Biofactors for Young Infants

- breastfeeding is the best possible way of meeting your infant’s nutritional needs
- nature safeguards babies’ growth and health by providing the most complete food
- breast milk contains everything a young infant needs to develop & thrive

- human milk is a complex blend of over 200 biofactors
- biofactors are nutrients and ingredients that enhance growth, health, & development
- although each biofactor is individually important, the unique combination of biofactors is what makes human milk nature’s ideal nutrition for babies

- during the first 3 months of life, most babies gain 170-225 grams a week!
- during the next 3 months, their growth rate slows a bit, but they still gain about 140-170 grams weekly

- protein is a key component of the nutrition babies need to fuel their growth
- proteins are made up of amino acids—the building blocks that our bodies use to make their own unique proteins and other compounds

- because nature designed human milk to perfectly suit the needs of growing babies, human milk is the best protein source for infants
- it has an unusually high proportion of essential amino acids, mainly because it is rich in a type of protein called alpha-lactalbumin (or alpha-protein for short)

- easy to digest and rich in an amino acid called tryptophan
- Tryptophan helps produce body chemicals that help to regulate mood, appetite & sleep
- some investigators have reported that infants receiving a trytophan-fortified formula fell asleep faster than infants receiving standard formula
- infant formula, which is rich in alpha-protein, provides a good source of tryptophan

- alpha-protein has relatively high levels of essential amino acids, a formula rich in alpha-protein can also have a lower level of total protein
- a lower total protein level makes it easier for baby’s kidneys to process formula

- although many standard infant formulas are whey-dominant like human milk, they have high levels of beta-lactoglobulin, a protein not normally found in human milk.
- formula with increased levels of alpha-protein and reduced levels of beta-lactoglobulin, has a composition closer to that of human milk