Key nutrients in breast milk: why they are so important?

Lactose:

• Is the main carbohydrate in breast milk.
• Accounts for around 40% of the total calories provided by breast milk.
• Helps reduce unhealthy bacteria in the stomach, promoting the absorption of calcium, phosphorus and magnesium.

Milk Fat (Lipids):

• A key nutrient naturally present in breast milk.
• Mature breast milk is rich in fat to meet your baby's high energy and caloric needs and to absorb fat-soluble vitamins. 
• Accounts for 40 to 50% of your baby's daily energy intake. 
• Contains many essential fatty acids such as LC-PUFAs, beta-palmitate and Milk Fat Globule Membranes (MFGMs) that are all important to your baby's health and development.
  • Milk Fat Globule Membranes (MFGMs), important for the optimal development of the brain as well as the immune system.
  • Long Chain Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids LC-PUFAs which provide benefici al effects on the development of brain, vision and immune system of babies, mainly.
  • Beta-palmitate, important for better calcium absorption and the development of stronger bones.

Proteins:

• Human milk contains two types of proteins: whey and casein.
• Whey accounts for 60% of the protein in breast milk and has great infection-protection properties.
• Casein accounts for the other 40%.  
• This balance of the proteins lets your baby digest breast milk quickly and easily.

A denser balanced milk with plenty of nutrients

Nucleotides:

• Breast milk naturally contains lots of nucleotides, which are the building blocks of our DNA and RNA.
• They support healthy weight gain and development.
• They also help reduce the frequency, severity and duration of diarrhoea that is very common during an infant's first months of life. 

Prebiotics:

• GOS Prebiotics (Galactooligosaccharides) are natural fibres present in breast milk.  
• They naturally nourish the good bacteria in your baby's gut that are a key defence against harmful bacteria. 
• They promote a softer stool consistency to help prevent your baby suffering from constipation, gas or colic.

Vitamins & Minerals

• The amount and types of vitamins and minerals in your breast milk is directly related to your vitamin intake. That's why it is important that you take care of your nutrition too and get plenty of vitamins and minerals.

Here are some of the vitamins and minerals that are particularly important:

• Fat-soluble vitamins such as A, D, E and K are crucial to your baby's health.
• Water-soluble vitamins such as vitamin C, riboflavin, niacin and pantothenic acid are also essential.
• Iron deficiency can lead to anaemia, fatigue and impaired psychomotor development in infants. That's why it's important you have an iron-rich diet. Iron is found meat, egg yolk and wholemeal food.  And be sure to get plenty of vitamin C because it promotes iron absorption. 
• The calcium-phosphorus ratio in breast milk is 2 to 1, which promotes absorption of 75% of the ingested calcium. Both calcium and phosphorus are essential for tissue function and structure and are the main components of bones
• Zinc is an essential mineral for growth and development and building the immune system.