THE VARIABILITY IN COMPOSITION OF MACRONUTRIENTS AND THE PRESENCE OF MICROBESIN HUMAN

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The Variability In Composition Of Macronutrients

And The Presence of Probiotic Microbes In Human Milk

Rodolfo Correa

Minnesota State University, Mankato

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Introduction

The literature on human milk (HM) agrees that breast milk is the best available

food for infants. The United States health care system recommend to breast-feed infants

for the first six months up to a year. This is because HM provides a unique composition

of nutrients and other bioactive compounds ideal for the development of the infant. Other

studied health benefits of HM include immunological benefits and gastrointestinal

maturation. The purpose of this analysis is to introduce the latest studies on the

composition of macronutrients and the presence of probiotic microbes in HM, to further

understand the less studied benefits of human milk and use this new knowledge to

convince the general population of initiation and continuing breastfeeding.

Description

For many years, many nutritional and health benefits of HM have been studied,

and appropriate recommendations on feeding an infant have been proposed by health

organizations. The literature agrees that the complexity of HM has been designed to

deliver the majority of nutrients for a healthy infant for approximately six months.

Studies have shown that HM provides an adequate quantity and quality of

macronutrients, micronutrients, and other bioactive compounds that promotes the

maturation of the infants systems. However, it is also recognized that the composition of

the milk is variable during a single feeding, stage of lactation, and needs of the infant.

This variation has been attributed to causes such as improper breastfeeding. Nonetheless,

little has been published on the impact of such variability in the nutrition of the infant.
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With the introduction of new research studies, I recognize the need for well

informed and prepared health care professionals to convince the mother and correctly

administer breastfeeding. The effort of a health care professional needs to be to offer

complete information and resources in diverse formats, languages, and programs to reach

out to a broader population and compete with the marketing strategy and convenience of

formula-milk. The latest research suggests more health benefits in HM, for example, from

the microbes in the HM. The latest research proposes new reasons and continues to

confirm that the consumption of HM is critical for the healthy development of infants.

Research

In a research by de Halleux and Rigo (2013), they studied the variability in the

composition of macronutrients in an infants own mothers milk, HM from a single and

multiple sources, and colostrum. The purpose of their research was to assess the adequacy

of different sources of HM for infants with very-low-birth-weight (VLBW), and proposed

an individualized fortification strategy when necessary. Preterm infants have higher

protein and energy requirements, and the variability in macronutrients may result in

under- or overnutrition. Through the individualized fortification they managed to reduce

significantly the variability compared to standard fortification.

In a study done by Dr. Chang and colleagues (2015) on the macronutrient

composition of HM from healthy Korean mothers with full term infants, they discovered

that there are no significant differences in the composition of HM compared to other

developed countries. The team reported on the variability of macronutrients, especially

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lipids, and suggested could be caused by the stage of lactation, maternal diet, feeding

practices, or storage conditions. In conclusion, they confirmed that the composition of the

HM, regardless variability, is acceptable and hope through this findings there will be

convincing information to mothers in initiating and maintaining breastfeeding.

A recent study published by Feng and colleagues (2016) attempted to compare

HMs protein and amino acid composition in nine countries. The data shows consistency

and uniformity in the protein and amino acid composition in HM from different

geographical locations. The team suggests that the variability is likely due to the stage of

lactation and that it has little to do with the maternals age, ethnicity, race, or diet. The

study concluded that the quality and quantity of proteins and amino acids in HM shows

needs to be furthered studied, however, the HM shows to be unique to meet the needs of

the infant.

Boix-Amors and colleagues (2016) attempted to study the relationship between

HM and its bacterial microbiota. The investigation shows that milk microbiota is not

seen as an infection by the immune system. It also shows that the non-pathogenic bacteria

present in the HMs microbiota may play a role as a probiotic. The study also shows that

each non-pathogenic bacterial specie has a specific relationship with other bacteria and

nutrients.
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Discussion

The latest research continues to confirm that HM is the optimal nutrient source for

any infant. The research presented in this study agrees that more information needs to be

provided to health care professionals on what causes the variability of different macro-

and micronutrients, and how it can be controlled. Also, I attended a presentation by Dr.

Mills from UC Davis, who has been studying the benefits of establishing a microbiota

from HM, which aroused my curiosity for this study. I found few information on the role

of probiotic microbiota, which suggests that this subject has little research and yet to be

understood.

Conclusion

The latest information on HM continues to further explain the complex

composition and health benefits on infants. Feng and colleagues (2016) and Dr. Chang

and colleagues (2015), both showed that the composition of milk changes to satisfy the

needs of the infant and that nutrient variability has more to do with the breastfeeding

technique. Boix-Amors and colleagues (2016) introduced the symbiotic relationship

between the HMs microbiota and health benefits on the infant. Also, de Halleux and

Rigo (2013) confirmed the importance of individualized fortification in HM for an infant

with special requirements to properly develop. Finally, the challenge health care

professionals and organization have is to promote the health benefits in different formats,

languages, and activities to convince more women of breastfeeding.

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References

Boix-Amors, A., Collado, M. C., & Mira, A. (2016). Relationship between milk

microbiota, bacterial load, macronutrients, and human cells during lactation.

Frontiers in Microbiology, 7, 492. doi:10.3389/fmicb.2016.00492

https://www-ncbi-nlm-nih-gov.ezproxy.mnsu.edu/pmc/articles/PMC4837678/

Brown, E. J., Isaacs, J., Krinke, B., et al. (2014). Nutrition During Lactation. Nutrition

Through the Life Cycle, 5th Edition. Cengage.

Chang, N., Jung, J. A., Kim, H., Jo, A., Kang, S., Lee, S., . . . Jung, B. (2015).

Macronutrient composition of human milk from Korean mothers of full term

infants born at 37-42 gestational weeks. Nutrition Research and Practice, 9(4),

433-438. doi:10.4162/nrp.2015.9.4.433

https://www-ncbi-nlm-nih-gov.ezproxy.mnsu.edu/pmc/articles/PMC4523489/

de Halleux, V., & Rigo, J. (2013). Variability in human milk composition: Benefit of

individualized fortification in very-low-birth-weight infants. The American

Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 98(2), 529S. doi:10.3945/ajcn.112.042689

http://ajcn.nutrition.org.ezproxy.mnsu.edu/content/98/2/529S

Feng, P., Gao, M., Burgher, A., Zhou, T. H., & Pramuk, K. (2016). A nine-country study

of the protein content and amino acid composition of mature human milk. Food

& Nutrition Research, 60, 1-11. doi:10.3402/fnr.v60.31042

https://www-ncbi-nlm-nih-gov.ezproxy.mnsu.edu/pmc/articles/PMC5002399/
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