Infant immune health has attracted much attention

Reporter Wang Wei

In the current new stage of epidemic prevention and control, the immune health of infants and young children has become a hot spot
.
At the "2022 Maternal and Child Nutrition Annual Conference of the Chinese Nutrition Society" held on December 23, many experts emphasized that breastfeeding should be
valued.
When breast milk is insufficient, infant formula should be selected as close as possible to the composition of human milk to meet the immune development needs
of infants and young children in an all-round way.

The establishment of the immune system of infants and young children is a process from scratch, because the autoimmune function has not yet developed and sound, and it is easy to suffer from external infections
under the influence of multiple pathogens such as bacteria and viruses.
Breast milk is rich in lactoferrin, which is a key nutrient
for regulating the immune function of infants and young children.
The 2022 Chinese Expert Consensus on the Clinical Application of Lactoferrin clearly states that lactoferrin can reduce the incidence of respiratory and gastrointestinal diseases in infants and children, and shorten the duration of
diseases.
At the same time, lactoferrin has the function of regulating immune function and cell proliferation and differentiation, and can activate the apoptosis
of infected intestinal epithelial cells.
In addition, the natural milk fat in breast milk also contains more immune factors, which play a "reinforcing" role
in the immune development and intestinal health of infants and young children.
In addition to breast milk, the fat in whole milk is also natural milk fat, and when breast milk is insufficient, infant formula with high milk fat content with whole milk milk is an alternative
.

Professor Zeng Guo gave a report on "The Role and Mechanism of Breast Milk Components in Multiple Combined Immunization of Infants and Young Children"

Professor Zeng Guo, professor of West China School of Public Health of Sichuan University and vice chairman of the Maternal and Child Nutrition Branch of the Chinese Nutrition Society, elaborated on the important role of various immune nutrients in breast milk, including lactoferrin, milk fat and oligosaccharides, in the immune development, maturation and regulation of infants and young children, and pointed out that infant formula should be as close as possible to the nutrients of breast milk to meet the needs of infant immunotrophic development
。

Zeng Guo said that insufficient protein and energy intake in infants and young children will cause low immunity and increased risk of infection, and lactoferrin in breast milk can compete for iron needed for the growth of harmful bacteria, effectively inhibit the growth of harmful bacteria, and benefit the intestinal and respiratory health
of infants and young children.
Secondly, the milk fat in breast milk contains nutrients such as lactophospholipids, long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, and short-chain fatty acids, among which lactophospholipids can change the activity of gastrointestinal bacteria and microorganisms in infants and young children, promote the development of intestinal morphology and immune metabolic functions, and reduce the probability of
infections such as diarrhea.
Since the composition of bovine milk fat and human milk fat is similar, infant formula with a combination of milk fat and lactoferrin can enhance infant immunity and reduce the probability
of infection and allergic diseases through multiple mechanisms.

Preliminary review: Li Song Responsible editor: Zhang Jiazhen Review: Peng Zonglu