Our milk has microbicidal and anti-inflammatory substances that no other milk in the world can boast.
This is shown by a research published yesterday in Nature. The amount of a fatty acid, Glycerol Monolaurate (GML) in breast milk compared to that of cow's milk and powdered milk is enormous.
After long debates related to the advisability of breastfeeding children, science drops an ace that is difficult to refute.
Human milk contains about 3000 µg / ml of GML against 150 μg / ml of cow's milk and 0 μg / ml, ZERO, in powdered milk.
Tested on various bacteria (including Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli), breast milk showed much more protective capacity than cow's milk and milk powder. The removal of GML and other lipophilic molecules led to a loss of antibacterial power.
In particular, the protection of breast milk is particularly effective against asthma, food allergies, atopic dermatitis and other disorders connected to the action of Staphylococcus aureus.
The research was carried out by Patrick Schlievert e Samuel Kilgor from the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the Carver College of Medicine at the University of Iowa in the United States.
It's a fact: GML is what makes milk protective against bacteria.
In short (Italian only), the research confirms without any shadow of doubt the pre-eminence of breast milk over any other milk. It can lead to the creation of alternative products to breast milk (such as the vegan milk) that have much more ability to protect children from microbes and diseases.
In fact, the next phase of the research will aim to understand whether by adding GML to cow's milk and milk powder, results comparable to mother's milk are obtained.
While being a determining factor "there is the possibility," say the researchers, “that the GML alone is not enough. It may not be able to enhance powdered and cow's milk, due to interactions with substances present only in breast milk.".
