 types of bacteria. It is they who, far more numerous than previously imagined, could help the baby digest milk or strengthen his immune system through breastfeeding.
Don't store avocado like this: it's dangerous
Il breast milk contains over 700 types of bacteria. It is they who, much more numerous than anyone imagined to date, could help the baby digest milk and strengthen your immune system through breastfeeding.
This is the extraordinary discovery of some Spanish researchers of the Instituto de Agroquímica y Tecnología de Alimentos (IATA-CSIC) and Centro Superior de Investigación en Salud Pública (CSISP-GVA), who for the first time traced the "Bacterial microbiome map”Contained in milk, using the state-of-the-art technique of massive DNA sequencing to identify the“ complex of the genetic heritage and the related environmental interactions of all microorganisms ”present in the maternal secretion.
The results of the study, which looked at both colostrum, the first secretion of the mammary glands after birth, and breast milk one to six months after birth, were published in the journal Journal of Clinical Nutrition. The most common genera in colostrum samples were Weissella, Leuconostoc, Staphylococcus, Streptococcus e Lactococcus. Typical oral bacteria such as Veillonella, Leptotrichia and Prevotella.
"We are not yet able to determine if these bacteria colonize the baby's mouth or if they enter breast milk from his mouth, changing its composition", explain the authors, who think that the different composition of bacterial colonies in milk over the long term may to depend from stress and hormonal influence. This would be proven by the differences found in normal and overweight women or in new mothers who gave birth naturally or by caesarean section. This is why the mother's hormonal status at the time of delivery plays a very important role.
Now further investigation could lead to new nutritional strategies for infants who cannot be breastfed, as the team of scientists explains: "If the bacteria in breast milk discovered in this study are important for the development of the immune system, their addition to infant formula it could decrease the risk of allergies, asthma and autoimmune diseases ”.
Roberta Ragni
