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 Compared to babies who receive formula, babies who are exclusively
breastfed may have "gut bacteria" that help them tolerate new foods
more easily, researchers found.
The study findings are very preliminary. The researchers only
analyzed the bacteria of nine children, and not the children's
reactions to new foods. So they can’t say if those who got formula
had worse experiences with new solid foods. Still, the researchers
say the results may explain some links between gut bacteria and
health conditions.
Other studies have linked early feeding practice with long-term
health outcomes, said Amanda Thompson, the study’s lead author from
the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Previous studies have linked gut bacteria to obesity, allergies, and
infectious diseases, the researchers write in Frontiers in Cellular
and Infection Microbiology.
The nine babies ranged in age from one week to almost one year. Four
were exclusively breastfed for part of the study. Some also received
formula. Overall, eight received breast milk.
The researchers collected 49 stool samples from the children over an
average of 16 weeks, to analyze each infant’s gut bacteria.
They saw what others have reported before: Kids who are exclusively
breastfed did not have as much bacteria diversity and richness in
their guts as those who were also fed formula.
But they also found something new: The gut bacteria in the
exclusively-breastfed children didn’t seem to react as much when
solid foods were being introduced, compared to the bacteria in
children who also received formula.
As a measure of whether bacteria were reacting, the researchers used
a tool to predict how many enzymes were active in the intestines
before and after solid foods were started. Enzymes help with
digestion.
In children who were exclusively breastfed, they saw an increase in
24 enzymes after the introduction of solid foods, compared to an
increase in over 200 enzymes among children who also received
formula.
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Thompson said the larger number of enzymes in children who were not
exclusively breastfed suggests that the introduction of solid foods
was a bigger shock to their gut bacteria.
“All we’re saying is we do see these changes,” Thompson said.
“Perhaps this is a potential mechanism explaining what other people
have found in the literature.”
“It seems that introduction of solid food for babies that were only
breastfed was more tolerable,” said Andrea Azcarate-Peril, the
study’s senior author and the director of the UNC Microbiome Core
Facility.
“Long-term studies are essential to confirm or not confirm these
results,” she said, adding that the study results do support
exclusive breastfeeding, which is recommended by most medical
organizations.
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends exclusive
breastfeeding for the first six months of a child’s life. Then,
mothers should continue breastfeeding for one year or longer as
other foods are introduced.
Breastfeeding protects against a number of disease and conditions,
including diarrhea, respiratory and urinary infections, diabetes and
childhood weight problems, according to the AAP.
SOURCE: http://bit.ly/1CTlnmX Frontiers in Cellular and Infection
Microbiology, online February 5, 2015.
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