Why is breast milk best? It's all in the genes

Is breast milk so different from infant formula? The ability to track which genes are operating in an infant's intestine has allowed University of Illinois scientists to compare the early development of breast-fed and formula-fed babies. They say the difference is very real.

"For the first time, we can see that breast milk induces genetic pathways that are quite different from those in formula-fed infants. Although formula makers have tried to develop a product that's as much like breast milk as possible, hundreds of genes were expressed differently in the breast-fed and formula-fed groups," said Sharon Donovan, a U of I professor of nutrition.

Although both breast-fed and formula-fed babies gain weight and seem to develop similarly, scientists have known for a long time that breast milk contains immune-protective components that make a breast-fed infant's risk lower for all kinds of illnesses, she said.

Continued at link

Source

I know, I know this is a little bit tacky to be posting here on ATS but personally, I find this immensely interesting and had no idea.

However, it does make sense to me at least that since the mother sheltered and carried the baby within her body, that there would be similarities and since they were both one, the body should naturally and adaptively create the best food possible for the child. This is crazy but it makes sense and I had to post it.

Something else worth noting is a story I heard from a friend in regards to our saliva. He said something to the effect of, before planting a seed in your garden, to keep it in your mouth for 5 minutes as to the effect of the saliva encoding the seed with your DNA which in turn, is suppose to produce a plant meant specifically for your needs. He said something about the natives doing this.

Now I don't know how true that is, but it's interesting.

Some people are so against breast-feeding it's scary. Even you called it a bit tacky. Why?

reply to post by Crossfate


Interesting to hear about the saliva and the seeds. Never heard that before but it is fascinating.

Also, it is true that a mother's breast milk is specifically suited to her baby. In the recent past, breast feeding was actually seen as 'vulgar' and something only the lower classes did as they could not afford formula. It was a status symbol to be able to provide your baby with store-bought formula.

Science then discovered how much more advantageous it was to breast feed with naturally tailored mother's milk.

reply to post by AshleyD


Vulgar huh? Well they use to sale ketchup in the 1900's as medicine so I believe it.

reply to post by wigit


I'd call it a bit tacky for ATS, not tacky anywhere else but just because this is a conspiracy forum but then again I've seen everything here so well said.

Originally posted by wigit
Some people are so against breast-feeding it's scary. Even you called it a bit tacky. Why?

Ever heard of bioaccumulation and biomagnification? If not google those terms. Then consider that we're on top of the food chain. That's why one should not breastfeed in polluted areas of the world..

Having bottle fed both my boys then breast fed my daughter years later I now think it's totally unnatural to bottle feed, unless your nipples have been chopped off or something like that.

I am clueless as to how I was ever brainwashed, (and didn't even know it) to prefer to bottle feed in the first place. It might be because we do what we see others doing without thinking, and a little bit of ingrained non-compliance with authority, i.e. overly helpful midwives who piss us off when we're at our worst so we decide to put our foot down over the easiest thing with an adamant "I'm bottle-feeding thank you very much, my mind has been made up, now piss off and bother someone else Miss Goody-Two Shoes"

ps, My sons were ill all the time as babies and my daughter had barely a hiccup. She likes breasts though, and liked to feel other women up and often tried to pull their boobs out when she was littler That's a side effect if you're on breast milk for a long time. Four years, two months to be exact.

Originally posted by rhinoceros
Ever heard of bioaccumulation and biomagnification? If not google those terms. Then consider that we're on top of the food chain. That's why one should not breastfeed in polluted areas of the world..

I haven't heard of these but then I feel one should not bottle feed in polluted areas of the world either. I watched a charity hand out powdered milk to paupers many years ago on the telly. It was India or somewhere. They thought they were doing good. However, the poor mums who thought they were going up in the world with this fancy baby food were drawing water from the gutter and filthy streams to use with the powder, then feeding that to their babies. By the time the babies were ill the mothers' milk had dried up. There were a lot of deaths.

I nursed my first child to 6 months exclusively and my second to 3 months exclusively, then switched over to formula. For some reason I just was not able to keep enough production with either child to satisfy their needs. I'm happy I was able to nurse for even a little while, though, as it seems with my now two-year old son that the immuno-boosters in the breastmilk did wonders for him. He has only been sick with a slight cold twice now.

It completely makes sense that genetically it is best for babies too... although for some reason my youngest (a 5-month old daughter) never handled my milk well and was always very gassy, fussy, and unhappy -- until I switched her over to Earth's Best Organic Formula. Immediately after switching her over she was a completely different baby. Apparently she's already rebelling against her mama

I'm not going to go into a lot of detail - but - All my siblings were breast fed but me.
I left home at a very early age.
The rest of 'them' have problems I would never want to even begin to be involved in.
Sure I have some of my own, but nothing even close to the problems I am 100% sure came from them being fed at the 'fountain' (breast fed)...

Got milk? Not me - Thank God! *Shudders*

Point being - it can go both ways - for the good, or the evil, the ol boobie milk can...

peace

my girl is going to breast feed but only because its a lot cheaper then using formula. I told her I need to take taste tests before the baby drinks its so I know its good enough for the baby.

but it has always been a known fact that breast feeding is best for the baby.

Not only is breast milk geared for a baby, its consistency changes throughout the day, even from feeding to feeding, to adapt to the baby's needs.

I wasn't able to breastfeed, which was a traumatic experience for me. My child had major spitting up issues. He spit from one bottle to the next. 20 times or so. It was a wonder he had ever gained weight.
I didn't receive much support from pediatricians.
I spent about 50 hours doing research on the net till one parent gave me tremendous advice:

She said that formula companies don't announce this, but some babies are sensitive to the DHA additive in formula.
Why?

Well it is made from seaweed. Hardlly mom's formula. ANd a lot of babies are intolerant to it.

So I switched to a non-DHA formula(which are getting really hard to find these days_ and the spitting immediately dropped to normal.

Upon further research, I found out that formula companies spent a whopping year studying the additive. NOw that should be a crime. If it is put in infant formula, it should be studied a whole hell of a lot more.

BTW, they also sweeten formula with corn syrup. STart that diabetes early.

If you want the closest formula to human milk it is goat. Problem is that goat is not cheap.

reply to post by silo13


Is that the only common denomenator you can come up with?
It could be a 100 different things. Maybe you were the only one to survive lead poisoning.

reply to post by nixie_nox

If you want the closest formula to human milk it is goat. Problem is that goat is not cheap.

You bring up a GREAT point!

My next door neighbor used to visit for vacation and sporadically bring her granddaughter.

Her 'little girl' - (the granddaughter) - looked about 4 years old and I was horrified when I found out she was 7!

Grandma told me she couldn't eat hardly anything.

I gave her a nice fresh glass of my nanny's milk and asked her to see if her granddaughter liked it.

She drank the whole thing!

Grandma just freaked! She cried and laughed and cried.

They ended up staying for quite a while longer than her usual visit and just about drank my nanny dry!

After that the granddaughter did soooooooooooooo well - (They found a supplier where they lived full time)!

For years the little girl always came visit me and thank me for her 'milk'!



peace

reply to post by nixie_nox


Thank you for that wonderful information and I will definitely remember it! "puts in vault of things to remember for when he has kids.... if he has kids".

Really though, that was enlightening.

reply to post by Crossfate


I'm afraid I can't resist inserting the following for t3h lulz:

Advocacy Group: Mothers Have Right To Expose Milk-Engorged Breasts In Public







[edit on 13/5/10 by Extant Taxon]

reply to post by nixie_nox


I had my son on goat milk after one year old and he did great on it! Good mention

reply to post by Extant Taxon


Ha! Well, that is a bit militant for my taste. I guess I'm just not a confrontational enough mama. I never purposely tried to offend people.

reply to post by MotherofBlessings


The video is from The Onion, who specialise in satires, though I'm sure there are some militant moms out there just like that fake advocacy group spokeswoman.
Another recent classic from The Onion:



Apologies for going off-topic but I couldn't stop myself.

reply to post by silo13


Interesting. Ok, growing up in the suburbs, nanny is goat's milk, right? lol


I went to a nature store to buy it, and it was 4$ for a quart. My kid was drinking almost a gallon a day. So it would of been too expensive to maintain.

I did consider getting my own goat.

Maybe you could start a business!

[edit on 13-5-2010 by nixie_nox]