Source: beta.thehindu.com
WASHINGTON, May 24, 2010: According to a leading researcher at the University of Illinois, most of the genes enhanced by breast milk promote quick development of the intestine and immune system. Giving reasons why mother’s milk is always better than any formula, scientists have claimed that breast milk improves the functioning of their genes in a way that protects them from illness.
Researchers at the University of Illinois have found that infants’ first food affects their gene expression, giving a possible mechanism for how breast milk impacts health. Gene expression is the process by which instructions in a gene are used to synthesize a functional gene product, mostly proteins. When genes are expressed, it is as if they are “turned on”.
Lead researcher Sharon Donovan of the University of Illinois said that it has already been known that breast milk contains immune–protective components that make a breast-fed infant’s risk lower for all kinds of illnesses. “But what we haven’t known is how breast milk protects the infant and particularly how it regulates the development of the intestine,” she said, adding that understanding those differences could help formula makers develop a product that is more like the real thing.